The US Cotton Trust Protocol has added over 300 brands, retailers, mills and manufacturers since it opened enrollment six months ago. These include Gap Inc and its lifestyle brands Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic and Athleta as well as UK retailers Next and Byford. The Trust Protocol also added the first US mills, the first members in Latin America, and Advance Denim, as its members.

The Trust Protocol is a system for more responsibly grown cotton that has committed to six areas of sustainability in line with the U.N. Sustainability Development Goals. It underpins and verifies sustainability progress through sophisticated data collection and independent third-party verification, enabling members to better track the cotton entering their supply chain. Members also get an access aggregate year-over-year data on water use, greenhouse gas emissions, energy use, soil carbon and land use efficiency.

As per Dr Gary Adams, President, the Trust Protocol was designed to fit the unique growing environment in the United States. Members will avail of the critical assurances needed to verify that the cotton fiber element of their supply chain is more sustainably grown.