Cotton Council International is a non-profit that promotes US cotton fiber and manufactured cotton products with its Cotton USA mark.

With more than 60 years of experience, CCI’s mission is to make US cotton the preferred fiber for mills, manufacturers, brands, retailers and consumers.

While cotton has long been understood as a high-quality, reliable fiber, this is particularly true for US cotton, which doesn’t have the same quality and pest issues as other major cotton producing countries.

The US cotton industry has specific goals to be achieved by 2025. These are: reducing the amount of land needed to produce a pound of cotton fiber by 13 per cent; reducing soil loss by 50 per cent in balance with new soil formation; increasing water use efficiency by 18 per cent; reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 39 per cent; increasing soil carbon in fields by 30 per cent; and reducing energy to produce seed cotton and ginned lint by 15 per cent.

Consumers are becoming more aware how everyday choices impact the world around them. Fast fashion has made a big contribution to the rise of synthetic, manmade fibers that are cheap to manufacture, though not easily recycled. Synthetic fibers such as polyester and acrylic damage the environment by releasing hundreds of thousands of tiny synthetic particles in every wash.