As the march toward greater sustainability in the apparel and textile industries matures, more is expected of all supply chain partners. Today, goals and accomplishments must be backed up by data that illustrates that the industry and individual companies are living up to their claims.

This Collaborative Effort webinar illustrates why the surest way to make these strides is by working together. The discussion highlights how the entire industry, from fiber forward, is developing ways to provide a consensus for what needs to be done and a means to do so.

Because ultimately, progress is in everyone’s best interest.

“A more responsible supplier is usually a safer supplier, is usually a more progressive and forward thinking supplier so if you measure things and have a way to see all of the data at once, you can make better purchasing decisions,” said Jamie Barsimantov, COO and co-founder, SupplyShift.

One recent example of a collaborative program is The US Cotton Protocol Trust, which launches in 2020 to give brands and retailers the assurance that the cotton they’re purchasing was grown in a way that meets or exceeds today’s best practices. It also provides U.S. cotton growers with the means to reach the aggressive environmental goals the industry has set for 2025 and gives them a framework by which they can access themselves and learn about the latest innovations.

“We want to give them resources to de-risk the implementation of [new practices] and do what’s best for their business and the environment. We don’t want to tell them how to grow cotton because you can’t do that. It’s very particular to region and they know their farm, but we want to make sure they know of all the latest technology and how to use precision agriculture and to de-risk any investments they need to make to be more sustainable,” said Jesse Daystar, chief sustainability officer, Cotton Incorporated.

Watch the webinar to learn:

• How retailers’ sustainability goals translate into a need for greater accountability throughout the supply chain
• How cotton farmers can determine just how sustainable they are and how they measure up to their peers
• How the US Cotton Protocol Trust will provide cotton growers with a means for continuous improvement
• How the Protocol will make it easier for brands and retailers to make better buying decisions
• How initiatives from Textile Exchange, the Social Labor Convergence Program and The Sustainability Consortium are creating frameworks for assessment and reporting
• How these programs overcome survey fatigue and incentivize suppliers to participate

Speakers include:

• Jesse Daystar, chief sustainability officer, Cotton Incorporated
• Ken Burton, executive director of U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol at National Cotton Council of America
• Jamie Barsimantov, COO and co-founder, SupplyShift
• Caletha Crawford, publisher, Sourcing Journal (moderator)