Trust Protocol welcomes its first Latin America members

The US Cotton Trust
Protocol welcomed its first Latin America-based members: Central America
Spinning Works El Salvador, Cone Mills, Colhilados, Fabricato, Gama Textil,
Global Textiles, Grupo Industrial Miro, Grupo Vivatex, Hilanderia de Algodon
Peruano, Honduras Spinning Mills, Industrias Cannon de Colombia, Industrias Merlet,
Industria Textil del Pacifico, Junior de Mexico (OGGI Jeans), Manufacturas
Kaltex, MT Textiles, OA, Playeras Mark, Premium Knits, Quality Knits, Ropa
Siete Leguas, SJ Jersey Ecuatoriano, Tavex, Textufil, Textiles Marie Lou,
Textil del Valle, WT Sourcing and Zagis. Among other benefits, membership
enables these mills and manufacturers to prove that the cotton fibre element in
their textiles is more sustainably grown.

“We are pleased that
these companies have joined the Trust Protocol as the textile industry works to
improve the transparency in their supply chain that brands and retailers are
asking for,” said Gary Adams, president of the US Cotton Trust Protocol. “The
Trust Protocol is providing verified, reliable data about cotton growers’ responsible
growing practices in six key areas – water use, greenhouse gas emissions,
energy use, soil carbon, soil loss and land use efficiency – and shows how
sustainability is constantly improving through the entire supply chain.”

Mills and
manufacturers who become members have access to the Trust Protocol credit
system to validate consumption of cotton and associated credits. The
combination of a unique credit accounting system and the Permanent Bale
Identification (PBI) system enables brands to have transparency throughout the
supply chain to finished product.

In December 2020, the
Trust Protocol also announced the membership of Gap as part of their integrated
sustainability strategy and to help achieve their commitment to use only 100
per cent sustainably-sourced cotton by 2025. December also saw the announcement
of the first 10 US mills to join the Trust Protocol: Buhler Quality Yarns, Cap
Yarns, CCW, Contempora Fabrics, Cotswold Industries Inc., Frontier Yarns,
Hamrick Mills, Inman Mills, Parkdale Inc. and Swisstex Direct.

The Trust Protocol
has been invited to join Cotton 2040 and its CottonUp guide and is also on the
Textile Exchange’s list of 36 preferred fibres and materials that more than 170
participating brands and retailers can select from as part of Textile
Exchange’s Material Change Index program.