US COTTON TRUST ENROLLMENT OPEN

Southern cotton growers might be interested in the new enrollment that is open as part of the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol for the 2021 cotton crop. Existing members will also need to re-enroll their operations. The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol sets a new standard for more sustainably grown cotton amid greater demand for transparency.

Ted Schneider, U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol Board Member and a Louisiana cotton farmer, says enrollment is simple and easy.

“At the end of the year or as your year goes along, you enter your practices into field to market. It all probably takes about two hours during the course of the year.”

The program was designed as to not be a burden on cotton growers, starting with the self-assessment.

“We view ourselves and our small community as cotton farmers, but we're not, we're a member of a supply chain of the apparel industry which is much, much, bigger. They’re our customers, and we need to meet the needs of our customers, and this protocol will help us to do that.”

He adds that the U.S. Cotton Trust protocol is valuable for the entire U.S. cotton supply chain.

“The U.S. Trust Protocol will use only U.S. cotton, and the use of the self-assessment, and the use of field to market, will create data and statistics that will prove to our industry members that we are actually very sustainable. We feel like that we’re the most sustainable cotton grown in the world.”

Growers can follow the Protocol on social media, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. You can contact the Protocol by emailing [growers@trustuscotton.org](mailto:growers@trustuscotton.org). visit the website to sign up or learn more.