In a new three-part sponsored series entitled, Threaded Together, podcast host Philip Berman looks at Cotton Incorporated's role in improving the sustainability of cotton in the textile industry.
Cotton Incorporated a US-based, not-for-profit company, provides resources and research to help companies develop and market innovative, and profitable cotton products.
It’s probably best known for its Seal of Cotton trademark which was created 50 years ago, in 1973, and has become an iconic symbol to consumers and is globally recognized by the textile industry.
Episode 1:
In this first episode Philip Berman talks to Dr Jesse Daystar, a Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer at Cotton Inc; Mary Ankeny, the organisation's Vice President of Product Development and Operations; and Dr Joe Sagues, Assistant Professor in Biological and Agricultural Engineering at North Carolina State University.
They enjoy a wide-ranging discussion covering issues from, the biodegradability of cotton and its impact on microfibre pollution, to pioneering research into composting cotton textile waste to capture CO2.
Episode 2:
In the second of this three-part podcast series, host Philip Berman talks to Dr Jesse Daystar, from Cotton Incorporated and Joel Mertens from the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, about the best way(s) to measure sustainability in the cotton industry and how it can drive change.
Jesse and Joel discuss the purpose of a life cycle assessment (LCA), the different types and, in light of the recent KMPG review of the SAC's Higg Product Module, how they should be used, how they can get misused and their limitations.
Episode 3:
To coincide with the week of World Soil Day 2023, our third and final episode, sponsored by Cotton Incorporated, looks at the US Climate Smart Cotton Program- a bold, new and exciting initiative in the US, which aims to measure and improve the country’s cottons’ carbon footprint.
We look at what it is, how it works, who can take part, why it's needed, who benefits from it and why it's of interest to the whole value chain in the textile industry.
To answer these questions, host Philip Berman is joined by:
- Daren Abney, the Executive Director of the US Cotton Trust Protocol, which leads on the programme.
- Dr Cristine Morgan, Chief Scientific Officer at the Soil Health Institute, which is partner on the programme.
- Dr Jesse Daystar, Chief Sustainability Officer at Cotton Incorporated, which is partner on the programme.
Daren Abney tells listeners: "I think this opportunity really came about because the US government is seeing agriculture at scale as an opportunity to address climate challenges."
Soil health expert Dr Morgan explains later in the podcast: "The main thing that we want to do is improve the soil. We want to get carbon out of the atmosphere and we also want to release fewer greenhouse gases into the atmosphere."
Here are the factsheets recently released by Dr Morgan that she says demonstrate how soil health management systems are making cotton growers more profitable.
- Factsheet: Economics of Soil Health Management Systems on Eight Cotton Farms in Georgia
- Factsheet: Economics of Soil Health Systems on Eight Cotton Farms in the Texas Southern Great Plains
- Webinar: Economics of Soil Health Systems on Eight Cotton Farms in the Texas Southern Great Plains
Other partners in the programme include, Cotton Council International, Agricenter International, North Carolina A&T State University, Alabama A&M University and Texas A&M AgriLife Research.
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