Who We Are
Cotton Incorporated is the research and marketing company for
U.S. cotton growers and importers. Established in 1970 as a not-
for-profit company, its mission is to increase the demand for and
profitability of cotton. The company meets this straightforward
mission by identifying efficiency and best practice opportunities
along each link of the global cotton supply chain, and through global
marketing efforts aimed at consumer and trade audiences.
Cotton Incorporated's CottonWorks™ program is an extension of
its global education and marketing efforts. This comprehensive
online resource provides textile professionals and students with
the essential fiber-to-fashion knowledge, expert problem solving,
up-to-date research, and inspiration needed to navigate the future of
cotton and textiles.
To Learn More
Cotton Incorporated
6399 Weston Parkway
Cary, NC
(919) 678-2200
www.cottonworks.com
A
s environmental awareness grows in response to high-profile
issues such as climate change and pollution, sustainability
has become an increasingly important issue. Environmental
sustainability means adopting practices that don't deplete our
natural resources or harm the ability of future generations to meet their
own needs.
1
For the textile and apparel industry, sustainability involves
not only conserving water, energy, and chemicals at every stage of textile
production, but also reducing waste and minimizing environmental
pollution when a textile product reaches the end of its useful life.
Historically, manufacturing systems have followed a linear "take,
make, and waste" model — meaning that raw materials are taken from
the earth, made into products, and disposed of as waste, taking up
space in landfills or polluting the environment. Textile products make a
significant contribution to the U.S. waste stream, accounting for 8 percent
of municipal waste sent to landfills.
2
Plastics in particular follow the linear "take, make, and waste" model. Oil
is extracted from the earth and made into plastic polymer, which is used to
manufacture products. en, once a plastic product is discarded, it persists
in the environment, because conventional plastics (99.7 percent of all plastics
produced) are not biodegradable.
3
ough Americans have been sold on
the importance of recycling plastic,
4
recycling has barely made a dent in the
plastic waste problem — less than 9 percent of plastic produced in the United
States is recycled, while over 75 percent ends up in landfills.
5
Worse yet,
plastic waste can break up into microplastic particles, which are now found
throughout the environment and
even inside living organisms.
6
And the most common source of
microplastics? Plastic microfibers
shed by synthetic fabrics.
7
In contrast to the linear model,
circularity is an approach to
reducing the environmental
impact of textile products at
the end of their useful life by
reusing them, recycling them,
or returning them to the earth.
Circularity is best achieved by
designing and manufacturing products in ways that make reusing, recycling,
or returning them as efficient as possible.
8
According to Dr. Jesse Daystar,
vice president and chief sustainability officer for Cotton Incorporated, the
goal is to create a "circular economy that is restorative and regenerative
by design, and aims to keep products, components, and materials at their
highest utility and value at all times." A circular economy mimics the cycles
of nature. As a renewable biological product, cotton is ideally suited to a
circular economy.
Reuse, Recycle, Return
Cotton's natural durability gives cotton textiles a long life — instead of
being discarded, clothing and home goods oen enter the secondhand
market or are repurposed. Manufacturers and product developers
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
Can Cotton Close the Loop?
25 • Textile Insight ~ September/October 2021 textileinsight.com
