Textile Insight

T his year's 78th General Assembly of the United Nations was ded- icated to the advancement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) so it was fitting that cotton growers from the U.S. and Greece gathered at the UN headquarters during the September event in New York City for a roundtable discussion on sustainable cotton. Ray Daniels, seed sustainability manager at BASF, greeted attendees stating, "We want to be right here, right now to have this conver- sation. Farmers are on the forefront of the climate crisis. ey are integrating practices that are both environmentally and econom- ically sustainable." Event host, BASF Agricultural Solutions, supports cotton production in the United States with the e3 Sustainable Cotton program and in Europe with the Certified Sustainable FiberMax program. Both provide field-level traceability for cotton, as well as a way for farm- ers to track and measure the environmental and social impacts of their cotton production. BASF leadership from North America and Europe explained that transforma- tive agriculture builds resilience to feed a growing population, while at the same time lowers carbon footprint and increases carbon sequestration. Gustavo Palerosi Carneiro, VP, BASF Agricultural Solutions EMEA & CIS, said "Farmers have an increasingly difficult yet important role of balancing the need for increased productivity, environmental pro- tection, and value to society." It's also critical that farmers' stories get told. e farm community feels today's consumers are not being educated about the value of sustainable farming and as a result farmers are not being rewarded with price premium. e BASF event was an opportunity for the cotton growers to be heard. Here's what a few of the farmers had to say: Farm Talk "Sustainability is a Rubik's Cube. It takes a lot of turning and twisting to fit the pieces together and find the right solution," stated Jon Whatley, who with his wife Kelly, produces cotton, corn, and grain sorghum at J&K Whatley Farms in South Texas. With conservation top of mind, Whatley says his goal is taking in more organic matter. "Conservation for me is to be profitable by saving oil and lowering fuel consumption by 60 percent." Randy Smith, a fourth-generation grow- er-owner based in Ropesville, Texas, said "Consumers aren't aware of the effort growers like us are putting into regenerative agriculture practices, and we want to continue to share our story and gain their support." Smith explained that compost from feedlots has played a bigger role in his farming, and helped counteract the extremely dry conditions of the last decade. With a ranch and farm in Roby, Fisher County, Texas, Richard and Judy Gaona pro- duce cotton, wheat, grass and sudan hay and have cattle. "We have been incorporating new practices to get the root system deeper, as water quantity and quality has been an issue," said Richard Gaona. Whatley, Smith and Gaona believe regen- erative is a better word than sustainability to describe their approach to farming and how they go about their everyday work depending on their land and the climate. "Agriculture is central to our lives," said Gustavo Palerosi Carneiro, VP, BASF Agricultural Solutions EMEA & CIS. "It's also an industry undergoing a time of unprec- edented change. Farmers have an increasingly difficult yet important role of balancing the need for increased productivity, environmental protection, and value to society." Farmers in Greece take a collaborative ap- proach because it is a smaller group all working in the same region. e FiberMax Certified Sustainable FiberMax (CSF) cotton is a suc- cessful premium, traceable cotton program launched in 2015. e latest update is the addition of the Seed 2 Sew blockchain initiative that enables proof of sustainable cotton sourcing via a QR code and a new way to educate and communicate the environmentally-responsible farming value chain. Despite environmental and economic chal- lenges, farmers agree that getting brands on board with sustainable cotton, and getting consumers to pay for it, is a problem they all share whether farming in Texas or Greece. n Transformative Ag Farmers Get a Seat at the Table to Voice Views on Sustainability. Cotton growers from the U.S. and Greece gather outside the United Nations Headquarters in NYC to discuss the future of sustainable agriculture. IN THE MARKET / ECO UPDATE 10 • Textile Insight ~ Fall 2023 textileinsight.com

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