MEMPHIS – The US Cotton Trust Protocol says its grower members have met or exceeded most of their 2025 sustainability targets ahead of schedule. The programme has published a five-year progress report covering the 2015 to 2024/25 period.
The 2024/25 annual report draws on data from more than 1,500 participating growers. The Trust Protocol is a leading standard for “responsibly grown” US cotton.
Using a 2015 baseline, the scheme reports measurable gains across all six of its headline sustainability metrics and claims to be the first sustainable cotton fibre programme to provide this level of verified evidence for brand partners.
Protocol growers are reported to have met or exceeded five of six national goals for continuous improvement by 2025. Land use per pound of cotton is down 15 per cent, with participating farms producing around 20 per cent more cotton per acre than the US average. The report links this to better agronomy and more efficient input use on enrolled farms.
Water use efficiency has improved by 87 per cent, according to the Trust Protocol, with growers producing the same amount of cotton using 47 per cent less irrigation water despite recent droughts. The programme also reports a 28 per cent reduction in energy footprint across enrolled acres, a shift it says will feed directly into lower Scope 3 emissions for downstream brands and retailers.
The report claims an 89 per cent reduction in soil loss, bringing erosion levels “well below” US Department of Agriculture thresholds. It also says growers on 71 per cent of enrolled acres are now actively building healthier soils that store more carbon, a key step toward nature-positive cotton production.
On greenhouse gases, the Trust Protocol reports a 25 per cent reduction in emissions, which it attributes to more efficient nitrogen use and greater adoption of precision irrigation technologies.
“This year’s annual report unequivocally demonstrates that sustainable practices deliver measurable improvements in efficiency, resilience, and environmental outcomes that can directly impact the supply chain,” said Dr Gary Adams, president of the US Cotton Trust Protocol. He added that the findings provide brands with “credible data to back their sustainability claims”.
The Trust Protocol’s traceability system, which offers article-level information to brands and retailers, saw a 413 per cent year-on-year increase in Protocol Cotton Claim Unit uptake. In the last season 20 brands tracked 126,000 tonnes of fibre through the system, which the programme says equates to around 690 million finished products carrying verifiable US cotton.
The organisation argues this level of digital traceability helps brands respond to tightening rules on supply chain visibility and product-level reporting. “With emerging regulations like the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and growing stakeholder scrutiny, the need for verifiable, robust data has never been more important,” said executive director Daren Abney. He said the expansion of the traceability system shows that “the supply chain is embracing this new level of transparency”.
The Trust Protocol also points to widespread adoption of regenerative agriculture practices among its members. Around 63 per cent of growers are reported to be planting cover crops, while 57 per cent of enrolled acres are under no-till or conservation tillage. For the 2025 crop year the programme has launched a Regenerative Cotton Pilot designed to formally recognise and verify such practices and create a distinct sourcing option for brands that want traceable regenerative US cotton.
Meanwhile, the scheme continues to expand its footprint. Despite challenging weather and market conditions, grower membership rose 14 per cent to 1,512 in the latest year, while enrolled acreage increased 18 per cent to 2.58 million acres. The Trust Protocol says this growth gives brands a larger and more reliable pool of “sustainably produced” US cotton as they shift away from book-and-claim models toward physical traceability.
The full 2024/25 annual report, including methodology and detailed metric breakdowns, is available at report.trustuscotton.org.
