Responsible cotton leads the way towards sustainable progress

By+Zheng+Ran

What is Cotton LEADSTM？ Please briefly introduce this program.

The Cotton LEADSTM program is a program founded by an alliance of industry organization in Australia and the United States of America. The program is based on a commitment to core principles and nationallevel capabilities to effect change and continual improvement.

A committee， consisting of three members from Australia， three members from the United States， and two members from partnering industry organizations， oversees the activities and use of funds for the Cotton LEADSTM program.

Would you like to talk about the protagonist — cottons of the Cotton LEADS？ ？

The Cotton LEADSTM program includes upland and pima cotton varieties grown in Australia and the United States. Cottons can be conventionally grown and organically grown.

Conventionally grown： often described as modern and efficient cotton， these cottons are readily available on the world market. Conventional cottons can be grown using combinations of biotechnology， conservation tillage， non-synthetic and synthetic inputs， integrated pest management and cutting edge technologies to maximize efficiencies. The use of these modern technologies has resulted in tremendous gains in yield， enhanced fiber and more sustainable cotton production.

Organically grown： refers to a method of farming without the use of synthetic inputs or biotechnology. Organic production relies primarily on nonsynthetic pesticides for pest control， hand hoeing and tillage for weed control， and the use of manures and legume cover crops for fertilizers. Organic cotton is produced within a set of strict standards and management practices， enforced through audits and field inspections by national organizations.

What does the U.S. do to guarantee the cottons quality and to improve resource efficiency？

In the U.S.， both conventional and organic cotton are food crops and are regulated by government agencies， including the Food and Drug Administration（FDA）， the United States Department of Agriculture（USDA）， and the Environmental Protection Agency（EPA）， in the same way as other food crops under the provisions of the U.S. Food Quality Protection Act（FQPA）. For organically-produced cottons， the USDA enforces National Organic Program （NOP） standards.

Improvement in resource efficiency since 1980： cotton production in the United States continues to lead in the implementation of best management practices and continual improvement in key environmental indicators.

The result of continuous improvement is significant reductions in all five resources to produce one kilogram of cotton fiber and 1.4 kilograms of seed.

Land use： 30% reduction

Soil erosion： 68% reduction

Irrigation water applied： 75% reduction

Energy use： 31% reduction

Greenhouse gas emissions： 22% reduction

Water： in the U.S.， cotton is grown both with and without irrigation. Cotton only accounts for about 4% of the agricultural water use in the U>S> and is often grown because it is the only crop sufficiently tolerant to drought to grow in a region such as West Texas， without irrigation.

81% of U.S. cotton producers recognize the need for efficient irrigation. From 1988 to 2008， the percentage of irrigation delivered by efficient water delivery systems more than tripled in the U.S.

Since 1980， irrigation water applied per pound of cotton has declined 75%.

Pest management： according to a survey of U.S. cotton growers in 2008， 44% of U.S. cotton farms had fields that required no foliar insecticides and nearly one-third of U.S. cotton acreage required absolutely no insecticide applications at all. Only about 5.17 grams of total pesticides are applied per kilogram of U.S. cotton produced， on average， and there has been a 50% reduction in the number of insecticide applications over the last 25 years.

Land use & soil conservation： due to technological advance in production and best management practices in the U.S.， cotton yields have doubled and land devoted to cotton production has declined over time； regard to soil conservation， it is the prevention of soil losses due to natural elements such as wind and rain. Modern production practices allow cotton growers to achieve high levels of soil conservation and input efficiencies that both increase yield and reduce production cost.

There has been a 30% reduction in land required to produce one kilogram of cotton linit since 1980.

Two-thirds of U.S. growers use some form of conservation tillage and soil loss has been reduced by 68% in the last 30 years.

Energy reduction： from field to bale， cotton production is energy positive. About 1，400 kilograms of seed are produced per hectare of cotton， on average in the U.S.， which equates to over 220 liters of biodiesel per hectare. The total energy stored in the cottonseed is more than required to grow and gin the cotton crop， and there has been a 31% improvement in energy use per kilogram of cotton lint.

Greenhouse gas： energy conserving innovations such as reduced number of tillage passes and more efficient irrigation systems have reduced greenhouse gas emissions. While in the U.S.， there has been a 22% improvement per kilogram since 1980.

I notice that in the promotion， youve mentioned the program is “Beyond agriculture”. What does it mean？

The Cotton LEADSTM program is actively involved in benchmarking beyond the agriculture boundary. The Cotton Life Cycle Inventory （LCI） aims to provide a global comprehensive inventory of data relating to cotton production and textile manufacturing. The associated Life Cycle Assessment （LCI） utilizes global LCI data to present a comprehensive cradle-tograve examination of representative cotton products， specifically knit golf shirts and woven pants， and includes garment creation， consumer product use and maintenance， transportation and product end-of-life. To make a long story short， the LCA is another way that the Cotton LEADSTM program is leading the way in sustainable cotton supply chains.