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Sustainability

Carhartt Joins U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol

The move will help the workwear brand on its journey to use more responsibly sourced materials, according to the company.

A popular workwear brand that’s offered by several industry suppliers is upping its commitment to responsibly sourced materials.

Carhartt this week joined the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol, a voluntary sustainability program for U.S. cotton growers and traceability platform for all U.S. cotton.

rack full of Carhartt jackets

“We pride ourselves on a history of manufacturing gear that is built to last from day one with the best and most durable materials available,” said Gretchen R. Valade, director of sustainability at Carhartt. “Becoming a member of the Trust Protocol enables us to continue our exploration into more responsibly sourced materials, which is the next step in our mission to leave a better world for the next generation of hardworking people.”

Membership in the protocol will also provide transparency as Carhartt works to gain greater insight into its supply chain. The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol’s system provides quantifiable, verifiable goals and measurement, and drives continued improvement in six key sustainability metrics: land use, soil carbon, water management, soil loss, greenhouse gas emissions and energy efficiency. The Trust Protocol also said it offers article-level supply chain transparency to all members.

“Continuous improvement is a key part of our philosophy, which is why we’re eager to help our members work toward greater sustainability by providing measurable and verifiable farm-level data, as well as traceability of the U.S. cotton they are sourcing,” said Daren Abney, executive director of the Trust Protocol.

At the beginning of the year, Carhartt also became a member of Better Cotton, a worldwide cotton certifier and sustainability initiative.

Carhartt has made other sustainability pushes of late. In March, for example, the brand expanded its trade-in resale site, allowing customers to mail in their worn Carhartt gear. At the time, the company said its Carhartt Reworked program had already allowed it to extend the life of more than 43,000 garments and kept overmore than 68,000 products out of landfills.

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