COTTON USA™ and Textile Genesis™ recently conducted a landmark supply chain workshop in Dhaka. The event focused on promoting the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol and Textile Genesis™ traceability platform, highlighting the growing demand for sustainable U.S. cotton within Bangladesh’s thriving textile industry. Around 70 representatives of mills & manufacturers who recently signed up to become members of the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol, were present at this workshop to learn about how to sign-up for and properly use TextileGenesis, which is the digital traceability platform used by the USCTP.
The workshop opened with welcoming remarks, setting the stage for a series of insightful presentations and discussions. Ali Arsalan, Country Representative at COTTON USA™ said, “I am very happy today to host the first-ever U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol and Textile Genesis™ workshop. Where we had around 70 supply chain participants who are recent USCTP members. And we are hearing from supply chain participants that top brands such as LEVIS, NEXT, KIABI, TESCO, TARGET and more, are continuously increasing their market share of US cotton rich products from Bangladesh. We are thrilled to support the supply chain mill through this workshop to ensure smooth migration to a platform which is new for many. And we look forward to hosting more workshops with the supply chain mills in the future.”
Ali Arsalan highlighted the benefits of using high-quality, sustainable U.S. cotton in the country’s textile industry and promised to strengthen collaborations with spinning factories.
Ali Arsalan also added, “the primary objective of Cotton Council International is to drive U.S. cotton exports, but along with this we have many products and services (all free!) to help supper Bangladesh’s textile spinning sector. Whilst Cotton Council International (CCI) – the export promotion arm of the National Cotton Council of America (NCC), is a non-profit trade association that promotes U.S. cotton fiber and manufactured cotton products around the globe – does not participate in commercial negotiations, we are committed to providing comprehensive support such as knowledge sharing, training programs, and technical assistance to spinning mills, all aimed at strengthening the local textile spinning industry, and ensuring local mills and manufacturers get the best performance out of US cotton!
Shahana Akter Kiron, Regional Lead – Bangladesh of TextileGenesis™ presented on “Creating Transparent Supply Chains” addressing topic like as traceability, value chain, exceptionality rather than competitor etc. She said, “It was amazing to be a part of the event and be a speaker there to talk about traceability. It inspires us when we see tremendous interest throughout the industry in Textile Genesis and how the supply chain actors are seeking solutions by placing their specific cases and having a design to work on our platform! We are hopeful that with the increasing number of tracked US cotton volumes in the Textile Genesis™ platform, we will create a huge impact on the Bangladesh market within a very short time!”
The vision of TextileGenesis™ was twofold: creating radical transparency from fiber-to-retail, and ensuring authenticity & provenance of sustainable textiles against generics. It was custom-built for the premium and sustainable textiles such as wood-based fibers, sustainable cotton, recycled polyester, specialty filaments, silk, wool and cashmere. Her session emphasized the importance of sustainable practices in business operations. Additionally, she showcased throughout the entire process of order in a nutshell.
A final Q&A session allowed participants to engage directly with the experts, fostering a collaborative exchange of ideas. The event concluded with a networking opportunity, enabling attendees to discuss potential partnerships and share valuable insights on advancing sustainability in the textile sector.
