The world celebrates Environment Day to inspire positive change among individuals and organizations in the way we commute, wear, do business, or consume anything that could help in building towards a greener future. With the ongoing pandemic, the initiatives on sustainable practices and products to improve the overall health of the planet has gained more importance. As a natural fiber, U.S. cotton has gained importance for being sustainable and environmentally friendly in the textile industry.
On this Environment Day, COTTON USA along with COTAAP (Cotton and Allied Products Research Foundation) are focused to create awareness among the Indian consumers about how cotton is beneficial to the environment and encourage them to choose cotton clothing throughout the year.
Dr. Gary Adams, President of National Cotton Council of America, said: “We live in a society where preserving the planet is of growing importance as we continue to go through the pandemic with a steady focus on sustainability. The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol is a new sustainability standard for the U.S. cotton industry to drive continuous improvement for our growers and to help us better demonstrate the brands and retailers that the U.S. is producing sustainable, responsibly produced cotton. Please visit www.trustuscotton.org to learn more about this exciting and new sustainability program.”
Mr. Dhiren Sheth, the Chairman of Cotton and Allied Products Research Foundation, said: “COTAAP Research Foundation works with cotton growers across India with the sole intention of helping farmers increase and better their cotton produce. COTAAP is committed to the cause of advocating the benefits of growing and wearing cotton. Therein lies our mission which is to inspire from growers to wearers – Choose Cotton for Life. As it’s good for our planet. To know more about our work please visit www.cotaap.org.”
COTAAP and COTTON USA have come together on this World Environment Day to convey the message to Indian consumers “Cotton Apnao Environment Bachao’ (Embrace Cotton – Save the Environment.) The message was spread across major cities – Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, with a couple of leading radio stations in the country, Radio City and Fever FM, sharing interesting facts with the listeners about how cotton is beneficial for the environment. The three-day radio campaign began on 3rd June with the radio jockeys engaging the listeners with “Did You Know?” facts pertaining to cotton for the first two days. On 5th June (World Environment Day), the listeners were involved with a radio quiz contest containing questions related to cotton and the facts shared previously. Listeners participated actively and called up to answer the questions on the spot and five winners were awarded with exciting prizes.
Other than the radio campaign, the partnership organized online quiz and meme competitions on a youth oriented platform, “Dare2Compete,” with an aim to educate the upcoming generations about cotton fiber and the sustainable practices in the life cycle of cotton apparel or other products. The theme for the competitions was “Cotton: Good for my Planet.” Prize money to the winners and runners up along with participation certificates were provided to boost the competitions and motivate the participants. The competitions received a huge number of registrations and views, making the competitions a success.