The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) and the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council of India (TEXPROCIL) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) and will endeavour to promote the branding and traceability of cotton produced across the nation, according to the media report.
The announcement was made at a recent conference attended by representatives of India’s Ministry of Textiles, which said that the agreement would go “a long way towards strengthening the textile sector”.
Work will focus on three pillars: traceability, certification and branding, and is expected to ensure that “cotton farmers get their due in the world markets”.
With financial support from government, the CCI and TEXPROCIL will look to promote the sustainability credentials of Indian cotton by boosting its visibility.
Traceability will be a priority and will be made possible via a string of technologies. The organisations say they’ll make use of geo-tagging and DNA-based solutions, which are typically applied to a material at the farm-stage and can be tracked throughout its lifecycle.
What’s more, a blockchain platform will be used to log all data, ensuring transactional information is securely input and can be monitored when required.
By ensuring the traceability of Indian cotton, it’s believed certification with leading industry standards will be encouraged as farmers will have the opportunity to highlight the credentials of their product in comparison to conventionally grown material.
Ultimately, these factors will give weight to the branding of Indian cotton as its sustainability attributes become more accessible “thereby facilitating premium pricing and providing a unique brand identity,” a statement added.
Textile minister of India Goyal was at the conference and insisted that the domestic textile sector is “progressing” under the leadership of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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