#Raw Materials

2021-12-22

The ICAC releases its 2021 Annual Report

The International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) has released its 2021 Annual Report covering the 2020-21 fiscal year. It is the third edition since the project was initiated for the first time when Executive Director Kai Hughes joined the ICAC in late 2017.

Executive Summary

The 2021 ICAC Annual Report:

Provides transparency and accountability, especially in financial areas, and highlights projects, goals and initiatives for the coming year

Profiles the ICAC’s Committees, Delegates, Coordinating Agencies and Standing Committee Officers

Introduces multiple new editorial elements including the ICAC Value Proposition; Advantages of Hosting a Plenary Meeting; 'Meet the Secretariat' and more

Includes the Final Statement from the just-completed, fully virtual 79thPlenary Meeting

‘We want to ensure that the ICAC is both transparent and accountable for its efforts over the prior 12 months’, Mr. Hughes said. ‘We have a vision for what we want to accomplish over the next few years, but a vision alone isn't enough. This Annual Report provides information to our members about the ICAC’s past performance and future goals and it also reports back on our Strategic Plan — the document that all members of the Secretariat use to guide their efforts over the coming three years’.

The ICAC Annual Report contains a wealth of information, including:

A variety of metrics that will serve as a baseline for future performance, including Actual vs Budgeted performance, how money was spent and progress made on social media platforms;

Columns from the heads of ICAC Committees that detail their efforts from the past year and offer their vision for the future;

The 2020-22 ICAC Communications Plan, which guides both internal and external initiatives and communications,

A variety of new editorial elements — the ICAC Value Proposition, Advantages to Hosting a Plenary Meeting, and two 'Meet the Secretariat' entries for the brand-new positions added in 2021, Head of Textiles and Data Scientist.

The Final Statement from the 79th Plenary Meeting, which was fully virtual and held from 6-9 December 2021.

A PDF has been posted and you can view it here:

https://www.icac.org/Content/CFCDocument/Pdf3702fe01_bc2f_4055_883a_b200120ac780/2021%20Annual%20Report%20FINAL%20website.pdf

ICAC to support European Commission on pending PEF legislation

The International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) is proud to announce that it has been included as a member of the European Commission’s Technical Advisory Board (TAB) on the Product Environmental Footprint methodology. The Commission developed the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) to assess and communicate the life cycle environmental performance of products and organizations.

ICAC to collaborate with Uzbekistan and Bizpando on regenerative agriculture

The Government of Uzbekistan has allocated 55,000 hectares of land to implement a regenerative agriculture program for cotton as part of a collaborative project with the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) and Bizpando, a company with a a blockchain-based internet platform designed to ensure supply chain compliance.

Textile Exchange publishes cotton Life Cycle Assessment study to strengthen impact data

Textile Exchange has published the first in a series of seven Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies designed to improve the quality and robustness of environmental impact data for raw material production across the fashion, textile, and apparel industry. The first LCA study focuses on cotton and addresses critical data gaps and methodology variability through new high-quality data across key producing countries. The study includes organic, regenerative, recycled, and country averages for conventional cotton production systems, providing a clearer picture of the associated environmental impact.

Fashion for Good mobilises industry to adopt mass balance attribution and accelerate decarbonisation

Fashion for Good launches today the Mass Balance Demonstrator project, a collaborative industry initiative to implement and scale the mass balance attribution (MBA) chain-of-custody model for biomass-attributed PET in textile applications. The project represents a concrete step toward accelerating brand-driven decarbonisation across the apparel value chain.

A Powerful Opening: Global thought leaders launch the International Cotton Conference Bremen

The International Cotton Conference Bremen will open on 25 March 2026 in the Parliament building of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen with a keynote session of exceptional calibre. Distinguished international experts will set the stage for the conference by offering incisive perspectives on the most pressing challenges and the defining trends shaping the future of the global cotton trade. Their insights will span a broad spectrum — from geopolitically driven disruptions affecting global supply chains to the opportunities emerging from innovation-led agriculture capable of supporting a growing world population. Together, these opening keynotes will frame the dialogue of the conference, highlighting both the complexity of today’s market environment and the pathways toward a resilient and forward-looking cotton sector.

Lenzing Group positions bio‑based materials as a strategic asset for Europe’s economic security

The Lenzing Group, a leading supplier of regenerated cellulose fibers for the textile and nonwovens industries, hosted a high‑level roundtable in Brussels to discuss how bio‑based materials can strengthen Europe’s economic security and support the shift toward a fossil‑free future. Organized in cooperation with Euractiv, the event brought together representatives of the European Commission, the UK Mission to the EU, academia, civil society, and industry.

VANDEWIELE Group at Techtextil 2026 – Textile innovations together

The VANDEWIELEGroup will showcase its latest technologies for technical textiles at Techtextil 2026 in Frankfurt from April 21–24 (Hall 12.0, Stand C21). As a global leader in textile machinery, the group brings together specialised brands to support the evolving demands of high-performance textile applications. Visitors will discover solutions in laboratory testing, yarn joining, yarn feeding and thread tension monitoring, designed to create measurable value across the textile value chain.