Certification

What is Conflict-Free Cotton Certification?

Our certification represents a revolutionary shift in cotton production. Utilizing cutting-edge technology on John Deere cotton harvesters, we issue a "digital birth certificate" for each batch of cotton. This certificate includes geospatial footprints, detailed farm and harvest data, and unique serial numbers, ensuring that our cotton is verifiably free from human rights abuses. This "digital birth certificate" sets a new standard for transparency, traceability, and accountability, ushering in the era of Conflict-Free Cotton. The Digital Track and Trace (DATT) Solution, born from this innovative approach, empowers global textile brands to source cotton confidently, verified to be free from the common human rights violations associated with cotton harvesting.

Your Path to Conflict-Free Cotton Certification

Achieving certification with Conflict-Free Cotton involves integrating the Digital Track and Trace (DATT) technology across your cotton operations. This system not only traces the entire journey of the cotton from the field to the final product but also ensures that all processes are compliant with established global standards against human rights violations.

Upon integration, each batch of cotton is issued a "Cotton Origin Digital Birth Certificate." This certification underscores a new era in the cotton industry by providing a detailed record of the cotton's origins and confirming that it is harvested using machinery—a crucial measure to ensure the cotton is free from human rights abuses.

Key Features of the DATT Solution:

• Digital Verification: Confirms that cotton is machine-harvested, adhering to global ethical standards.
• Human Rights Compliance: Ensures that your cotton is harvested without human rights violations, providing peace of mind for you and your customers.
• Digital Traceability: Establishes a comprehensive digital chain of custody from the field through to the ginning factory and on to the textile mills, ensuring every step is traceable.
• Audit Enablement: Allows independent auditors to verify the traceability and integrity of the cotton, enhancing credibility.

Additionally, the DATT technology includes the creation of a “Digital Passport” for each batch of cotton. This passport is sequentially stamped and updated at each stage of the manufacturing process—from the ginning factory to spinning mills and all the way to finishing factories. This not only ensures continuous traceability but also maintains a searchable database containing the Uster HVI 1000 standard, allowing spinning mills to query cotton fiber characteristics. By adopting the Digital Track and Trace solution, brands and manufacturers can confidently ensure their cotton has not been blended with inferior or unethically sourced fibers after harvest. This system sets a new standard for transparency and accountability in the cotton industry.

Supplier and Manufacturer Conflict-Free Cotton Certification

Farmers Farmers receive certification by utilizing advanced John Deere Cotton pickers outfitted with the DATT technology. This setup not only ensures compliance with ethical standards but also generates a Cotton Origin Digital Birth Certificate for each harvest, providing benefits like:

• Digital verification of machine-harvested cotton.
• Assurance that cotton is harvested without human rights violations.
• Digital traceability from the field to the gin.

Gins Gins receive certification by incorporating DATT technology to monitor cotton as it transitions from raw fiber to baled fiber. This technology stamps each step of the process with a digital passport, ensuring:

• Continuation of the cotton's digital traceability.
• Verification that each batch of cotton remains free from human rights violations.

Textile Mills (Spinning, Knitting/Weaving, Dyeing, and Finishing) Textile mills are certified when they integrate DATT technology to track each batch of cotton through its processing stages. Each cotton product is accompanied by a Digital Passport, which includes its Cotton Origin Digital Birth Certificate. This ensures:

• Full traceability through digital chain of custody solutions.
• The ability for independent auditors to confirm the cotton's traceability and compliance.

Retailer and Brand Member Conflict-Free Cotton
Certification

Fabric Distributors and Brands Both fabric distributors and brands achieve certification by purchasing cotton that comes with our Digital Passport. This credential ensures:

• Digital verification of machine-harvested cotton.
• Confirmation that the cotton is free from human rights abuses.
• Complete digital traceability from the field to fashion.

Compliance Member Conflict-Free Cotton Certification

Banks and Financial Institutions Banks obtain certification by engaging with our traceability system, ensuring that their financial backing supports ethically harvested cotton. This includes:

• Verification of cotton's ethical harvesting and processing.
• Comprehensive traceability from cotton fields to textile mills.

Auditors Independent third-party auditors play a crucial role in our certification process. They validate the cotton's traceability, ensuring that all data from the field to the fabric is accurate and transparent.

Why Cotton Certification Matters

At Conflict-Free Cotton, we are committed to transforming the global textile industry through innovation and integrity. By joining our certification program, you become part of a collaborative effort to ensure that every piece of cotton is not only of the highest quality but also ethically sourced and traceable from field to fabric. Together, we can create a future where the cotton industry operates transparently and ethically, respecting both the environment and human rights. Embrace the change, support ethical practices, and help us weave a tapestry of trust and sustainability that extends across the globe.