The Modern Cotton Story

Join us for a dynamic conversation with well-known and respected economist Dr. Sheng Lu, Associate Professor of Fashion & Apparel Studies at the University of Delaware, as he discusses the challenges and opportunities facing brands and retailers sourcing apparel from the CAFTA-DR region. According to Dr. Lu, sourcing from the CAFTA-DR region has many benefits, such as speed to market, but challenges remain including the controversial yarn-forward rule of origin required by the region’s free trade agreement with the United States which limits the ability of many companies to fully utilize the region as a sourcing hub.

This is an engaging podcast about apparel sourcing from a leading expert in the industry. Also, listen to how the global apparel industry is working to overcome the challenges of the pandemic, supply chain woes, difficult trade relations between countries, as well as the prospects of sourcing from the CAFTA-DR region in the coming years. This week’s podcast is not to be missed.

Hosted by Jennifer Crumpler, Fiber Development Manager and Manager of the e3 Sustainable Cotton Program from BASF, and interviewed by industry consultant Bob Antoshak.

Join us for a fascinating discussion with respected textile leader, Amrin Sachathep, Managing Director of Atlantic Mills (Thailand), as he describes the state of the global textile industry, its challenges and opportunities. According to Mr. Sachathep, the industry is recovering from the economic shock of the pandemic, but challenges remain for the industry to overcome.

This is an enlightening podcast about global textiles from a leading expert in the denim industry. Listen to how the global industry is working to overcome the challenges of the pandemic, supply chain woes, difficult trade relations between countries, as well as the industry's prospects in the coming years. This week’s podcast is not to be missed.

Hosted by Jennifer Crumpler, Fiber Development Manager and Manager of the e3 Sustainable Cotton Program from BASF, and interviewed by industry consultant Bob Antoshak.

Join us for a stimulating discussion with Auggie Tantillo, former CEO of Washington, DC-based National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), and a leading industry consultant, as he describes the state of America's textile industry. According to Mr. Tantillo, the industry is strong, made up of vibrant companies with world-class yarn, fabric and textile manufacturing.

This is an enlightening podcast all about U.S. textiles from a leading expert in the textile industry. Listen to how the American industry has evolved during the age of Covid and changing trade relations, and what the industry's prospects will be in coming years.

Hosted by Jennifer Crumpler, Fiber Development Manager and Manager of the e3 Sustainable Cotton Program from BASF, and interviewed by industry consultant Bob Antoshak.

Join us for a preview of the 2022 cotton crop with leading agronomists Luke Etheredge and Will Groover of BASF. Indeed, cotton planting has just started in parts of the U.S., so it’s a very busy time for farmers across the American farm belt. Listen to an update from Luke and Will as they discuss the challenges faced by farmers this year.

This is an enlightening podcast all about cotton from experts who “live”cotton every day.

Hosted by Jennifer Crumpler, Fiber Development Manager and Manager of the e3 Sustainable Cotton Program from BASF, and interviewed by industry consultant Bob Antoshak.

We have an important podcast this week as we host a discussion about government forced labor policy with Eric Choy, Acting Executive Director, Trade Remedy Law Enforcement, Office of Trade at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). He has worked in the government policy arena for many years, and has had a career in the U.S. military. Today, Mr. Choy directs CBP’s forced labor enforcement activities.

During our insightful discussion with Mr. Choy, we covered a range of policy issues including U.S. government policy concerning imported products made by forced labor, how the government enforces prohibitions against the importation of such products, as well as the mechanics of enforcing government policy. Our discussion covered topics including Withhold Release Orders (WRO), efforts to enforce the import ban on products exported to the U.S. from the Xinjiang province of China proven to be made with forced labor, along with new technologies to track the movement of raw materials throughout the Asian textile supply chain.

Hosted by Jennifer Crumpler, Fiber Development Manager and Manager of the e3 Sustainable Cotton Program from BASF, and interviewed by industry consultant Bob Antoshak.

Hear all the latest about the e3 Sustainable Cotton program from Jennifer Crumpler, Fiber Development Manager at BASF and Manager of the e3 Sustainable Cotton Program. Said Crumpler, “We have so many new things going on with the program in 2022.”

For this week’s podcast, we have a far-ranging and important discussion with Crispin Argento, Managing Director of The Sourcery (thesourcery.io), about apparel supply chain transparency. Mr. Argento passionately discusses the importance of protecting and educating cotton farmers throughout the world so they can make a decent living growing their crops in an environmentally-friendly way, while also ensuring the cotton they grow is accurately traced throughout the apparel supply chain.

Mr. Argento was recently quoted in a high-profile article in The NY Times entitled, “That Organic Cotton T-Shirt May Not Be as Organic as You Think,” where the accuracy of organic cotton claims made by some apparel brands were questioned, along with highlighting costs unfairly carried by some cotton farmers in support of a supply chain that often cares more about marketing than facts.

In fact, the lack of a true transparent supply chain from cotton to finished apparel prompted Mr. Argento to establish The Sourcery, a consultancy specializing in supply chain transparency, sustainable production, and farmer advocacy. Mr. Argento is also COO of FibreTrace, a firm specializing in physical and digital transparency for farmers and consuming companies in the textile supply chain.

This is an important program for anyone interested in sustainability, supply chain transparency, and support of cotton farmers.

Hosted by Jennifer Crumpler, Fiber Development Manager and Manager of the e3 Sustainable Cotton Program from BASF, and interviewed by industry consultant Bob Antoshak.

We have an enlightening and informative podcast this week as we host a discussion about the global textile industry with Navdeep Sodhi, a partner with the Gherzi Textil Organisation, the well-known Zurich-based global textile and apparel consulting firm. He has worked in the textile industry for many years, and is a leading expert on cotton, textiles, and made-up products like apparel. He’s also an expert in economic analysis, market research, and strategic planning.

During our fascinating discussion, Mr. Sodhi expressed his outlook for the textile and apparel industry in the future, while also discussing the impact the pandemic has had on accelerating change. He believes inflation will be a short-to-medium term problem for the industry. Also he outlines other economic factors directly affecting the industry today and tomorrow — including the digitalization of supply chains. This is an important program for anyone in the fiber, textile and apparel supply chain.

Hosted by Jennifer Crumpler, Fiber Development Manager and Manager of the e3 Sustainable Cotton Program from BASF, and interviewed by industry consultant Bob Antoshak.

We have an important podcast this week as we host a discussion about government trade policy with Bill Jackson, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Textiles . He has worked in government for many years, and is a leading expert of textile trade policy having worked on agreements such as the USMCA (the United-States-Mexico-Canada Agreement), the successor to NAFTA, and AGOA (the African Growth & Opportunity Act). Mr. Jackson has also worked at the State Department as a Foreign Service Officer.

During our fascinating discussion with Mr. Jackson, we covered a range of policy issues including the functioning of the USMCA, the importance of rules of origin in support of such agreements, and government policy regarding forced labor. Further, we discussed government policy regarding supply chain and port bottlenecks that have plagued the apparel industry since the outbreak of Covid-19. We also discussed near-shoring, and the prospects for the textile and apparel industries in the future.

Hosted by Jennifer Crumpler, Fiber Development Manager and Manager of the e3 Sustainable Cotton Program from BASF, and interviewed by industry consultant Bob Antoshak.

We have a terrific podcast this week as we talk cotton and economics with Dr. Louis Rose, the respected cotton and commodities analyst who is the Director of Research & Analysis at the Rose Commodity Group. He has worked in the cotton industry for many years and publishes a popular daily newsletter on the cotton markets, as well as maintaining an industry-leading database of predictive market analytics.

During our discussion with Dr. Rose, we covered a wide range of topics including the importance of changing demographics on cotton consumption, both in terms of aging populations and diminished population growth in countries like China and the United States. Further, we discussed various challenges facing the cotton industry today, the outlook for 2022, competition from synthetics fibers, and how the pandemic has affected demand for cotton around the world.

Hosted by Jennifer Crumpler, Fiber Development Manager and Manager of the e3 Sustainable Cotton Program from BASF, and interviewed by industry consultant Bob Antoshak.