News
CSITC Releases Its Newest Guide on Instrument Testing Requirements
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 20, 2025
Washington, DC — The modern world moves fast — especially in technology, which seems to advance by leaps and bounds on a daily basis. To ensure the cotton industry can keep up, the International Cotton Advisory Committee’s (ICAC) Committee for Commercial Standardization of Instrument Testing of Cotton (CSITC) has released an updated version of the CSITC Guide (version 4.0, February 2025). The Guide, which has been authored by many globally recognized cotton experts, aims to provides information on the requirements for standardized instrument testing of cotton. Topics covered in the CSITC Guide 4.0 include:
- Requirements of Sampling
- Laboratory Requirements
- Atmospheric Conditions
- Calibration
- Testing Methods
This Guide was first released in May 2012 and was originally made possible by funding from the Common Fund for Commodities and the European Union, with support from the ICAC and the Faserinstitut Bremen
Further updates have been provided by ICAC, the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF), members of CSITC, the ICAC Plenary Meeting Breakout Sessions, and the ITMF International Committee on Cotton Testing Methods.
In addition to English, we anticipate that the guide will be made available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish in the foreseeable future.
ABOUT THE CSITC
Every quarter since 2007, CSITC Round Trials are conducted via cooperation among ICAC (managing participants), Bremen Fibre Institute (organization and evaluation), and USDA (sample provisions and dispatch). The goal is for all labs to achieve test results that are fitting to the reference values, so that the deviation between laboratories is reduced, which will help limit the number of costly arbitration claims suffered by both buyers and sellers.
Laboratories that are interested in learning more or want to participate in the 2024 RTs should send an email to csitcsecretariat@icac.org or Maria Borisova (maria@icac.org). For more information about CSITC, please click here. To see a brochure about what CSITC does and the benefits it provides, please click here.
__________________________________________________
About the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC)
Formed in 1939, the ICAC is an association of cotton producing, consuming, trading, and investing countries. It acts as a catalyst for change by helping member countries maintain a healthy world cotton economy; provides transparency to the world cotton market by serving as a clearinghouse for technical information on cotton production; and serves as a forum for discussing cotton issues of international significance. In addition, members can take advantage of the ICAC’s global network of cotton researchers, whose expertise covers the supply chain from farm to textile manufacturing, and have free access to its cutting-edge technologies like the voice-based app and virtual technology cotton training program. Committed to ensuring cotton’s continued sustainability, the ICAC is the only intergovernmental commodity body covering cotton that is recognized by the United Nations. For more information, please visit www.icac.org, Twitter or LinkedIn.