For Immediate Release
Date Posted: 29 November 2022
ICAC Launches 80th Plenary Meeting, Fully Virtual and Free to All
The 80th Plenary Meeting of the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) — which has the theme, ‘Driving Sustainability through Innovation and Leadership’ — has a lot of similarities with the event held in 2021 but there are a few new twists this year.
Like the 79th Plenary, this year’s meeting is fully virtual and free to all who want to attend, and as usual much of the opening day was dedicated to five sustainability-focussed reports from the ICAC Secretariat. There were also the annual speeches from the Chair of the Standing Committee and the ICAC Executive Director, as well as the award presentation for the 2022 ICAC Researcher of the Year, Dr Jodi Scheffler.
However, given the emphasis on sustainability, the ICAC also put together a session unlike any it has ever held before: One consisting of brief presentations from each Member government answering the question, ‘What Climate Smart, Sustainability Policies/Initiatives Have you Put in Place for Cotton and Textiles, for Example to Respond to COP26?‘
‘It was fascinating to hear how different governments from all over the world are responding to the climate change crisis’, said ICAC Executive Director Kai Hughes. ‘The problem is global and can’t be solved by any one country, so communication is critical. It is our hope and belief that some of the ideas discussed in that session will spark bigger conversations among more and more stakeholders, who are going to have to work together to successfully guide the cotton and textile industry through the hazards and challenges that lie ahead’.
The Plenary Meeting will continue with two major sessions on each of the next two days (all times are GMT-5):
- Wednesday 30 November, from 8:00 am through 12:00 pm, will feature the Technical Session, ‘How Can Regenerative Agriculture Contribute to a Sustainable Cotton Industry?’, as well as the Private Sector Advisory Council session, ‘Regulatory Policies by Governments that Could Negatively Affect the Consumption of Natural Fibres’.
- Thursday 1 December sessions include ‘Rethinking Fashion and Textiles for 2030‘ from 9:10 am through 11:00 am, and the World Cafe, ‘The Evolving Global Textile Supply Chain‘, from 11:10 am through 12:10 pm.
The ICAC’s Virtual 80th Plenary Meeting has the theme, ‘Driving Sustainability through Innovation and Leadership’ and is being held 29 November to 1 December. You can join the meeting when it is in session by clicking here.
Speaker presentations and the 80th Plenary Meeting’s agenda can be found here. An announcement will be sent in the coming days once all recorded presentations are uploaded and available on YouTube.
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About the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC)
Formed in 1939, the ICAC is an association of cotton producing, consuming and trading 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 programme. Committed to ensuring cotton’s continued sustainability, the ICAC is the only intergovernmental commodity body covering cotton that is recognised by the United Nations. For more information, please visit www.icac.org, Twitter or LinkedIn.