The cotton industry was joined by Adam Dawes from the Woolgrowers Association, Agriculture Counsellor in Vietnam, Tony Harman and Trade Commissioner, Chris Morley.

Brooke and Rob outlined the major activities undertaken with the ATMAC funding, what was achieved and the key lessons learned from the experience.

“The first lesson was that other commodities are facing similar challenges, whether they be other fibres or food industries. ATMAC has really helped us appreciate that we’re not in this alone and that there is a lot more opportunity to collaborate than we realised, particularly around issues such as sustainability certifications, traceability, EU legislation, digital product passports, data and human rights,” Brooke said.

“We also learned there is enormous value in Cotton Australia and ACSA working more closely together in a pre-competitive way to secure market access at both ends of the supply chain. Through a number of shared projects and joint initiatives we’ve learned a lot from each other and have been able to understand the drivers and the perspectives more deeply than ever before.

“Finally, it’s become very apparent that we need to better align industry needs with customer needs to set ourselves up for a future where our markets will look very different to five or 10 years ago.

“It’s time to leverage almost three decades of investment in sustainability, data and innovation to capture the value that’s out there for our cotton. Brand and retail customers are not just looking for quality, but sustainably certified cotton, free from human rights abuses, backed up by data to verify claims, and measure progress and impact.

“The Strategic Roadmap for Australian Cotton, funded by ATMAC, is in its final stages of development and will provide clear direction for the industry on the crucial topics of sustainably certified cotton, human rights, traceability, data and Australian cotton marketing. This roadmap will set us up for a future that is messier, more complex and demands more of our supply chains and our farmers than ever before,” Brooke said.