Supply chain transparency — and honesty, with Crispin Argento, Managing Director of The Sourcery.

The Modern Cotton Story

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.