How Walmart is Sourcing More Sustainable Cotton
Walmart has joined the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol, marking another step in its journey to driving meaningful change within its own supply chain.
The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol is the voluntary sustainability programme for US cotton growers and a traceability platform for all US cotton. Its existing members include Carhartt, Ralph Lauren, Levi Strauss & Co, Macy’s and Adidas.
It brings quantifiable and verifiable goals and measurements to the issue of responsible cotton production and drives continuous improvement in six key sustainability areas: land use efficiency, water use efficiency, energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, soil conservation and soil carbon.
Data-driven transparency and independent verification
The Trust Protocol underpins and verifies sustainability progress through sophisticated data collection and independent third-party verification.
Walmart, a global retail powerhouse, is the latest to join the programme. Walmart's membership marks an important moment for the retail industry, significantly scaling the impact of sustainable cotton sourcing and reinforcing the company's focus on regeneration and transparency in its supply chain.
Walmart’s people-led, tech-powered omnichannel retailer helps people save money and live better - anytime and anywhere - in stores, online and through their mobile devices. Each week, approximately 280 million customers and members visit more than 10,900 stores and numerous eCommerce websites in 19 countries.
With fiscal year 2026 revenue of US$713bn, Walmart employs approximately 2.1 million associates worldwide.
Driving change through verifiable sustainability goals
As a member of the Trust Protocol, Walmart will gain access to aggregated, verifiable data on sustainability practices from US cotton growers and have the ability to track the movement of US cotton and Protocol cotton through its supply chain.
Walmart has made it sustainability ambitions clear, looking to source more sustainable cotton and its broader ambition to help more sustainably manage, protect and/or restore at least 50 million acres of land and one million square miles of ocean by 2030.
"At Walmart, we are committed to providing our customers with quality products that are not only affordable but also produced in a way that is responsible and sustainable," says Jerome Del Porto, Head of Corporate Sustainability at Walmart.
"Joining the US Cotton Trust Protocol is another step in our journey to continue driving meaningful change within our own supply chain and the industry at large."
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Since 2020, the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol has operated as a voluntary, science-based sustainability initiative and traceability platform designed to provide quantifiable goals for the industry.
By aggregating field-level data across six critical metrics, including land use, soil health and greenhouse gas emissions, the programme ensures all progress is independently verified for accuracy.
This sophisticated data collection and full supply chain transparency offer major retailers the essential assurances required to confidently source more sustainably grown cotton.
"We welcome Walmart to the Trust Protocol, recognising the reach and influence their membership will extend in advancing sustainable cotton sourcing practices," adds Gary Adams, President of the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol.
"This collaboration directly strengthens our mission to drive continuous improvement and foster greater transparency in the supply chain."