The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol is a new standard developed to help the U.S. cotton production sector further reduce its environmental footprint by enabling producers to assess their performance against specific sustainability goals. The Trust Protocol aims to position U.S. cotton as the responsible choice for textile mills and retailers across the globe. We caught up with Sam Lythgoe, Global Chief Business Development Officer for Hill Knowlton Strategies, an international firm representing the protocol, to better understand the rationale behind the program and its development.