Indian Society for Cotton Improvement (ISCI)

Sustainability has become a fundamental aspect of planning and development activities, which in agriculture sector can be achieved through circular economy. The concept of circularity promotes a regenerative system where the product life cycle is extended through use, reuse, and recycling by minimizing the waste and pollution. Coon, a vital commercial crop impacts livelihoods of millions of farmers and other stakeholders throughout its value chain. It exemplifies an industrial crop where all parts of the plant, including fibre, seed, stalks, and their by-produce are commercially utilized. Despite its circular nature, cotton undergoes water, chemical and energy-intensive processing treatments, which have substantial environmental impact. Moreover, globally about 92 million tonnes of textile waste are dumped into landfills each year, with India contributing around 8.5% of this. What happens to the waste generated after ginning, seed processing, spinning and weaving from fibres, similarly there is limited knowledge about uses of wastes after converting stalks into briquettes, pellets from coon stalks, etc.

Technological innovations are aimed at reducing resource consumption and adding value to waste. However, there remains significant potential to improve the existing unorganized sectors. This improvement can be done through education and awareness among the stakeholders to address the circularity of coon products and by products. With the concept of circular economy as a sustainable alternative to the traditional linear economic model of take, make and dispose, it is right time for researchers in the domain of cotton to deliberate on ways forward to take the cotton sector to the path of circular economy and create a sustainable system that is more resource efficient and has greater value proposition.

This conference aims to provide a wider platform for researchers and other stake holders to develop understanding of the circular economy of cotton highlighting the current practices, technological advancements, policy frameworks, challenges and prospects addressing its various dimensions covering cotton cultivation, lint, seed, linters, and stalks in the value chain.