We
We are the growers and dedicated employees of Staplcotn, America’s oldest and largest cotton cooperative. More than 100 years ago, a group of forward-thinking Mississippi cotton growers realized they would be more successful working together, and Staple Cotton Cooperative Association was born. Our organization is 100% grower-owned by nearly 3,000 family farms in 11 states – Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Staplcotn handles all aspects of cotton marketing for our grower-owners, connecting them directly with the global marketplace. Our extensive experience influences the daily decisions we make as we strive to add value for our growers and the entire cotton and textile industries.
Meet
Staplcotn is collaborative by nature – it’s how we think, how we are structured, and how we interact with our members, customers, and industry partners. Whether you are positioned closer to the dirt or the shirt in the global textile supply chain, we meet you wherever you are with a spirit of cooperation. Staplcotn takes pride in meeting the needs of our growers and customers alike and has always understood that we accomplish our goals when our stakeholders achieve theirs.
Your
Staplcotn knows how to help you succeed in the global cotton market. Navigating the complexities of cotton are second nature to us. From working on behalf of our growers with textile mills around the world to collaborating with global fashion brands and retailers, we achieve success by focusing on meeting the needs of everyone in the textile supply chain.
Growing
Staplcotn’s production of U.S. Memphis/Eastern upland cotton averages between 2 and 3 million bales annually. Our team of professional marketers manages all aspects of cotton marketing for our growers and customers. Our growers’ crops consistently meet the expectations of a global customer base that wants to source not only the right quality of cotton but also from a country of origin they can trust. Customers count on Staplcotn to deliver its growers’ cotton with high standards of professionalism and careful contract execution. Our U.S. grown cotton supply is widely recognized for its ethical and sustainable production practices and for being fully traceable back to the origin of each and every bale.
Needs
Needs change. Farms and supply chains continuously become more sophisticated. We live in a time of rapid advances in agriculture, science, and technology that promise value for the entire textile supply chain. At Staplcotn, we pride ourselves on fostering our growers’ engagement in programs that offer traceable, sustainable, regenerative, and data rich sourcing options to the supply chain while accruing benefits to participating growers through product differentiation. We are a progressive partner who recognizes the services we offer must evolve with the changing needs of the marketplace.
Experience. Integrity. Sustainability.
FOR OUR
Grower/Members
Our members join together to bring their crops to the market as one company. Growers do not “sell” their cotton to the association; rather, they sign an agreement before planting the crop passing title of any cotton produced on a particular farm directly to Staplcotn. The cotton is then marketed in Staplcotn’s name by our marketing professionals. Our signature Mill Sales Program offers growers and downstream buyers direct access to each other. Staplcotn handles all aspects of marketing for our members including pricing and risk management, inventory management, selling, shipping and payment so our growers can focus their efforts on other aspects of farming.
Management is overseen by our board of directors that consists entirely of grower/members who are elected by the membership. The proceeds from Staplcotn’s collective marketing efforts are distributed to the membership based on the quality and quantity produced. Every member shares equally, on a patronage basis, in the cooperative’s financial results.
FOR OUR
Customers
Whether we sell to our traditional textile mill customers or work with brands and retailers to meet their supply chain objectives, our goal remains the same: to provide quality, service, accountability, transparency, and data that drives modern commerce. Key attributes of U.S. cotton include its notoriety for responsible and progressive production practices, a strong national regulatory environment, USDA bale-specific quality readings, industry transparency, warehouse and logistics infrastructure that is built for scale, and bale by bale traceability. When you buy from Staplcotn, these valuable national characteristics are enhanced. Staplcotn’s customers benefit from a large, diverse inventory of cotton that is sold and shipped with the upmost professionalism to our buyers with their needs as our number one goal. We support a full range of sustainability programs and 100% of our bales are traceable back to their U.S. origin through the Permanent Bale Identification (PBI) system.
FOR OUR
Planet
Cotton is natural, biodegradable, and does not contribute to microplastic pollution. U.S. cotton is particularly known for its documented track record of progressive and responsible production practices. Our growers use advanced management practices aided by technology to decrease crop inputs while boosting yield. While many Staplcotn growers have focused on soil health for years, farming methods that are commonly considered to be regenerative for the soil are growing in popularity. Many Staplcotn growers utilize cover crops, reduced or no-tillage, nutrient management, integrated pest management, and crop rotation in order to promote healthy soil. Staplcotn identifies and verifies practices such as these used on its farms and tracks the deliveries of bales they produced all the way through its inventory. Our customers are afforded unique access to inventory grown under these management practices through various sourcing options including the Staplcotn Regenerative Practices Pool® (Staplcotn RPP). We are pleased to deliver this sourcing opportunity as a Field Partner Program of the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol. Additionally, Staplcotn has farmers enrolled in other sustainability and regenerative programs including U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol, Better Cotton, Regenagri®, and proprietary brand specific programs.
If You're Buying Cotton, Make It U.S. Cotton From Staplcotn.
Our cotton marketing professionals and the growers we represent have firsthand knowledge of the evolving markets for their production. Our growers understand they must be progressive to achieve the greatest success. Staplcotn has more than 100 years of experience in the evolving world of cotton and fashion, and our farmers have individual legacies of hard work, innovation, and endurance; but our history is not what defines us. It’s the years of experience and intuition that have molded a culture of continuous improvement, which provides the foundation for our future.