The Wrangler Science and Conservation Program launched in Europe February 5 at the Agrotica international agricultural fair in Thessaloniki, Greece.

Building on an existing initiative in the United States, the iconic denim brand will collaborate with European farmers to promote sustainable agricultural production and land stewardship practices that advance soil health and traceability in the supply chain.

“Wrangler products are made with cotton grown all over the world, so it’s important that we help drive the entire industry toward more sustainable production,” said Roian Atwood, Senior Director of Sustainability at Wrangler. “It’s been great to learn from European farmers, to share our research and to unite against major industry challenges like the loss of valuable topsoil.”

Wrangler Science and Conservation Program Ambassadors co-hosted a practices-based dialog on sustainable agriculture at the Agrotica Fair with BASF’s Greece-based Certified FiberMax Cotton Program. Steve Groff, Wrangler ambassador and founder of Cover Crop Coaching, discussed his experiences and solutions to key challenges with the local growers, who, in turn, shared their journeys to land stewardship and committed to continuous improvement.

“The importance of soil health cannot be overstated,” said Groff, one of the world’s foremost experts on cover crops. “Healthy soils are the backbone of agriculture – essential to our lives. Farmers and their supply chains must work together to protect and restore this precious resource to preserve the future vitality of agriculture.”

Launched in 2017, the Wrangler Science and Conservation Program is an alliance of industry experts, pioneering farmers and nonprofit partners that sponsors research, farmer workshops and promotes soil health farming practices. Aiming to help build a more resilient and regenerative cotton supply, these practices are not exclusive to cotton producers and can be adopted by all farmers and ranchers.

Research shows these science-based methods can increase yield while reducing water and energy inputs, fighting erosion and adding more carbon into the soil. Wrangler aims to source 100% of its cotton from farms using land stewardship practices by 2025.

BASF joined forces with the Wrangler Science and Conservation Program in 2019 to advance traceability for sustainable cotton in the United States. The initiative linked on-farm sustainability performance with finished garments and helped launch The Wrangler Rooted Collection, in which five farming families provided sustainable cotton in a special assortment of jeans and shirts made with BASF’s U.S.-sourced e3 cotton.

Based on information provided by Wrangler