In 1990, New Yorkers celebrated Earth Day with a concert in Central Park that, ironically, devastated the public green. Back then, environmental ideals sounded good, but the results did not always match the intentions.

Twenty years later, average consumers are much more enlightened. From their purchase of green cleaning products to fuel-sipping cars, they have proven that when given the option to do right by nature, they often will.

Today, 8 out of 10 consumers say they conserve energy at home, while 78% say they recycle, 74% purchase appliances that conserve energy, and 68% say they limit water usage to some degree, according to the Cotton Incorporated 2010 Environment Survey (Top 5 box on 11 point scale).

Consumers are busy doing their part, and they want industry to be accountable as well. Most consumers believe it is important for industries (including baby care, food, and apparel) to make claims � and believable ones, at that � about environmental friendliness. And a striking 42% of consumers say they would hold the manufacturer responsible if they purchased apparel and then found out it was produced in a non-environmentally friendly way.

Many in the apparel and textile businesses are working to meet these consumer expectations by increasing their green efforts.

The U.S. cotton industry is proactively creating initiatives to aid its global supply chain partners. U.S.-based cotton organizations have tapped PE Americas to compile a comprehensive cotton lifecycle inventory (LCI). The inventory will further the benchmarking efforts of the global cotton supply chain, and serve as a foundation for global cotton lifecycle evaluations.

As part of the cotton industry�s Vision 21 initiative, the new project entails collecting comprehensive data sets on cotton product lifecycles, and the implementation of these data sets within a lifecycle analysis (LCA) tool. The undertaking is a group effort by the Cotton Foundation, the National Cotton Council (NCC), Cotton Council International and Cotton Incorporated. The data collection and tool creation is expected to take approximately one year, with a goal of making the data sets an unbiased and credible foundation for sustainable textile planning.

Lifecycle Assessment is a recognized method of objectively and scientifically evaluating the resource requirements of a given product and the product�s potential environmental impact along every phrase of its production, use, and disposal. At the field level, similar benchmarking was done through the multi-commodity Field to Market Alliance, which sought to help growers assess the sustainable efforts on their farms through the Fieldprint Calculator.

J. Berrye Worsham, president and CEO of Cotton Incorporated, explains, �The collection of this current, third-party and peer-reviewed data will provide a gold standard for manufacturers, brands and retailers interested in bettering their environmental bottom line. It will also serve to validate the environmental gains the industry continues to make along every link of the supply chain.�

Walmart, the world's largest retailer, is also focused on global sustainability. As such, it is part of the Sustainability Consortium, which recently conducted sustainability research.

"The work of the Sustainability Consortium -- which helps develop metrics for measuring the environmental impacts of consumer products -- includes other retailers, suppliers, NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and academics from around the world," explains Kory Lundberg, spokesperson. "We are excited about what can be accomplished by looking at global supply chains to reduce waste, increase efficiency and ultimately increase the quality of products while reducing costs."

British retail giant Marks & Spencer developed an eco-conscious program in 2007 labeled Plan A, because "there is no Plan B." Working with customers and suppliers, the London-based retailer aims to combat climate change, reduce waste, use sustainable raw materials and trade ethically, "with the ultimate goal of becoming the world's most sustainable major retailer."

Cotton Incorporated continuously reviews and works to improve cotton's environmental footprint. By its funding of agricultural research programs throughout the U.S., it assists growers in adopting technologies and practices that conserve natural resources and enhance grower efficiency.

For example, LCI data shows cotton fields represent about 2.5% of the world's agricultural land, yet it produces 35% of the world�s textiles. Consistent yield increases over the last 40 years means the amount of land needed to produce a ton of cotton fiber today is half that was required 20 years ago. As for water usage, whether by rainfall or through irrigation, cotton's share of the global agricultural water footprint is 3%, which is proportional to its global land use footprint. This water produces not only fiber, but valuable cottonseed, whose uses include processed oil, meal feed and biofuel. Additionally, research and advances have led to a 23% reduction in insecticide use.

These improvements in cotton production dovetail with the 7 of 10 consumers who believe natural fibers are better for the environment than synthetics. Nine of 10 consider cotton to be safe for the environment.

Though industry-wide sustainability is a goal that has not yet been achieved, self-examination like that contained in the cotton industry's LCI data and continued improvements equals follow-through that can make a clear difference.