India, Sept. 25 -- Cotton is much more than a textile fiber; it is a lifeline for over 100 million families globally, anchoring rural economies, empowering women, and driving vast industrial ecosystems. Countries such as India, with more than 7 million cotton farmers and an extensive textile sector employing over 45 million people, exemplify cotton's profound socio-economic impact. Concurrently, cotton production worldwide faces converging threats from climate change and environmental degradation - factors that exacerbate social inequities tied to access, opportunity, and resilience.

The suggestion for an International Year of Cotton embodies an urgent, collective opportunity to reimagine cotton's future as a "Boll of Hope," symbolising ...