AI is no longer just transforming digital workflows—it’s rewriting the very genetics of agriculture. As climate risk escalates and resource constraints tighten, businesses are looking upstream to reinvent the raw materials of their supply chains. Tricia Carey, a sustainability executive with a storied track record in fiber innovation, has taken a pivotal role at Avalo, a biotech startup leveraging artificial intelligence and natural pollination to develop climate-resilient crops. Her move reflects a broader strategic shift toward embedding sustainability at the genomic level of supply chains—starting with cotton, one of the most environmentally intensive commodities. In this article, we unpack the implications of Avalo’s “rapid evolution” platform for sustainable sourcing, and why supply chain leaders should be paying close attention to this AI-powered agricultural breakthrough.
AI and Agriculture: Reengineering the Supply Chain at Its Source
Avalo’s proposition is striking: combine genomic analysis with AI to optimize crop traits like drought resistance, reduced input dependency, and higher yield—all without traditional genetic modification. Instead of gene editing, Avalo’s approach uses machine learning to map ideal genetic configurations and then employs natural cross-pollination methods—facilitated by bees—to propagate desired traits in crops.
At the heart of this strategy is a push to develop low-input cotton, a crop notorious for its resource intensity. Growing conventional cotton, particularly in water-scarce regions like northern Texas, has contributed to the depletion of critical water tables such as the Ogallala aquifer. Traditional cultivation practices often rely heavily on irrigation, synthetic fertilizers, and chemical pesticides, increasing both environmental degradation and operational costs. The need for regenerative, data-driven alternatives has never been more urgent.
By cutting fertilizer use by up to 30% and improving soil-microbe interactions, Avalo’s technology targets Scope 3 emissions—often the most opaque and hardest to reduce for apparel brands. As multinational corporations continue to grapple with ESG reporting mandates and emissions transparency, scalable innovations like this offer a concrete path forward.
From Fiber to Genome: A Veteran’s Strategic Pivot
Tricia Carey’s appointment as Chief Commercial Officer signals a mature, market-ready phase for Avalo. Known for her leadership at Lenzing and later at RENEWCELL, Carey brings a deep understanding of fiber systems, circularity, and global sourcing. Her move into the genomic space isn’t a departure from sustainability—it’s a deeper integration.
“This is about going further upstream,” Carey noted, referencing her career evolution from fiber to pulp, and now to seed. With her guidance, Avalo is scaling its two-year-old dryland cotton initiative in Texas—currently operating across 2,000 acres with 20 farmers—to reach tenfold growth annually. Backed by a recent $11 million Series A round led by Germin8 Ventures and supported by Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Avalo is well-positioned to commercialize its crops and offer brand partners a new lever for climate action and cost control.
Strategic Implications for Sustainable Procurement
For supply chain leaders, the key takeaway is the opportunity to future-proof sourcing strategies by influencing the origin of raw materials. As regulations tighten and demand for ESG transparency intensifies, embedding sustainability at the genomic level of crops offers a defensible path toward long-term risk mitigation and impact reduction.
Moreover, geopolitical tensions and shifting tariffs, such as the recent levies on agricultural inputs like potash and steel, are making agricultural cost structures more volatile. Initiatives like Avalo’s offer not only environmental resilience but economic resilience—by reducing dependence on high-cost inputs and increasing crop adaptability in uncertain climates.
As brands face mounting pressure to validate claims around carbon neutrality and regenerative agriculture, access to cotton with verifiable low-emission traits could offer a rare competitive edge. This makes Avalo’s model not only viable but highly attractive to ESG-conscious procurement teams and investors alike.
Examples of forward-thinking companies that could benefit from such innovation include Capri, Lenzing, Prada, and RENEWCELL—each of which has made commitments to circularity and low-impact sourcing strategies.
Conclusion
Avalo’s AI-driven crop evolution platform represents a critical inflection point for sustainable supply chains. With leaders like Tricia Carey steering commercialization, and a clear focus on reducing environmental and economic externalities, the company exemplifies how technology and biology can converge to solve systemic challenges. For executives seeking actionable strategies to meet ESG goals and stabilize future sourcing, upstream innovation in agriculture may be the most strategic—and overlooked—lever available. As sustainability evolves from product feature to core business imperative, redefining materials at the source could become a standard practice, not a niche experiment.