# A Non-Fungible Token and Blockchain-Based Cotton Lint Traceability Solution
## 7 Conclusions  
This study proposes a quality traceability system for the cotton lint supply chain that combines NFT technology and the blockchain architecture. The system is built on the Ethernet public blockchain foundation and employs the ERC721 standard smart contract mechanism. The design includes four key smart contract modules: NFT generation for seed cotton and processed cotton lint, quality control certificate NFT management, the automated execution of market transactions, the secure transfer of funds and the confirmation of asset delivery and the change of ownership. At the same time, we integrate an IPFS decentralised storage system to store large volumes of data efficiently and securely, ensuring information integrity and reducing on-chain storage costs. The feasibility and fine-grained operation of the programme are demonstrated by outlining the algorithmic processes of NFT casting, auction transactions, the transfer of ownership and quality certification. After a cost-benefit analysis, considering factors such as gas fees, it is found that adopting a private blockchain environment may be more economically efficient. In addition, a security assessment reveals the solution's ability to withstand cyber-attacks and protect against potential security breaches. Compared to existing industry practices, our solution demonstrates significant advantages in terms of reliability, security, full traceability and information validation. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c} \hline \hline  & **Our Work** & **18** & **21** & **22** & **24** & **25** \\ \hline Blockchain platform & Ethereum & Ethereum & Ethereum & Ethereum & N/S & Ethereum \\ Proof of ownership & Yes & No & No & Yes & No & Yes \\ Auction and bidding & Yes & No & Yes & No & No & Yes \\ Product delivery & Yes & Yes & Yes & Yes & No & Yes \\ Non-fungible tokens & Yes & No & Yes & Yes & Yes & No \\ Quality certification & Yes & No & No & No & Yes & No \\ Off-chain storage & Yes & No & Yes & Yes & No & Yes \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 3: Comparison of our solution with existing solutions in other fields. Our proposed blockchain-based solution demonstrates how blockchain and NFT technology can be used to trace cotton lint from the harvesting to the marketing stage. The designed smart contracts represent the different stages of the traceability system. By presetting the smart contracts, the system can automatically execute and validate each stage's operations, ensuring the process's correctness and the internal operations' effectiveness. The non-comparability of blockchain technology ensures that, at every step of the operation, the data recorded by the system are accurate and reliable, and the effectiveness of the internal traceability process is high. As a digital voucher representing the unique identity and quality of cotton lint, the NFT can record all the key attributes and flow processes of the cotton lint and ensure the integrity of the information. The traceability system is not only applicable to cotton lint. It may also be applied to other types of agricultural or manufacturing supply chain management. This could be achieved by adapting the specifications and terminology of smart contracts to the needs of new supply chains. The solution's system architecture is versatile and scalable. It can be used as an essential reference for the construction of a new supply chain management system, in which the participant configurations, as well as the design of the NFT smart contracts, can be adapted to the specific needs of the new system. Although applying blockchain and NFT technologies to the cotton lint supply chain meets the real-world needs, the actual implementation still needs to be improved. The primary technical conditions of enterprises, local policy attitudes, technological threats and legal regulation are yet to be addressed. In the future, we will develop front-end DApps.