Home - Better Cotton Initiative

In 2019, BCI celebrated its 10th anniversary! Take a journey through our first decade and the milestones that enabled BCI to evolve into the global initiative it is today. Ten Years of Transformation.

The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) is the largest cotton sustainability programme in the world. Together with our partners we provide training on more sustainable farming practices to more than two million cotton farmers in 21 countries. In the 2017-18 cotton season, licensed BCI Farmers produced more than five million metric tonnes of ‘Better Cotton’ – that accounts for around 19% of global cotton production! Find out more about our work and how we are progressing towards our 2020 targets in our 2018 Annual Report.

News and Blog

BCI Partners from Around the World Meet to Drive Sustainability in Cotton Farming

Monday, January 13th, 2020

The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) works with 69 field-level partners – Implementing... Read More

BCI Retailer and Brand Members Increase Sustainable Sourcing Efforts

Thursday, December 12th, 2019

In 2019, BCI Retailer and Brand Members are on track to source more than 1.3 million metric... Read More

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BCI FARMERS IN INDIA FORM THEIR OWN FARMER-OWNED COLLECTIVE AND IMPROVE THEIR LIVELIHOODS “In my village, cotton farming is hard work and families often struggle to make a living, particularly now that the rains are increasingly unpredictable,” says BCI Farmer Balubhai Parmar.
Balubhai is helping to lead an enterprising group of BCI Farmers who founded their own organisation — the Somnath Farmer Producer Organisation — in 2013, putting themselves at the forefront of continuously improving their members’ performance. The organisation helps its members — all of whom are licensed BCI Farmers — to save costs and achieve fairer prices for their cotton, while developing new ways to boost their income.

Read Balubhai Parmar’s Story from the Field - Link in our bio.
#BCI #BetterCotton #India #BCIfarmer #fieldstory #storyfromthefield #FPO #Farmerempowerment 📸 @vibhor__yadav

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In the remote, rural district of Muzaffargarh in Pakistan’s Punjab province, village communities farm the land to survive. Smallholder cotton farmers often rely on their families to lend a hand in the fields. Jam Muhammad Saleem is one such farmer. When his son turned 12, Saleem saw no choice but for him to leave school to work on their family farm. But just a year later, Saleem’s outlook changed completely. The reason? Better Cotton Initiative training.
Read Jam Muhammad Salem’s Story from the Field - Link in our bio. “I saw tears in my son’s eyes when I told him we were going to buy him some shoes… school shoes. Now, he is happy healthy and confident that his dreams will be fulfilled,” says BCI Farmer Jam Muhammed Saleem. 📸 @Khaula28
#BCI #BetterCotton #education #childrights #Pakistan #BCIfarmer #fieldstory #storyfromthefield #WWFPakistan

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ON THE FRONT LINE OF CLIMATE CHANGE WITH BCI FARMERS IN MADAGASCAR
Through the Towards Climate Resilience series, we explore how BCI Farmers in Australia, China & Madagascar are taking action to build their resilience to extreme weather and reduce their own carbon footprint.

Read the Madagascar Case Study – Link in our bio. “Over the last few years, we’ve faced ongoing torrid heat, drying winds and insufficient rain. When there isn’t enough rain, or the rain arrives late, the seeds perish in the soil and we have to plant again, delaying the growing season and increasing our costs,” says BCI Farmer Michel Paul.
#BCI #bettercotton #BCIFarmer #fieldstory #storyfromthefield #cotton #cottonfarmers #extremeweather #carbonfootprint #climatechange #Madagascar

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Stories

BCI Farmers in India Form Their Own Farmer-Owned Collective and Improve Their Livelihoods

Balubhai Parmar is helping to lead an enterprising group of BCI Farmers who founded their own organisation — the Somnath Farmer Producer Organisation — putting themselves at the forefront of continuously improving their members’ performance.... Read More

Towards Women’s Economic Empowerment in Mali: One Woman’s Journey to Improve the Lives of Rural Women

Tata Djire has always been fascinated by cotton farming and rural life, and she wanted to make a difference from an early age. She has spent her career supporting smallholder farmers and women.... Read More

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Participation

Become a BCI Member

BCI is a truly joint effort and more than 1,600 member organisations spanning the global cotton supply chain, from civil society and farmer organisations to retailers and brands, support our goal to transform the cotton sector.... Read More

Save the Date: 2020 Global Cotton Sustainability Conference

Join BCI and partners in Lisbon, Portugal on 9-11 June 2020, where the entire sector will come together to shape a more sustainable future for cotton.... Read More