Better Cotton is the world’s leading sustainability initiative for cotton. Our mission is to help cotton communities survive and thrive, while protecting and restoring the environment.
In just over 10 years we have become the world’s largest cotton sustainability programme. Our mission: to help cotton communities survive and thrive, while protecting and restoring the environment.
Better Cotton is grown in 22 countries around the world and accounts for 22% of global cotton production. In the 2022-23 cotton season, 2.13 million licensed Better Cotton Farmers grew 5.47 million tonnes of Better Cotton.
Today Better Cotton has more than 2,700 members, reflecting the breadth and diversity of the industry. Members of a global community that understands the mutual benefits of sustainable cotton farming. The moment you join, you become part of this too.
The founding premise of Better Cotton is that a healthy sustainable future for cotton and the people that farm it is in the interests of everyone connected with it.
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After 10 years of fruitful partnership, Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF) and Better Cotton are establishing a new form of collaboration for greater impact. The new set-up between our two organisations will be focused on creating joint projects for smallholder farmers in Africa. These projects will likely address areas of common interest such as climate change adaptation and mitigation, soil fertility, biodiversity, women’s empowerment, and child labour. We will seek funding from both public and private donors to support the work.
In 2012, Cotton made in Africa (CmiA), an initiative of the AbTF, and Better Cotton entered into a strategic partnership agreement based on the successful benchmarking of the two standards which enabled CmiA verified cotton companies to sell their CmiA verified cotton as Better Cotton and allowed textile companies and traders to demand the sustainably produced Cotton made in Africa cotton as Better Cotton. Since the initial agreement, both of our organisations have grown and evolved significantly. Therefore, AbTF and Better Cotton have decided to end our current agreement and enter into a new form of cooperation that allows for more flexibility and innovation. Together, we recognise that we can make the biggest impact through concrete projects that create lasting benefits for people and the environment. In line with this, the sale of CmiA-verified cotton as Better Cotton will be discontinued at the end of 2022.
AbTF and Better Cotton remain united in our shared goal of making cotton cultivation more sustainable for farming communities and the environment, while providing the global textile sector opportunities to integrate an ecologically, economically and socially sound raw material into their sourcing practices.
The partnership was a joint effort that brought greater sustainability to the cotton and textile industry whilst helping to protect nature and create economic and social benefits for smallholder farmers and ginnery workers. We appreciate the open exchange of views, ideas and issues of special interest with Better Cotton; it is obvious that both organisations have common goals. CmiA has grown strong over the last years. We are looking forward to continuing to pursue our endeavors for sustainable cotton production in a new form.
Tina Stridde, Managing Director of AbTF
The initial partnership between Better Cotton and AbTF represented a groundbreaking collaboration between standards organisations at the time. Together, we have supported more than a million smallholder farmers across Sub-Saharan Africa and connected them to the ever-increasing demand for more sustainable cotton. Now is the time to re-imagine how we can use our individual strengths to create even more impact together. We look forward to this new form of collaboration moving forward.
Lena Staafgard, Chief Operating Officer at Better Cotton
About the Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF) & Cotton made in Africa (CmiA)
The Cotton made in Africa initiative (CmiA) was founded in 2005 under the umbrella of the Hamburg-based Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF). CmiA is an internationally recognized standard for sustainably produced cotton from Africa, connecting African small-scale farmers with trading companies and fashion brands throughout the global textile value chain. The initiative’s objective is to employ trade rather than donations to protect nature and improve the living conditions of around one million cotton farmers and their families in Sub-Saharan Africa. Small-scale farmers and ginnery workers benefit from better working conditions. Additional projects in the fields of school education, environmental protection, health or women’s empowerment support farming communities in living a better life.
Better Cotton is the world’s largest cotton sustainability programme focused on supporting cotton farming communities to survive and thrive, while protecting and restoring the environment. Through its network of field-level partners Better Cotton has trained over 2.5 million farmers — from the smallest to the largest — in 25 countries in more sustainable farming practices. Nearly a quarter of the world’s cotton is now grown under the Better Cotton Standard. It unites the industry’s stakeholders beyond the cotton farm, from ginners and spinners to brand owners, civil society organisations and governments, to drive positive change.
Do you want to know what the largest cotton sustainability programme in the world is up to? Keep up to date with the latest developments and hear from BCI Farmers, Partners and Members in the new BCI Quarterly Newsletter. BCI Members also receive a Monthly Member Update.
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