Better Cotton Conference 2024: Interview With Ali Ertuğrul from USB Certification 

In June, we held our annual Better Cotton Conference in Istanbul, Türkiye, bringing together over 400 attendees online and in-person for two days of highly insightful discussions on how to accelerate impact at field level.  

The conference wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of our sponsors. This year, our headline sponsor was USB Certification, a global auditing and certification provider which aims to increase customers’ competitiveness and sustainability through national and international accreditations. It is also an approved third-party verifier for Better Cotton, authorised to carry out assessments against our Chain of Custody Standard. 

During the conference, we sat down with Ali Ertuğrul, Technical and Quality Manager for Textiles and Recycling at USB Certification, to discuss why events like the Better Cotton Conference are so important for the company.  

He explained USB Certification’s journey in the cotton sector, stressing the responsibility the organisation has to share the challenges they have faced and the lessons they have learned through their experiences with other actors in the sector in order to support collaborative change.  

He also highlighted the importance of centring farmers in storytelling to increase understanding of the real-world impact of the decisions that are taken downstream in the supply chain:  

Lastly, he emphasised the role of policy in driving positive change in the cotton sector. “Policy changes are important because we, as private sector participants, can only do so much,” he noted, expressing his optimism about the growth of due diligence directives across the world.

To hear what Ali had to say in full, check out the video below.  

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