In the second half of 2019, the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) welcomed more than 210 new members across its membership categories. BCI works with members across the cotton supply chain and beyond to ensure there is continuous demand and supply of Better Cotton – cotton produced by licensed BCI Farmers in line with the Better Cotton Principles and Criteria.
New members in the second half of 2019 included 32 retailers and brands from 13 countries, 179 suppliers and manufacturers and three civil society organisations.
The civil society organisations that joined BCI in the second half of the year are the Indira Priya Darsini Women’s Welfare Association (India), which addresses women’s empowerment, sustainable agriculture, child labour, skill development and training; the Sustainability Innovation Advocacy Foundation Pakistan, an organisation of researchers, scientists and policy scholars committed to sustainable development; and the Pakistan Rural Workers Social Welfare Organisation, which seeks to improve the socio-economic conditions of disadvantaged, vulnerable and rural communities.
BCI was also joined by a number of retailers and brands in the second half of 2019. New members are Acturus Capital SL (El Ganso), Amazon Services, AS Colour, Biniaraix Manufacturing SLU (Camper), Capri S.r.L, Centrale d’Achats Kidiliz, Debenhams, Decjuba, Drykorn Modevertriebs GMBH & Co., Factory X, General Pants Co, Hawes and Curtis, House of Anita Dongre Limited,Hunkem√∂ller, Indicode Jeans, J Barbour and Sons Ltd, J.O.G. Group B.V., JoJo Maman B√©b√©, Keen & Toms Holding Limited – Hypnos Beds, Kontoor Brands Inc., Lifestyle International Pvt Ltd, M&Co, Mamiye Brothers, Medanta Oy, Mulberry Company (Design) Ltd, Oasis and Warehouse Ltd, PWT Group A/S, River Island Clothing Co. Ltd, Schoolblazer, Shop Direct Home Shopping Limited, The Cotton Group SA/NV (B&C Collection) and The Warehouse Group Limited.
In total, 66 new retailers and brands joined BCI in 2019. Of these 66 new members, 52 had already started sourcing cotton as Better Cotton by the end of the year. This reinforces the trend we see, that more sustainable materials are an important part of any sustainability programme in the fashion and retail sector.
Retailer and brand member sourcing of cotton as “Better Cotton’ directly translates into increased investment in training for cotton farmers on more sustainable practices, due to BCI’sdemand–drivenfunding model. The total uptake of Better Cotton by BCI Retailer and Brand Members in 2019 surpassed 1.5 million metric tonnes – a record for BCI.
In addition to new retailers, new supplier and manufacturer members joined from 26 countries, including Bangladesh, Belgium, Egypt, Malaysia, Moldova, Netherlands, Peru, Thailand and Vietnam. Suppliers and manufacturers support the transformation of the cotton sector by joining BCI and sourcing increased volumes of Better Cotton for BCI Retailer and Brand Members – forming a critical link between Better Cotton supply and demand.
At the end of 2019, BCI had welcomed more than 400 new members across its membership categories, closing the year with a total of 1,842 members. You can find a full list of BCI Membershere.
If your organisation is interested in becoming a BCI Member and supporting more sustainable cotton farming practices around the globe, please visit themembership pageon the BCI website,or get in touch with theBCI Membership Team.
