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Better Cotton Celebrates Anniversary of Revolutionary Traceability System

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Supply Chain Traceability
Photo credit: Better Cotton/Baran Vardar. Location: İzmir, Türkiye, 2024. Description: Cotton bales at Cengiz Akgün gin.

Better Cotton is this week celebrating one year since the launch of Better Cotton Traceability, its revolutionary system designed to transform supply chain transparency.  

Developed over three years with the support of more than 1,000 organisations and businesses – including fashion retailers and brands, and their suppliers – Better Cotton Traceability has made it possible to trace cotton through the supply chain and define its country of origin.  

Since the launch of Better Cotton Traceability: 

  • Over 90,000kg of Physical Better Cotton has been sourced by Better Cotton Retailer and Brand Members, which is enough cotton to make around 300,000 T-shirts. 
  • Over 400 ginners and 700 suppliers and manufacturers have aligned with the Chain of Custody Standard, which sets the requirements for handling Physical Better Cotton and ensures the integrity of the programme. 
  • Physical Better Cotton can now be sourced from Pakistan, India, Türkiye, China, Mali, Mozambique, Tajikistan, Greece, Spain, Uzbekistan, Egypt, and the USA. 

The launch of Better Cotton Traceability was the organisation’s most ambitious project to date, and it wouldn’t have been possible without our committed network of members and peers that have helped shape the system to ensure it meets the needs of both our industry and Better Cotton licensed farmers.” 

Jacky Broomhead, Director of Traceability at Better Cotton

We joined Better Cotton as a pioneering member back in 2009 and since then, we have supported their mission to help cotton communities survive and thrive, while protecting and restoring the environment. We’re proud that 100% of the cotton we source for our clothing comes from more responsible sources, however we recognise the global supply chain remains particularly complex. Since 2021, we have been working together to improve the traceability of cotton which will enable us to track our cotton at scale along the supply chain.

Elodie Gilart, Senior Sustainability Manager at Marks & Spencer

The journey to date has not been without its challenges, but working closely with the supply chain has informed Better Cotton’s approach, and helped identify what is required to drive improvements and uptake in the future. 

In the coming years, Better Cotton will continue to expand the availability of Physical Better Cotton from a growing number of countries and leverage even more granular data insights from the supply chain, further improving the level of transparency available to stakeholders.  

Better Cotton Traceability will also be intrinsic to the organisation’s evolution as it adapts to new and emerging laws affecting the industry at large, including the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and the Green Claims Directive.  

Recent legislative changes in the past few years have aligned with Better Cotton’s objectives, creating additional impetus needed for its certification commitment – a shift expected to bring positive change across the industry. By transitioning all licensing decisions to third parties, this move aims to increase impartiality and bring an additional layer of independence.  

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