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Better Cotton Completes Certification Transition, Enhances Supply Chain Oversight

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Certification
Photo credit: Better Cotton/Baran Vardar.

Better Cotton has today completed its transition to become a certification scheme. This strategic move underscores the organisation’s commitment to maintaining the highest standards of sustainability and transparency in the cotton industry.

By outsourcing all farm-level certification decisions to independent third parties, Better Cotton provides additional rigour to its already robust model, further boosting impartiality and independence.

Tom Owen, Head of Certification at Better Cotton

For more than a decade, Better Cotton has led one of the sector’s most robust and credible voluntary standard systems. The transition to a certification scheme and standardising third-party verification will not only strengthen our current approach, but also enable us to continue driving meaningful industry-wide change.

Tom Owen, Head of Certification at Better Cotton

Alongside third-party audits Better Cotton will continue second-party monitoring of its global network of farmer-focused organisations. This dual approach will help identify areas of non-conformity, ensure ongoing visibility of its operating environment and inform capacity-strengthening efforts to drive continuous improvement.

In addition, all supplier and manufacturer members wishing to source Physical Better Cotton will be in scope for certification against the Better Cotton Chain of Custody Standard. This will improve supply chain traceability and boost demand for sustainably produced cotton while aligning with evolving regulatory expectations.

Later this year, retailers and brands that wish to use Physical Better Cotton will also be eligible to use a new product label that speaks to their commitment to Better Cotton’s mission.

To learn more about certification and what it means for you, click here

Notes

Better Cotton Traceability

  • Supply chain actors must align with Better Cotton’s Chain of Custody (CoC) Standard to be eligible to source and process Physical Better Cotton.
  • Launched in 2023 after three years of development and consultations with over 1,600 organisations – including suppliers – Better Cotton Traceability provides visibility of the Better Cotton’s country of origin and route to market from spinner to retailers and brands.
  • To date, over 306,000kg of Physical Better Cotton has been sourced by Better Cotton Retailer and Brand Members.
  • Physical Better Cotton can now be sourced from Pakistan, India, Türkiye, China, Mali, Mozambique, Tajikistan, Greece, Spain, Uzbekistan, Egypt, and the USA. 

Better Cotton Certification & Product Label

  • The Better Cotton Mass Balance On Product Mark will be phased out by May 2026. This year, the organisation will launch a label that signifies a product contains Physical Better Cotton.
  • The Better Cotton Claims Framework is one component of the Better Cotton Standard System. It is created through a multi-stakeholder consultation process and is subject to an annual update and full revision every five years.  
  • No member is obligated to make any claims about Better Cotton, however, should they wish to communicate about their commitment, the Claims Framework provides guidance and rules to ensure they can do so in a credible and positive way.  

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