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 2021-22 cotton season, 2.2 million licensed Better Cotton Farmers grew 5.4 million tonnes of Better Cotton.
Today Better Cotton has more than 2,500 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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Photo credit: Muhammad Shuaib/Better Cotton. Location: Istanbul, Türkiye, 2024. Description: Event space at Better Cotton Conference 2024.
The Better Cotton Conference 2024 finally kicked off today in Istanbul, Türkiye –one of the most important cotton-producing countries in the world.
The day featured a range of insights across 18 different sessions, from plenary talks to interactive workshops and breakouts, all focused on accelerating impact for cotton farming communities.
1. Putting People First
Our first theme, ‘Putting People First’, focused on centring farmers and farm workers, challenging our audience on what it means to ensure a living income and decent work for cotton communities.
Aarti Kapoor, Founder and Executive Director of human rights agency Embode, centred her keynote on how individuals can drive positive impact across supply chains:
Draw the big picture – develop a collective vision for the cotton value chain so that everyone is working towards the same goals
Name your role – identify where in that value chain you can create impact
Clarify where you are in your journey – ensure projects and other activities are achievable and don’t fall by the wayside
Identify your next steps – decide what you need to do next, and how you will do it
Building on this, Lars Van Doremalen, Impact Director at Better Cotton, reiterated the importance of discussing how to drive farmer income throughout the conference. Meanwhile, Leyla Shamchiyeva, our Senior Decent Work Manager, highlighted that to move the needle on decent work challenges, we need to address root causes, including poverty and lack of awareness of rights, before connecting communities to social safety nets.
Later, in a one-on-one chat with Aarti, Better Cotton Farmer Nazia Parveen shared her story, of overcoming community criticism and barriers in Pakistan and creating a life she and her family are proud of. Nazia detailed how losing family members had led to her taking greater responsibility in cotton farming, and stressed that women are equal to men and as such should be enabled to support themselves. She closed out her session by emphasising that other women mustn’t be held back in the same way that she was when she came into agriculture.
Photo credit: Evronas/Better Cotton. Location: Istanbul, Türkiye, 2024. Description: Aarti Kapoor, Founder of Embode, in conversation with Nazia Parveen, Better Cotton Farmer.
Photo credit: Evronas/Better Cotton. Location: Istanbul, Türkiye, 2024. Description: (From left to right) Aarti Kapoor from Embode in panel discussion with Heleen Bulckens from IDH, Louisa Marie Truss from Elucid, Nurcan Talay from IPUD, and Leyla Shamchiyeva from Better Cotton.
2. Driving Change At Field Level
In the afternoon, focus turned to our second theme, ‘Driving Change at Field Level’, as experts discussed scaling impact to support cotton farming communities in the fight against climate change.
In a panel with Lewis Perkins of the Apparel Impact Institute and Gray Maguire of Anthesis, moderated by Laila Petrie from 2050, they discussed the advantages and disadvantages of carbon markets, with a focus on the impact on farmers. “Opportunity”, “risk” and “confusion” were just some of the words that the audience associated with carbon markets. The panel explained the differences between insetting and offsetting, highlighted the ‘Unlock’ Project as a case study, and reiterated the importance of driving investment within supply chains.
Afterwards, field-level representatives, including farmers and instructors, discussed the ways in which they’re adopting regenerative agricultural practices. From large farms to smallholder operations, speakers from India, Tajikistan and the US shared their perspectives and insights, touching on the practices they leverage to drive field-level progress.
Photo credit: Evronas/Better Cotton. Location: Istanbul, Türkiye, 2024. Description: (From left to right) Lewis Perkins of the Apparel Impact Institute, Gray Maguire of Anthesis, and Laila Petrie from 2050.
Photo credit: Evronas/Better Cotton. Location: Istanbul, Türkiye, 2024. Description: Moderator: (From left to right) Myadagoni Mallesh, Trainer and Field Facilitator, WWF India; Obidova Sanobar, Lead Farmer; Kishorbhai Satabhai Thuletiya, Farmer and Board Member of Machchu Agri Produce Company; and Tap Parker Owner, Parker Farms.
What were your personal highlights from day one? To get involved in the conversation on social media, share your thoughts, reflections and photos with us on LinkedIn, Instagram and X using the #BetterCottonConference2024.
The conference continues tomorrow, when we will be focusing on ‘Understanding Policy and Industry Challenges’ and ‘Reporting on Data and Traceability’ – we look forward to joining you in the discussions!
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