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 2022-23 cotton season, 2.13 million licensed Better Cotton Farmers grew 5.47 million tonnes of Better Cotton.
Today Better Cotton has more than 2,700 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: Better Cotton/Megan Brown. Location: Istanbul, Türkiye, 2024. Description: Alexander Ellebrecht from Source Intelligence at the Better Cotton Conference 2024.
As consumers and legislators increasingly demand transparency in cotton supply chains, two recurring themes in the sector are data and traceability. This is why, at the 2024 Better Cotton Conference, we made ‘Data and Traceability’ one of our four key themes, convening over 20 expert speakers to explore these crucial topics across an afternoon
Alexander Ellebrecht from Source Intelligence a global organisation that delivers software and services to streamline product compliance and ESG management complexities, was a key voice on our Traceability Insights panel. Source Intelligence plays a pivotal role in Better Cotton Traceability by powering the Better Cotton Platform, which electronically documents volumes of Better Cotton as they pass through the supply chain.
Advocating for the need to ensure that farmers are rewarded for moving to sustainable practices, he explained the crucial role of traceability:
Farmers have to show that they are moving towards more sustainable practices, and we have to ensure they are rewarded for that. The foundation of that is transparency, traceability, and commitment along the whole supply chain. I think that’s really key.
He also highlighted the wide range of voices and points of view – and in particular those of smallholder farmers – that were given a platform at the conference. “Better Cotton organises travel for lots of smallholders, giving them a voice – I think that’s really cool,” he said. “There are so many topics to address, heavily impacted by climate change, so it’s important that they get a voice so that we know why we’re here and why we need to change behaviours.”
Finally, he stressed the importance of collaboration for Source Intelligence in order to drive innovation, discussing how the conference allows the organisation to hear what its stakeholders are saying and how they can improve their solutions.
To hear all of Alexander’s insights and learning from the Better Cotton Conference, check out his video below.
Do you want to know what the largest cotton sustainability programme in the world is up to? Keep up to date with the latest developments and hear from BCI Farmers, Partners and Members in the new BCI Quarterly Newsletter. BCI Members also receive a Monthly Member Update.
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