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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Better Cotton yesterday hosted its inaugural Member Awards at its conference in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The two-day Better Cotton Conference got underway on 21 June, convening supply chain actors from the cotton sector and beyond to discuss four key themes: Climate Action, Sustainable Livelihoods, Data & Traceability, and Regenerative Agriculture.
On the evening of the opening day, at a networking dinner held at Strand Zuid, Better Cotton Chief Executive Officer, Alan McClay, and Chief Operating Officer, Lena Staafgard, presented the awards. The Member Awards were established to celebrate the contribution of members to the growth and success of the Better Cotton framework and will be replicated annually at future conferences.
The first of four awards was the Global Sourcing Award, which was given to the Retail and Brand Member and Supplier & Manufacturer Member that sourced the highest volume of Better Cotton in 2022. The winners were H&M Group and Louis Dreyfus Company, having surpassed all other members in the volume of Better Cotton sourced.
The second honour was the Impact Storyteller Award which recognised an organisation with which Better Cotton has collaborated to spotlight compelling stories from the field. The winner was IPUD (İyi Pamuk Uygulamaları Derneği – the Good Cotton Practices Association), following the production of content from a field trip to Turkey – covering the topics of decent work and children’s education – which generated the most coverage on Better Cotton’s website last year.
The Outstanding Contribution Award followed, and was bestowed upon organisations who contributed “in an exceptional way” to Better Cotton’s revision of its Principles & Criteria, announced earlier this year. Representatives from the Alliance for Water Stewardship, High Conservation Value Network, Pesticides Action Network, and Solidaridad were all recognised at the ceremony for their support and input in refining the framework.
The fourth and final honour – the Transformer Award – was awarded to an organisation that’s been instrumental in shaping Better Cotton’s work since its conception. IDH – the Sustainable Trade Initiative – claimed the inaugural award due to its continued and priceless contribution since 2010.
I’m grateful for this opportunity to demonstrate Better Cotton’s gratitude to the businesses and organisations that have helped shape our initiative. Without them, our mission to help cotton communities survive and thrive while protecting and restoring the environment, wouldn’t be possible.
Alan McClay, CEO, Better Cotton
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