Producer Organisation Membership

Producer Organisations include those that work with or represent cotton producers, i.e. cotton farmers and farm workers.

Membership benefits

Joining BCI offers progressive Producer Organisations the opportunity to bring the reality of farming to the muti-stakeholder dialogue that is at the heart of BCI, including BCI’s governing Council. Being a part of BCI also provides your organisation a unique chance to influence the development and stewardship of a global standard.

We understand that some Producer Organisations have limited resources. In such cases, we can often find ways to enable you can engage with BCI that’s affordable and manageable. We also strive to provide language support for those with limited capacity to operate in English – the only exception to the BCI policy on English as our official language.

What it means to be a Member

As a Producer member you have full access to all BCI activities, data and information. You are actively involved with implementation at farm-level and contribute to the continuous improvement of the standard through your unique, on-the-ground knowledge.

BCI Producer Organisation members participate in BCI’s General Assembly and governing Council, and have the opportunity to influence processes and discussions at BCI. BCI Council positions are open to all members (except Associate), and Producer Organisation members hold three seats in the BCI Council.

Members are also required to comply with:

BCI Code of Practice (for non-commercial members).

BCI Terms of Membership.

Membership Fees

Membership fees are differentiated in relation to the size of the organisation. Click here to download the BCI 2017 Fee structure for Producer Organisations.

How to Join

To apply for BCI membership, simply complete an application form for your category. Click here to download, or email your request to: membership@bettercotton.org.

Application process:

1. Send us your application form with the requested supporting information.

2. We receive and acknowledge receipt of your application form and check that it is complete.

3. We carry out due diligence research, to ensure there are no outstanding issues that can create reputational risk for BCI.

4. We collate and analyse the results, and provide the BCI Leadership Team with a recommendation for approval.

5. The BCI Leadership Team reviews the application and provides a final approval decision.

6. We send you an invoice for fees, and you are listed on the Member Only section of our website for BCI Members, under New Members’ Consultation.

7. On payment of your membership invoice you become a member-in-consultation for 12 weeks during which time you have full access to all membership benefits.

8. If no issues arise during member consultation, you are a member of BCI; we will communicate with you in case any issues are raised during consultation.

9. If your membership consultation results in membership being revoked, all fees paid to the BCI will be refunded.

Please note that the entire process can takes up to 13 weeks from receipt of a completed application form.