Better Cotton has developed a Member Monitoring Protocol which outlines the objective, scope, and process for Member Monitoring. The main objective of this protocol is to protect the credibility of the organisation by ensuring adherence to the Code of Practice that all Members sign when they join. The Member Monitoring Protocol aims to provide transparency to our Members and other stakeholders about what Better Cotton does and does not do as part of its monitoring.

Better Cotton’s mission is to achieve a positive impact at the field level, and we welcome any organisation in the cotton sector that supports that mission to join us as a Member. However, membership is not evidence of social or environmental compliance and it will always be the responsibility of each Member to monitor its supply chain to meet any regulatory requirements.

Monitoring Criteria

The Monitoring Protocol establishes six monitoring criteria that align with the Member Code of Practice.

  1. Commitment and Conduct
  2. Business Integrity
  3. Decent Work and Human Rights
  4. Communication
  5. Sourcing
  6. Environmental Compliance

Resolution Stages

When an incident is identified by Better Cotton it will be assessed and if further action is deemed necessary a Monitoring Case will be opened, which will follow these steps:

  • Warning
  • Suspension
  • Expulsion

For more details about each step please refer to the Monitoring Protocol at the bottom of this page.

Reporting

Better Cotton will report quarterly on the number of open Monitoring Cases, by Criteria and Stage, as well as the number of Monitoring Cases closed in the previous quarter.

Better Cotton will not publish the name of any individual Member that is subject to a Monitoring Case, whether it is open or closed.

Monitoring Update – Q1 2025

Open Monitoring Cases

The table shows the number of currently open cases by Monitoring criteria and escalation level.

Monitoring CriteriaWarningSuspension
Commitment and Conduct
Business Integrity11
Decent Work and Human Rights
Environmental Compliance

Closed Cases – 2025 YTD

The table below shows the number of Monitoring cases that have been closed in 2025. If a case is resolved the member has corrected its breach and maintains membership.

Monitoring CriteriaResolvedExpelled
Commitment and Conduct
Business Integrity36
Decent Work and Human Rights
Environmental Compliance



New Member Approval Screening – 2025

The table below shows the number of applications that have been screened against the Membership Criteria and approved for membership by quarter.

PeriodApplications Approved
Q194
Q2
Q3
Q4

This data was updated on 28 April. The next update will be in July 2025.


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Better Cotton Member Monitoring Protocol

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Member Code of Practice

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