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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Today we celebrate World Cotton Day 2023, an annual commemoration of one of the world’s most renewable resources and a commodity that supports approximately 100 million families.
At Better Cotton, we’re working every day to support and strengthen cotton growing communities so they can keep growing the crop they rely on. As the world’s largest cotton sustainability initiative, our strategic aims are to embed sustainable farming practices and policies; enhance well-being and economic development; and drive global demand for sustainable cotton. We believe in the power of sustainable cotton to transform livelihoods and the environment.
World Cotton Day was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2021. The annual date is 7 October, but this year is being celebrated on 4 October with a World Cotton Day 2023 event hosted by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Vienna, Austria.
This year’s theme is “Making cotton fair and sustainable for all, from farm to fashion.”
We’re proud to have our own Jacky Broomhead, Senior Traceability Manager, presenting at WCD 2023. She’s discussing ‘Traceability as an innovation for the cotton sector’ – a topic we’ve been focusing on as we prepare to launch our Traceability Solution next month and continue to explore how we can create more opportunity for farmers and the rest of the sector.
We’ve also this week had CEO Alan McClay speak at The Economist’s Sustainability Week in London, participating in a panel called ‘Word on the High Street – Making Fashion and Cosmetics Sustainable.’
This is a movement and not a moment, and we hope everyone – brands and retailers, manufacturers, producers and consumers – will join us and be part of something better.
Image courtesy of the World Trade Organization.Read more
Photo credit: Better Cotton/Carlos Rudiney. Location: SLC Pamplona Farm, Cristalina, Goiás, Brazil. 2023. Description: Diego André Goldschmidt, Coordinator of Agricultural Production and Cristian Elias Wolfart, Tillage Coordinator at SLC Agrícola.
We’re pleased to release our Annual Report 2022-23 this week. The annual report provides an important opportunity to reflect on the progress Better Cotton has made towards our goals in the past year, exploring field and market successes and challenges, and sharing key financial information.
In this report, we see that:
In the 2022-23 cotton season, the Better Cotton programme reached more than 2.8 million cotton farmers in 22 countries
2.2 million licensed farmers grew 5.4 million tonnes of Better Cotton – this accounted for 22% of global cotton production and equalled a 15% production increase on the previous season
In 2022, Better Cotton’s membership reached 2,563. Non-member users of the Better Cotton Platform exceeded 10,000 for the first time – reaching 11,234 suppliers
Retailer and Brand Members sourced 2.6 million tonnes of Better Cotton – accounting for more than 10% of global cotton production
Alongside this data, our Annual Report 2022-23 explores some of our biggest endeavours of the 2022-23 fiscal year. We finalised the Principles and Criteria v3.0, and launched our Impact Targets for our 2030 Strategy. We’ve also been working on a Traceability Solution with new Chain of Custody models, all of which launches in the coming weeks.
We’ve set a strong foundation to focus on deepening our impact across the global cotton sector. We hope you’ll read the report and learn more about the progress we’re excited to see in sustainable cotton production.
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Better Cotton 2022-23 Annual Report
Sharing key Better Cotton updates, successes and challenges from the past year and cotton season.
Photo credit: Alvaro Moreira/Better Cotton. Location: Seville, Spain, 2023. Panel (from left to right): Dimas Rizzo Escalante, President of Espalgodon; Carmen Crespo Díaz Secretary of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development of the Regional Government of Andalusia; Damien Sanfilippo, Senior Director of Programmes, Better Cotton.
Better Cotton has forged partnerships with Espalgodon and the Regional Government of Andalucia to kickstart the production of Better Cotton-equivalent cotton in Spain.
Better Cotton has worked with the Regional Government of Andalucia to align its Integrated Production System (IPS) with the Better Cotton Standard System (BCSS).
The multistakeholder meeting in Seville will host farmers, ginners and other stakeholders native to Spain.
Better Cotton will today inaugurate the launch of a strategic partnership in Spain by hosting a multistakeholder event in Seville. The meeting will convene the Interprofessional Cotton Association (Espalgodon) and the Regional Government of Andalucia – two stakeholders that have helped ensure alignment between the regional government’s Integrated Production System (IPS) and the Better Cotton Standard System (BCSS) – in addition to participating farmers, ginners and other industry representatives.
Espalgodon – a coalition of three Spanish agricultural organisations – represents all cotton farmers in the country, which are projected to produce around 64,000 tonnes of cotton in the 2023/24 season. The organisation submitted a Declaration of Interest in 2021, outlining domestic appetite to collaborate on the production of more sustainable cotton.
Better Cotton has since worked with the Regional Government of Andalucia – Spain’s major cotton growing region – to recognise its Integrated Production System (IPS) as the country’s equivalent to the Better Cotton Standard System (BCSS). In practice, this will enable cotton produced on IPS licensed farms to be sold as ‘Better Cotton’.
By aligning with organisations active in Spain’s cotton sector, Better Cotton stands to tap into existing networks and local expertise whilst avoiding duplication. In return, native cotton farmers gain assurances that their product complies with the widely recognised Better Cotton Standard System.
In the 2023/24 cotton season, production is projected to decrease by upwards of 48% from the previous season due to crop development issues exacerbated by droughts.
Better Cotton’s New Country Start-Up process included the completion of a benchmarking report by third-party services provider PwC, which outlined the gaps between the two systems and the necessary action required to reach alignment.
Better Cotton, Espalgodon and the regional government will signify the start of the strategic partnership by signing an agreement, before the respective organisations present to attendees at today’s event.
The impacts of climate change on Spain’s cotton crop are plain to see from the country’s projections for the 2023/24 cotton season. Espalgodon and the Regional Government of Andalucia have demonstrated their commitment to improving the sustainability credentials of domestically grown cotton, which can make farmers more resilient in the face of global warming.
Alan McClay, Chief Executive Officer, Better Cotton
Photo credit: Better Cotton/Morgan Ferrar Location: Bhavnagar district Gujarat, India, 2019. Description: Better Cotton Farmer Punamchand Jalela mixing ingredients found in nature to make bio-pesticide.
Better Cotton, Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance and others urge governments to kickstart global phase-out of highly hazardous pesticides.
Call made ahead of International Conference on Chemicals Management’s fifth session, set to take place in Bonn, Germany, from 25-29 September.
Exposure to highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) linked to severe health conditions.
Farmers in Better Cotton’s India Programme cut highly hazardous pesticides use from 64% to 10% between 2014/15 and 2021/22 cotton seasons.
Better Cotton and our partners in the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Coalition have issued a position paper demanding a global phase-out of highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) across agricultural supply chains.
Ahead of the fifth session of the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM5), set to take place in Bonn, Germany, from 25-29 September, Better Cotton and fellow Coalition founding members have urged authorities to enforce regulatory frameworks that would mandate the elimination of highly hazardous agrochemicals.
The Coalition – which also includes Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN), and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) – has outlined a series of recommendations to catalyse action on HHPs in agriculture. These include:
Committing to the global phase-out of HHPs through coordinated and time-bound actions.
Supporting agricultural producers in their efforts to transition to sustainable agriculture practices, such as agroecology and IPM, aimed at minimising or excluding hazardous pesticide use by providing enabling policy frameworks and funding.
Investing in research and innovation to develop and promote safer alternatives to HHPs, ensuring they are affordable and accessible to farmers worldwide.
Promoting awareness, education programmes, and trainings to support farmers to adopt IPM practices and make informed pest control choices.
Collaborating with governments, industry, and civil society to prevent subsidies for HHPs, and strengthen regulatory frameworks and enforcement mechanisms to ensure an effective HHP phase-out.
HHPs have historically been used to combat the threat posed by pests to cotton and other crops. Exposure to such pesticides can, however, jeopardise the health and safety of agricultural workers despite of the availability and utilisation of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Better Cotton has made significant progress in its efforts to eliminate the use of HHPs on cotton farms. In India alone, between the 2014/15 and 21/22 cotton seasons, Better Cotton Farmers cut their use of HHPs from 64% to 10%, whilst those using Monocrotophos – a pesticide classed as highly toxic by the World Health Organization – dropped from 41% to just 2%.
Across Better Cotton’s network and those of its cross-commodity partners within the Coalition – which together produce cotton, cocoa, coffee, palm oil and tea across more than 13 million hectares of land – an IPM approach has helped more than seven million farmers adopt more sustainable solutions.
As defined in Better Cotton’s Principles and Criteria (P&C), an IPM approach to cotton farming entails growing a healthy crop, preventing the build-up of pest populations, preserving and enhancing populations of beneficial organisms, field observation and managing resistance.
Trainings are provided across all countries in which Better Cotton operates to ensure cotton farmers are equipped to adopt an IPM approach and can contribute to the global phase-out of HHPs.
The IPM Coalition commends the United Nations’ Strategic Approach for International Chemicals Management (SAICM) for initiating the fifth session of the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM5) which will provide an opportunity to address chemical management in accordance with the organisation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Only a global response to the use of highly hazardous pesticides in agricultural supply chains will ensure that farmers and their land are protected from the harmful impacts of such formulations. The IPM Coalition exists to bang the drum on this important issue and we hope authorities will join us in driving change.
Smallholders (SH): Farms with a farm size typically not exceeding 20 hectares of cotton which are not structurally dependent on permanent hired labour. Medium Farms (MF): Farms with a farm size typically between 20 to 200 hectares of cotton which usually are structurally dependent on permanent hired labour.
Top row: Jacky Broomhead, Senior Traceability Manager, Better Cotton (left); Maria Teresa Pisani, Officer-in-Chief of the United Nation’s Economic Commission for Europe’s (UNECE) Trade Facilitation Section (right). Bottom row: Gregory Sampson, Solutions Architect at the International Trade Centre (ITC) (left); Josh Taylor, Traceability Manager at Better Cotton (centre); Jeremy Thimm, Organic Production Specialist at the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) (right).
Better Cotton will this week participate in a panel discussion at the World Trade Organization’s Public Forum focusing on the topic of traceability within fashion and textile supply chains.
The session, titled: ‘Traceability as the Key Enabler for Improving the Sustainability of Cotton Value Chains’ will take place 15 September at the Centre William Rappard, in Geneva, Switzerland.
Jacky Broomhead, Senior Traceability Manager at Better Cotton, will moderate the discussion and will be joined by a panel including Maria Teresa Pisani, Officer-in-Charge of the United Nation’s Economic Commission for Europe’s (UNECE) Trade Facilitation Section; Gregory Sampson, Solutions Architect at the International Trade Centre (ITC); Jeremy Thimm, Organic Production Specialist at the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS); and Josh Taylor, Traceability Manager at Better Cotton.
Traceability will be discussed in the context of how it could benefit fashion and textile supply chains facing tightening due diligence legislation, in addition to investor pressure and changing consumer expectations around sustainability.
After two years of development, Better Cotton will this year launch its own traceability solution, capable of providing supply chain visibility for industry stakeholders. With this, cotton will be fed through new Chain of Custody models that monitor the flow of product throughout the value chain.
By logging transactions between stakeholders, fashion retailers and brands that purchase Better Cotton through its traceability solution will have oversight of their cotton’s country of origin, in addition to the proportion of Better Cotton in their products.
“This week’s Public Forum is a great opportunity to have an open discussion on the benefits and ramifications of supply chain traceability. Progress requiring the adoption of new technologies can run the risk of favouring large and developed organisations. We’re keen to collaborate with our peers to ensure these developments are scalable and inclusive for the benefit of the entire textile industry.”
Jacky Broomhead, Senior Traceability Manager at Better Cotton
Traceability will connect farmers to the supply chain and form the foundation for an Impact Marketplace Better Cotton is developing, through which farmers would be rewarded for their transition to more sustainable farming.
The panel discussion will explore the opportunity traceability holds to drive more sustainable cotton supply chains, the importance of alignment when scaling such solutions, and the need for accessible and inclusive approaches.
Photo Credit: Better Cotton/Vibhor Yadav Location: Kodinar, Gujarat, India. 2019. Description: A farmers hands holding freshly-picked cotton.
We have today published our 2023 India Impact Report, which highlights significant field-level progress in reducing pesticide and water use, in addition to improvements on farmer livelihoods and equality.
The India Impact Report charts the performance of Indian cotton farmers in the Better Cotton Programme from the 2014/15 season through to the 2021/22 season – exploring the tangible benefits of more sustainable cotton production for both people and the planet.
The report explores a variety of facets of Better Cotton production, from resource utilisation and its impact on farms and the environment, to the makeup of farming communities and their economic outlook.
Infographic shows key stats from our India programme
Since the launch of Better Cotton Programme in India in 2011, the organisation’s network of farmers has expanded from tens of thousands to almost one million.
The report shows a dramatic reduction in the use of pesticides and highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) by Better Cotton Farmers across India. From the 2014-17 seasons – used as a three-season average – to the 2021/22 season, overall pesticide use reduced by 53% as a result of the adoption of capacity strengthening trainings on an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and the delivery of effective awareness campaigns.
Specifically, the number of farmers using HHPs was cut from 64% to 10%, whilst those using Monocrotophos – a pesticide classed as highly toxic by the World Health Organization – dropped from 41% to just 2%.
Water usage for irrigation was reduced by 29% between the baseline years and the 2021/22 season. Nitrogen application – which drives greenhouse gas emissions in cotton production when used excessively – decreased by 6% per hectare.
On farmer livelihoods, results indicator data between the 2014-15 to 2021-22 cotton seasons has shown that total costs per hectare (excluding land renting) decreased by 15.6% in 2021-22 compared to the three-season average, driven by expense reductions for land preparation and fertiliser expenses. In 2021, Better Cotton Farmers also had an average cotton lint yield per hectare of 650kg — 200kg per hectare more than the national average.
On women in cotton, meanwhile, there has been an overall increase in the number of women Better Cotton Field Staff across India. In the 2019-20 cotton season, around 10% of Field Facilitators were women, rising to over 25% in the 2022-23 cotton season.
As the organisation turns its focus from expansion to deepening impact, the report serves to celebrate progress and identify development gaps. Part of Better Cotton’s role is to highlight needs for improvement and where continued engagement can make a positive difference for the communities growing cotton in India.
It also represents a departure from the organisation’s past results reporting methodology – through which Better Cotton Farmers were compared with non-Better Cotton Farmers – in that the operations of Better Cotton Farmers are monitored over time to assess year-on-year progress.
Since the first Better Cotton harvest in India in 2011, the country has been a pioneering force within the Better Cotton Programme. We’re buoyed by the results in this Impact Report, which demonstrate the environmental, social and economic benefits of Better Cotton production, and remain committed to driving further improvements at the farm-level.
Alan McClay, Chief Executive Officer at Better Cotton
To read the executive summary and the full report, head to the links below.
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India Impact Report, 2014-2023 – Executive Summary
Photo Credit: Better Cotton/Khaula Jamil. Location: Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab, Pakistan. 2019. Description: Cotton plant.
The flash floods, severe heatwaves and wildfires of recent months have demonstrated the imminent threat climate change poses to our planet. In this defining decade, lowering greenhouse gas emissions is amongst the most effective methods of reversing the effects of global warming.
According to the World Resources Institute (WRI), the agriculture sector accounts for nearly as much of world’s greenhouse gas emissions (12%) as the transportation sector (14%), which is why Better Cotton launched its Climate Change Mitigation Impact Target.
By 2030, we have committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% per tonne of Better Cotton lint produced. This bold ambition will not only help farmers instil more sustainable practices within their day-to-day operations, but it’ll help the world’s leading fashion retailers and brands as they strive to lessen their Scope 3 emissions and improve the sustainability credentials of the products they sell.
Here, we speak with Anneke Keuning, Senior Environmental Specialist at BESTSELLER, to understand the way in which climate change is impacting their approach to sourcing more sustainable materials.
Photo credit: Anneke Keuning
To what extent can initiatives like Better Cotton support a brand or retailer achieving their own sustainability goals?
To reach our sustainability goals, we have to work with all aspects of our value chain and sourcing all our cotton from certified and branded alternatives like Better Cotton is part of this journey.
Sourcing Better Cotton for BESTSELLER is a minimum requirement, and therefore, all cotton used in BESTSELLER products that is not sourced as organic or recycled cotton will automatically be sourced as Better Cotton.
BESTSELLER’s sustainability strategy is named Fashion FWD and it sets our near-term direction and keeps us accountable with goals like our science based targets for climate through which we are committed to reducing our indirect emissions by 30% in 2030, compared to a 2018 baseline.
How have BESTSELLER’s cotton sourcing practices and requirements evolved over the past decade in response to the mounting climate crisis?
Climate change is increasingly impacting cotton growing regions. And, as the fashion industry is heavily reliant upon our planet’s natural resources such as cotton and clean water, there is a clear risk to our business. As a responsible company we have an obligation to reduce the impact our business has on the environment.
Our approach focuses on actively supporting more sustainable cotton farming practices through investments and our sourcing policies. We work simultaneously from the bottom and top of the supply chain to ensure an increased volume of preferred cotton is available for our own products and the wider fashion industry.
BESTSELLER has been an active member of Better Cotton since 2011 and have been sourcing Better Cotton since 2012. As part of our Fashion FWD strategy the amount of Better Cotton sourced has increased over the years.
For BESTSELLER, how important is it that Better Cotton sets bold climate change mitigation targets?
When we set our science-based targets, we knew these targets were ambitious. Therefore, to achieve our goals it is crucial to work with partners throughout the supply chain who are as ambitious as we are.
Anneke Keuning, Senior Environmental Specialist at BESTSELLER
And at the same time ensure that our suppliers and farmers that we work with benefit from the increased demand of lower impact cotton.
In order to reach our climate targets, we need bold action within our supply chain, and for us that means working with industry partners that are also willing to work towards those ambitious targets.
Across the fashion and textile sectors, greater onus is being placed on addressing Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions. How do you assess the increasing appetite for change throughout supply chains?
The vast majority of our climate emissions are from our supply chain. Approximately 20% of our total greenhouse gas emissions come from the production of raw materials. We have a responsibility to work with suppliers across the entire value chain to reduce our impact.
BESTSELLER’s most used raw material is cotton and our vision to increase the use of certified cotton materials year-by-year reflects our desire to respond to consumer and societal demand for lower impact cotton and to safeguard our future raw materials.
In order to reduce our impact, we aim to work with partners like Better Cotton through which we can help cotton farming communities survive and thrive, while reducing our impact and in turn protecting and restoring the environment. At the same time, we have the option to promote change in the industry and to stimulate both demand and supply of lower impact cotton.
Photo Credit: Better Cotton/Vibhor Yadav Location: Kodinar, Gujarat, India. 2019. Description: Fresh groundwater pumps through a well.
This week, to celebrate World Water Week 2023, we have been placing the spotlight on Better Cotton’s work to promote water stewardship, speaking to the Alliance for Water Stewardship about their work on the revision of Better Cotton’s Principles and Criteria and resharing a piece from earlier this year dispelling misconceptions about cotton’s water consumption. To close out the week, we spoke with Saleena Pookunju, Senior Manager, Programme – India, to discuss the water challenges faced by cotton farmers in India, progress at field-level, and opportunities to collaborate.
Photo credit: Saleena Pookunju
What are some of the challenges with water that Better Cotton Farmers face in India?
Anyone who has ever attempted to have an open conversation with a farmer in India knows that within the first few minutes of the conversation, they are going to draw your attention to water – the lack of it, the untimely abundance of it, the poor quality of it!
Water is the most important yield-limiting factor for almost all our farmers. In India, of the 1.5 million hectares grown upon in 2022-23 cotton season, as part of the Better Cotton Programme, only 27% was under completely rainfed conditions. While the rest of the 73% farms have access to various sources of water, timeliness of availability and quality were two of the major concerns they faced. For example, total dissolved salt in ground water in some areas of Gujarat is as high as 10000mg/L and is unusable for irrigation without further treatment.
How can Better Cotton address some of the challenges with water that cotton producing communities face?
It’s extremely important that water challenges are understood and addressed holistically in the context of natural resource management and climate change, and in line with the limited resources at the disposal of farmers and their communities.
With the revision of the Better Cotton Principles & Criteria – announced in April – we have moved to further promote water stewardship. As such, in addition to supporting farmers to better manage water usage at the farm-level, focus has also been on identifying shared challenges and opportunities to collaborate.
Could you share some concrete examples of interventions in cotton communities to build their resilience to climate change and address challenges surrounding water?
Some of the water source strengthening work we have promoted and supported include desilting check dams, village and farm-level ponds, deepening ponds in order to increase water storage capacity, and constructing rainwater harvesting and water recharging structures, as well as storage wells.
To further improve the resilience of Better Cotton Farmers, our programme advocates for micro-irrigation systems such as drip and sprinklers where feasible. In addition, by promoting various soil moisture management practices such as mulching, intercropping, green manuring, our programme also encourages community-level watershed mapping and crop water budgeting so that farmers can make informed decisions on what to grow based on the level of water available for that season.
While water woes intensify due to the climate crisis, Better Cotton resolves to continue to bring more investment to the field and strengthen partnerships with stakeholders.
Photo credit: Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS)/Jon Davey. Location: AWS Global Water Stewardship Forum, Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh, 15 May 2023. Description: Mark Dent, Senior Advisor at AWS.
At the inaugural Better Cotton Member Awards, presented during the Better Cotton Conference in June 2023, we presented the Outstanding Contribution Award to Mark Dent, Senior Advisor at Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS), in recognition of his work on the revision of Better Cotton’s Principles and Criteria (P&C).
Mark was the AWS representative on the Natural Resources Working Group, one of the three key working groups, made up of subject experts, which helped to draft the revised P&C. He provided guidance and expertise on water-related issues, primarily those involving multiple stakeholders.
In celebration of World Water Week 2023, we sat down with Mark to hear about the revision, AWS’ work, and the vital importance of water stewardship in cotton farming.
Could you give us an introduction to the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) and what it does?
The Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) is a global membership organisation comprising private sector, public sector, and civil society organisations (CSOs). Our members contribute to the sustainability of local water resources through the International Water Stewardship Standard, our framework for the sustainable use of water which drives, recognises and rewards good water stewardship performance.
Our vision is a water-secure world that enables people, cultures, business and nature to prosper, now and in the future. To achieve this vision, our mission is to ignite and nurture global and local leadership in credible water stewardship that recognises and secures the social, cultural, environmental and economic value of freshwater.
How was your experience of contributing to the revision of Better Cotton’s Principles and Criteria?
I am grateful to AWS for entrusting me to be their representative in this work. It was an extraordinary experience to witness first-hand the degree to which the Better Cotton Standard Revision Project’s leadership created the careful balance between moving forward with a complex and tight agenda and creating the appropriate space and tone for innovative exploration of the needs of all stakeholders.
What role does water stewardship have to play in the sustainable production of cotton?
Water is a finite common resource that has no substitute, and therefore needs to be shared between all stakeholders in a way that ensures ‘some, for all, forever’. Our standard presents a framework for cotton farms and other water-using sites to respond to local challenges and work towards sustainable, multi-stakeholder use of water, both within the fence-line of their farms and beyond, into the wider catchment. It focuses on five outcomes which are of central importance to sustainable cotton production. These are good water governance; sustainable water balance; good quality water status; healthy important water-related areas; and safe water, sanitation and hygiene for all.
How will the revised P&C drive impact in improving water stewardship?
The sheer scale of Better Cotton’s reach, globally, means that essential water steward-like skills, knowledge and actions are being propagated on a scale that makes a significant contribution to the vision & mission of the Alliance for Water Stewardship, described earlier.
How important is it to ensure that discussions around water stewardship are inclusive of all stakeholders?
It is of paramount importance, for many reasons. I will focus on three:
Water is hyper-connected to all living systems and so one stakeholder’s solution is very often the source of another stakeholder’s problem.
The sheer scale of water-related challenges demands that they be addressed collectively to capitalise on economies.
For proposed water-related options to gain social acceptance, they need to emerge from inclusive dialogue that simultaneously helps to inform the stakeholders into creating socially robust (aka actionable) knowledge, which in turn results in wise and timely implementation.
Such inclusive engagements also generate ‘response-able’ behaviours in which stakeholders sense impending challenges early enough to co-generate and practice wise, collective, co-ordinated responses which can significantly lessen the impact of unavoidable ‘shocks’ to the system.
Finally, inclusive stakeholder engagement addresses the phenomenon of bounded rationality which states that a person cannot be rational beyond the bounds of their cognitive or knowledge space. So, when the consequences of our ‘rational’ actions in relation to water manifest beyond our knowledge space, they could very well create highly irrational consequences. We need other stakeholders to reveal these potential consequences and thus prevent us from creating unsustainable water-related systems. Let me give you an example, I consider myself to be a rational person, BUT if I was placed in a position where I had to do brain surgery, I would inevitably perform some highly irrational actions that would harm the patient.
What are the most important steps the cotton sector must take to improve water use?
The ability to think and act in terms of systems is key to ensuring that cotton sector stakeholders improve their water use by responding appropriately to their local context. At the same time, this system thinking approach equips cotton producers to adhere to most of the Principles & Criteria in the Better Cotton Standard. So, training in practical, multi-stakeholder, context-related systems thinking is essential.
To read more about the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS), click here.
AWS is currently undertaking a review and revision of the AWS Standard V2.0. For more information click here.
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