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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In the push to transform the way cotton and other crops are grown around the world, there remains a big roadblock: the lack of a common language for what sustainability means and how to report and measure progress. This was the impetus for the Delta Project, an initiative to bring leading sustainability standard organisations together to build a common framework for measuring and reporting on sustainability performance in the agricultural commodity sector, starting with cotton and coffee. The project was made possible by a grant from the ISEAL Innovations Fund, which is supported by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO and spearheaded by Better Cotton and the Global Coffee Platform (GCP).
Over the past three years, Delta Project partners — Better Cotton, GCP, the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) Expert Panel on Social, Environmental and Economic Performance (SEEP) of Cotton Production, the International Coffee Organisation (ICO) and the Cotton 2040 working group on impact metrics alignment* — developed, field-tested and published a set of 15 cross-commodity environmental, social and economic indicators to measure sustainability at the farm-level. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed with the Cotton 2040 working group members to gradually incorporate relevant metrics and indicators into their monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems.
The Delta indicators align with and allow users to report progress against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the tools and methodologies are broad enough to be used by other agricultural sectors, as well.
To learn more about the project and what it means for Better Cotton Partners and Members, we spoke to Eliane Augareils, Senior Monitoring and Evaluation Manager at Better Cotton.
Why is it important to create a shared language for sustainability standards to communicate and report on sustainability?
Eliane Augareils, Senior Monitoring and Evaluation Manager at Better Cotton.
EA: Every standard has different ways of defining and measuring sustainability. In the cotton sector, for example, even when we are assessing the same thing, like water savings, we all have very different ways of measuring and reporting on it. That makes it challenging for a cotton stakeholder to understand the added value of sustainable cotton, whether that’s Better Cotton, organic, Fairtrade, etc. It is also impossible to aggregate the progress made by multiple standards. Now, if we implement what we committed to through the Delta Project, we can analyse the sustainable cotton sector’s progress as a whole.
What is the significance and value of the MOU signed by the Cotton 2040 working group?
EA: The MOU is an important result of the collaboration between all the cotton standards and organisations in the working group. It’s a commitment from these standards to integrate all the relevant Delta indicators into their respective M&E systems. It’s very important because it shows a strong willingness by the cotton sector to establish a common definition of sustainable cotton and a common way to measure progress. It also represents an increased spirit of collaboration between standards to act collectively towards our shared goals.
How were the indicators developed?
EA: We carried out a thorough consultation process for a year, reaching out to over 120 people representing 54 organisations from the agricultural private and public sectors. We first identified the sustainability impact priorities for the cotton and coffee sectors, and the stakeholders formulated nine shared goals across the three dimensions of sustainability — economic, social and environmental — all linked to the SDGs.
We then looked at over 200 indicators used by several commodity platforms and initiatives to measure progress towards these sustainability goals, in particular the Coffee Data Standard developed earlier by GCP, and the Guidance Framework on Measuring Sustainability in Cotton Farming Systems published by the ICAC-SEEP panel. Considering the interdependencies between the three sustainability dimensions, we recognised that the set of Delta indicators would need to be seen and adopted as a whole. This meant we needed to get to a much smaller set. We eventually selected 15 indicators, based on their global relevance, usefulness and feasibility in monitoring progress towards sustainable agricultural commodities. We then worked with experts to identify the best existing methodologies and tools, or develop new ones, to collect and analyse the data points needed for each indicator.
How were the indicators tested?
EA: Many of the organisations involved in the project ran pilots to test the draft indicators on real farms. These pilots provided critical feedback on the draft indicators, especially on the methodologies we developed to calculate them. Some indicators were very straightforward, for instance calculating yields or profitability, which is something we all do already. But other indicators like soil health, water and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were completely new for most of us. The pilots helped us understand the feasibility of implementation, and then we adapted the methodologies accordingly. For the water indicator, we refined it to make it more adaptable to different contexts, such as smallholder settings and different climates. In areas where monsoons are common, for example, the amount of water must be calculated differently. Without the pilots, we would only have a theoretical framework, and now it’s based on practice. Additionally, based on the lessons learnt from the pilots, we added limitations for each indicator, which allows us to be very transparent on the implementation and data collection challenges. For some indicators, like GHG emissions, that require a lot of data points, we also tried to identify which data points are the most important to get representative results.
How will the Delta Framework be integrated into existing M&E systems of the participating sustainability standards?
EA: So far, some of the standards — including Better Cotton, Fairtrade, Textile Exchange, the Organic Cotton Accelerator and Cotton Connect — have piloted several of the indicators, but they haven’t all been implemented in their M&E frameworks yet. The learnings of those pilots can be seen here.
Has Better Cotton already incorporated the Delta Framework indicators into the Better Cotton M&E system?
EA: Delta indicators 1, 2, 3a, 5, 8 and 9 are already included in our M&E system and indicators 12 and 13 are included in our assurance system. We are planning to gradually integrate the others into our revised M&E system.
How will the Delta Framework benefit Better Cotton Members and Partners?
EA: It will provide our members and partners with more robust and relevant information they can use to report their contribution to more sustainable cotton production. Instead of our previous eight results indicators, we will measure our progress on the 15 from the Delta Framework, plus a few others linked to our Principles & Criteria. This will enable Better Cotton Members and Partners to better track progress made towards the Better Cotton expected outcomes and impact.
The changes in how we report on GHG emissions and water will be of particular interest. We will systematize the calculation of GHG emissions and hopefully be able to give an approximate carbon footprint for Better Cotton cultivation in each of the countries where we are active. The indicators will also help us better assess the water footprint of cultivating Better Cotton. Until now, we only quantified the volume of water used by Better Cotton Farmers compared to non-Better Cotton Farmers, but in the near future, we will also calculate irrigation efficiency and water productivity. This will show how much cotton is produced per unit of water used and how much water is actually benefitting a farmer’s crop. In addition, we are now shifting our M&E system towards longitudinal analysis, in which we will analyse the same group of Better Cotton Farmers over multiple years, rather than comparing the performance of Better Cotton Farmers to the performance of non-Better Cotton Farmers each year. This will give us a better picture of our progress in the medium and long term.
What will these changes mean for Better Cotton farming communities?
EA: Standards often take a lot of time collecting participating farmers’ data, yet the farmers rarely see any results from this. One of our key goals for the Delta Project was to give farmers their data in a meaningful way. For example, a smallholder farmer doesn’t benefit much from knowing their carbon footprint, but they would benefit a lot from knowing the evolution of their soil organic content and of their pesticide and fertiliser use over the years and how that relates to the evolution of their yield and profitability. Even better if they know how that compares to their peers. The idea is to provide this information as soon as possible after the end of the harvest, so that farmers can use it to adequately prepare for the next season.
Will the Delta Framework demand more of farmers’ time for data collection?
EA: No, it shouldn’t, because one of the objectives of the pilot was to source more data from secondary sources like remote sensing devices, satellite images, or other data sources that can provide us with the same information with greater accuracy, all while minimizing time spent with the farmer.
How will we know if the indicators have been successful and supported progress towards the SDGs?
EA: Because the indicators are closely aligned with the SDG framework, we think the use of the Delta indicators will certainly help in tracking progress towards the SDGs. But in the end, the Delta Framework is only an M&E framework. It’s what the organisations do with this information and how they use it to guide farmers and partners in the field that will determine whether it helps them progress towards the actual goals.
Is data from different standards being stored in one place?
EA: At the moment, every organisation is in charge of keeping their data and consolidating it to report externally. At Better Cotton, we will use the data to create country ‘dashboards’ as well as dashboards for our Programme Partners so that they can see precisely what is going well and what is lagging.
Ideally, a neutral entity like ISEAL could create a centralized platform where data from all the (agriculture) standards could be stored, aggregated and analysed. We have developed comprehensive guidance in the Delta Framework Digitisation Package to support organisations in ensuring that the data is registered and stored in a way that would allow for aggregation in the future. However, the difficulty will be to convince the standards to share their data while complying with data privacy regulations.
What’s next for the Delta Framework and indicators?
EA: An indicators framework is a living thing. It is never ‘done’ and will need constant nurturing and evolution. But for now, the indicators, along with their corresponding methodologies, tools and guidance materials, are available on the Delta Framework website for anyone to use. Moving forward, we are looking for an organisation to take ownership of the Framework and regularly review the relevance of the indicators as well as the potential new tools and methodologies available to measure them.
What does this framework mean for the future of the cotton sector and for sustainable cotton production?
EA: A key point is the fact that different sustainable cotton actors will use a common language for sustainability and report in a harmonised way so that we can unify and strengthen our voice as a sector. The other benefit of this work is the increased collaboration among the main sustainable cotton actors. We consulted many organisations within the cotton sector, we piloted the indicators together, and we shared our learnings. I think that the outcome of the Delta Project so far is not only the framework itself, but also a stronger willingness to collaborate with each other — and that’s very important.
* The Cotton 2040 working group includes Better Cotton, Cotton Made in Africa, Cotton Connect, Fairtrade, myBMP, Organic Cotton Accelerator, Textile Exchange, Forum for the Future and the Laudes Foundation
With our partners, we are pleased to launch the Delta Framework, a common set of environmental, social, and economic indicators to measure sustainability across the cotton and coffee commodity sectors.
The Delta Framework was developed in collaboration with Better Cotton’s cross-sector partners over the past 3 years, with the goal of producing a more harmonised way of measuring and reporting on the progress of farms participating in sustainable commodity certification schemes or other sustainable agriculture initiatives.
“Better Cotton is proud to have initiated and coordinated this cross-sector collaboration, which brings together expertise from across the agricultural sector. The Delta Framework is making it easier for the private sector, governments and farmers to report effectively on sustainability progress, leading to improvements in the quality of support and services provided to farmers, including better financing and government policies.”
Better Cotton CEO, Alan McClay
Together, the cross-sector programme agreed on key sustainability indicators and guidance materials that were extensively tested by the Project participants and other stakeholders. As a result, eight sustainable cotton standards, programmes and codes (members of the Cotton 2040 Working Group on Impact Metrics alignment) signed a Memorandum of Understanding in which they commit to align on Impacts Measurement and Reporting. Each member has committed to identifying an individual timeline for integrating relevant Delta indicators into their own monitoring, evaluation and reporting systems over time. The framework also provides an opportunity to develop cross-sector services to respond to farmers’ concerns and challenges, while making it easier to report progress.
The Delta Framework is an important reference and guidance for sustainability standards on key indicators that they can use to track and demonstrate their contribution to sustainability impacts. As attention for sustainability grows, it is becoming even more critical for all organizations working in sustainability to be able to communicate effectively about the difference they make, and the Delta Framework will be an important common reference for sustainability standards in this regard. Through this project we’ve recognized that an indicator framework isn’t a static thing. As the Delta Framework gets used, we are learning about further refinements and improvements that will keep it relevant in the future, and Delta Framework partners and ISEAL will continue to explore how to build on the Framework. It will be important for sustainability standards to see an interest in the data coming out of use of the Delta Framework by industry and other stakeholders. If there’s a clear demand for that information, that will provide an important incentive for sustainability standards to invest in the developments needed to fully integrate the Delta Framework in their performance measurement systems.
Kristin Komives, ISEAL
“The Delta Framework bridged the gap between the data collected by downstream supply chain actors and the information received by farmers. Beyond developing a framework for private and public supply chain actors to collect data and report on sustainability outcomes in an aligned manner, farmers in the pilots also received actionable recommendations and were able to improve their practices”
George Watene, Global Coffee Platform
“I found the recommendations from the project practical and useful. In fact, the recommended amount of fertilizers was lower than the amount we were using; with my family, we adopted more sustainable practices by reducing synthetic fertilizers and increasing organic ones. I know that adopting these practices will strengthen the health of soil on our plot”,
Coffee farmer who participated in the GCP pilot in Vietnam
“Through the work of the Delta Project, the major sustainable cotton standards have made significant progress towards adopting a common core set of indicators to report against. The implications of this are huge: once implemented, it enables these standards to tell a common narrative, backed up with evidence, about the positive impacts (as well as the reduction of negative impacts) that sustainable production creates. This will help to increase uptake by brands needing to make comprehensive and reliable sustainability claims to consumers and investors about the products they sell. Forum for the Future is proud to have partnered with the Delta Project in reaching this significant achievement.“
Charlene Collison, from Forum for the Future, Facilitator of the Cotton 2040 platform
The Delta Framework was made possible by a grant from the ISEAL Innovations Fund, which is supported by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO. The project collaborators include major sustainability standard organisations from the cotton and coffee sectors. The founding organisations are Better Cotton, the Global Coffee Platform (GCP), the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) and the International Coffee Association (ICO).
Acute, unintentional pesticide poisoning is widespread among farmers and farm workers, with smallholder cotton farmers in developing countries particularly affected. Yet the full extent of health effects remains poorly understood.
Here, Better Cotton Council Member and Pesticide Action Network (PAN) UK International Project Manager, Rajan Bhopal, explains how a ground-breaking app stands to capture the human impact of pesticide poisoning. Rajan presented T-MAPP at the Better Conference in June 2022 during a lively ‘disruptors’ session.
Rajan Bhopal speaking at the Better Cotton Conference in Malmö, Sweden, in June 2022
Why is the issue of pesticide poisoning largely invisible?
The term ‘pesticides’ covers a huge range of products containing varied chemistry, meaning the many signs and symptoms of poisoning can be difficult for clinicians to diagnose if they are not aware of the issue. In addition, many farmers suffer health impacts without seeking treatment, particularly in remote, rural areas, where communities lack access to affordable medical services. Too many cotton producers accept these effects as part of the job. And we know that where incidents are diagnosed by clinicians, they’re often not recorded systematically or shared with government ministries responsible for health and agriculture.
Existing health monitoring surveys can be challenging to conduct, analyse and report on. That’s why we’ve developed T-MAPP – a digital monitoring system that accelerates data collection and provides rapid analysis that turns data into accurate results on how pesticides are affecting farmers’ lives.
Tell us more about your new pesticide app
The T-MAPP app
Known as T-MAPP, our app makes data collection on pesticides poisoning more efficient, enabling field facilitators and others to collect comprehensive data on the products, practices and locations that are linked to high rates of serious pesticide poisoning. This includes detailed information farms and crops, use of protective equipment, particular pesticides and how they’re being applied, and health impacts within 24 hours of exposure. Once the data is collected and uploaded, T-MAPP allows survey managers to see analysed results in real-time via an online dashboard. Importantly, this knowledge can be harnessed to identify which pesticide products are causing poisoning and inform more targeted support.
What have you discovered so far?
Using T-MAPP, we have interviewed 2,779 cotton producers in India, Tanzania and Benin. Cotton farmers and workers are suffering widespread pesticide poisoning with significant impacts on wellbeing and livelihoods. On average, two in five had suffered pesticide poisoning in the past year. Severe symptoms of poisoning were common. Some 12% of farmers reporting severe effects that include, for example, seizures, loss of vision, or persistent vomiting.
What is being done with this information, or how could it be used?
It’s helping us understand the extent and severity of acute pesticide poisoning and find ways to tackle the issue. In some countries, regulators have used the app to monitor pesticides post-registration. In Trinidad, for example, certain pesticides could be banned for causing high rates of poisoning. Sustainability organisations are using the app to identify high risk practices and target their farmer capacity building efforts. In India, for example, the data has helped Better Cotton to focus an awareness campaign on the risks of pesticide mixtures. Elsewhere, similar surveys in Kurdistan led governments to taking action to prevent children’s exposure and involvement in pesticide spraying.
What is your message for brands and retailers?
Invest in understanding and addressing the health and environmental issues in the cotton sector, include misuse of pesticides, which are likely to be occurring in your supply chain. And by supporting high-quality capacity building programmes, you’ll be helping to protect farmers’ health, livelihoods and ability to cultivate cotton in the future.
Find out more
For more information on how Better Cotton addresses crop protection risks, visit our Pesticides and Crop Protection page.
Last week’s unprecedented weather in Pakistan has seen a third of the country under water and 6 million people in need of support, as homes and livelihoods are swept away by the country’s worst ever floods
480 participants, 64 speakers and 49 nationalities met in Malmö, Sweden and online on 22 & 23 June for the 2022 Better Cotton Conference.
The conference brought together farmers, fashion brands, civil society organisations, businesses, and other stakeholders from across the cotton sector to discuss the critical climate issues facing the cotton industry today. After two years of adapted online engagement, we were thrilled to meet both virtually and in-person again to exchange ideas.
Get a glimpse of the conference by watching our highlights showreel!
Balubhai Parmar, a Better Cotton Farmer from India, gave us a first-hand look at how collaboration between farmers can bring about improvement in yields and livelihoods.
Meanwhile Lacy Vardeman, a Better Cotton Farmer from the United States, shared her experience of multi-generational farming in the large farm context, and learning and trialling locally relevant approaches.
Inspiring stories of women taking climate action were shared in the session led by Njeri Kimotho of Solidaridad, who heard from women working in the Pakistani, Egyptian, and Turkish cotton sectors.
As Better Cotton’s traceability work begins to take more shape, we learnt more about the direction this is taking, and about the challenges and opportunities that traceability brings – from people that are further in their traceability journey.
Head of Sustainability at IKEA, Christina Niemelä Ström, spoke about their commitment to people and planet, and the progress they have made to source their raw materials in a more sustainable, climate positive way.
By Lena Staafgard, COO, Better Cotton, in collaboration with Charlene Collison, Associate Director – Sustainable Value Chains and Livelihoods, Forum for the Future
Preparing the cotton sector for climate risks
Cotton is one of the world’s most important natural fibres, accounting for 31% of raw materials used for textiles and supporting the livelihoods of around 350 million people. As global warming escalates, potentially reaching 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by 2030, the climate disruption already facing the sector is set to increase, with profound impacts for yields, supply chains and farming communities. The most vulnerable – farmers and farm workers – are likely to be the hardest hit. To ensure a thriving future for cotton, it’s vital that we help prepare the sector to adapt to the crisis. Cotton is a renewable, fossil free fibre and with climate smart practices it can contribute positively to climate change mitigation.
That’s why building the capacity of cotton farmers to halve the greenhouse gas emissions of Better Cotton and improve their climate resilience is a major focus for Better Cotton, and a core part of our 2030 Strategy. But we’ll only achieve our aims if we first understand the precise nature and severity of climate risks for cotton. So we welcome the first piece of research exploring the risks facing the global cotton sector, ‘Planning for Climate Adaptation’. Commissioned by Cotton 2040, convened by our partner Forum for the Future and conducted by climate risk specialist Acclimatise, it covers the whole value chain, exploring the diverse, complex and interrelated risks that stand to create serious challenges to cotton production.
Planning for Climate Adaptation: A call for action
By 2040, it’s estimated that all cotton producing regions will be affected by climate change, including the cotton growing giants of India, USA, China, Brazil, Pakistan and Turkey. Half of all regions could face high or very high climate risk exposure from at least one climate risk, with some set to experience up to seven risks, from temperature changes to irregular rainfall to droughts, flooding and wildfires. For example, heat stress (temperatures above 40°C) could present an increased risk across 75% of cotton growing regions, further straining and altering growing seasons.
Irregular, insufficient or extreme rainfall will be more prevalent in the world’s most productive cotton growing regions, preventing the development of healthy crops, obliging farmers to re-sow or even wiping out entire harvests. The increased risk of drought could impact around half of the world’s cotton, with farmers forced to increase their use of irrigation, where this possibility exists. Some 20% of cotton growing regions could be exposed to more river flooding by 2040 and 30% could be exposed to increased risk from landslides. All cotton growing regions will be exposed to increased risk from wildfires, and 60% of cotton could be exposed to increased risk from damaging wind speeds. This new reality would affect every aspect of value chains, from farm workers to brand owners, reducing yields, creating more uncertainty around cotton prices, and affecting supply chain continuity.
Those regions most likely to be exposed to climate impacts are also the least developed countries, meaning the impacts will be disproportionately felt by the most vulnerable, with farmers and producers particularly exposed. Brands and the wider cotton sector must therefore decarbonise their operations and supply chains globally as rapidly as possible – and in a way that ensures decent work and protects human rights.
A platform for collective, systemic change
We’re too late in the day to avoid all above impacts, but we can certainly reduce the risks, and strengthen farming communities’ ability to manage through them. For that, collaboration is needed across the sector to build climate resilience, reduce the climate impacts of cotton, and develop solutions for adaptation. As a multi-stakeholder initiative working with actors across the cotton sector, Better Cotton has a unique opportunity to act as a platform for collective action, collaborating closely with our partners and providing funding to build farmers’ capacity around the world. We are also leveraging partnerships to advocate for change, with a key focus on ensuring a fair transition to climate resilience in cotton producing countries, whereby all groups, including vulnerable farming communities, benefit from adopting sustainable practices.
Photo Credit: Better Cotton/Florian Lang Location: Surendranagar, Gujarat, India. 2018. Description: Better Cotton Lead Farmer Vinodbhai Patel is explaining to a Better Cotton field facilitator (right side) and his share-cropper, Hargovindbhai Haribhai (left side) how the soil is benefiting from the presence of earthworms.
Photo Credit: Better Cotton/Florian Lang Location: Surendranagar, Gujarat, India. 2018. Description: At her home, Better Cotton Lead Farmer Vindobhai Patel’s wife Nitaben, is demonstrating how she grinds Bengal gram to make flour. Vinodbhai is using this lentil flour to produce organic fertilizer which he is using in his cotton field.
We are partnering with organisations that can provide further assistance to farmers by identifying, promoting, and scaling accessible regenerative and climate smart agriculture practices, and helping farmers to diversify their activities. This can include encouraging water storage, developing weather, pest and disease forecasting, creating and implementing weather-indexed insurance, and breeding cotton seed varieties that are resistant to drought, flood, pests, weed and disease.
There is a long journey ahead and the sector will need to move cohesively and decisively to thrive in the future. When we succeed, cotton will continue to be able to support millions of livelihoods across the world and be a carbon positive raw material for textiles and other products. Determined to make a difference, Better Cotton and Forum for the Future will work together with other like-minded partners to raise standards and encourage business models that help farmers build climate resilience and improve their livelihoods.
For more information, including on Forum for the Future and WTW’s ‘Insights to Action’ masterclasses on climate risks to the cotton sector, please see Planning for Climate Adaptation.
Better Cotton’s Member Communications Manager, Ellie Gaffney, shares why when it comes to communicating to customers about sustainability, getting it right matters.
Better Cotton supports cotton farming communities to reduce the emissions from cotton farming, while also building their resilience to the changing climate.
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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The Better Cotton Living Income Project: Insights from India
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