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 has announced a one-year extension of its standard recognition agreement with its Strategic Partner in Israel, the Israel Cotton Production and Marketing Board (ICB). The ICB is a farmer-owned producer organisation (cooperative) representing cotton farmers across the country.
Since 2020, the organisation’s Israel Cotton Production Standard System (ICPSS) has been recognised as equivalent to the Better Cotton Standard System (BCSS), enabling domestic farmers to sell their cotton as ‘Better Cotton’ in international markets.
In the 22/23 cotton season, 80 farmers attained an ICPSS certificate from ICB, producing more than 17,300 metric tonnes of Better Cotton, representing 99% of the country’s production for the season.
Israel’s cotton sector, though small in size, is recognised as a world leader in research and development, culminating in new seed and plant varieties, technological innovations and improved crop quality and yields.
Following the ICB’s success in aligning its field-level requirements with Better Cotton’s updated Principles & Criteria (P&C) v.3.0, the revised ICPSS will be fully implemented by the 2025/26 season.
Better Cotton requires Strategic Partners to periodically reassess and, where necessary, realign their standards with the BCSS to ensure that their objectives remain consistent and that they too evolve to continually support the needs of cotton farmers.
Notes to Editors:
Better Cotton Strategic Partners operate equivalent sustainable cotton programmes that align with and are benchmarked against the Better Cotton Standard.
How can we effectively adopt biodiversity practices into agricultural systems on a global scale? A recent case study in Punjab, Pakistan, offers valuable insights.
Photo credit: Better Cotton/Jay Louvion. Better Cotton CEO Alan McClay.
Better Cotton CEO, Alan McClay, has announced his retirement and will leave the organisation in October 2025.
McClay has led Better Cotton since 2015, in which time the organisation has grown to become a global force for sustainable change in cotton production. His vision, unwavering dedication, and personal commitment to the organisation’s mission has helped drive transformative change across the sector.
Over the next year, McClay will remain in his role and retain his existing responsibilities to ensure a seamless and transparent leadership transition. An extensive and thorough recruitment process, managed by the Better Cotton Council, will take place in parallel, providing ample time to identify and finalise the appointment of his successor.
Better Cotton remains committed to supporting the production of more sustainable and equitable cotton.
Better Cotton is joining more than 50 natural fibre organisations and environmental groups in supporting calls for an urgent revision of the European Commission’s Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) methodology.
On the first anniversary of the launch of Better Cotton Traceability, let’s look back at some of the key milestones that we have achieved in our first year.
By Lisa Barratt, Senior Manager, Africa Programmes, Better Cotton
Lisa Barratt, Senior Manager, Africa Programmes, Better Cotton
As much as 90% of African cotton is exported. It’s evidence of supreme demand from the global fashion industry, but also a stark reminder of the continent’s fledgling industrial landscape. This UN Africa Industrialization Day, the signs are there that things are about to change with bold plans to scale clothing production.
Despite their low environmental footprint, Africa’s smallholder cotton farmers are dedicated to advancing sustainable development. Fortunately, at a time when climate-related risks loom, these communities are poised to reap the rewards of an ambitious new partnership – one that could catapult Africa’s industrial evolution into the future.
Across Africa, cotton is grown by smallholders working just a couple of hectares. Rain-fed and hand-picked, their crops shape their livelihoods, which perhaps explains why cotton farmers, with support from initiatives like Better Cotton, are embracing more sustainable practices in increasing numbers.
At Better Cotton, we support farmers to boost their resilience in the face of climate threats. Across Africa, we partner with local organisations in countries such as Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Mozambique, Egypt and Benin on a broad spectrum of improvements, from soil health and water management to the development of sustainable solutions such as biopesticides, which can tackle infestations without relying on costly – and sometimes highly hazardous – chemicals.
But the real prize for the region’s cotton growers lies in boosting its own textile industry. At present, 90% of Africa’s cotton is exported. This is a missed opportunity for a continent that desperately needs to build economic and employment prospects for its youth.
If Africa could develop more of an indigenous manufacturing sector, turning home-grown cotton into finished thread and clothing, it could transform prospects not only for its smallholder farmers, but its urban poor as well.
Government bodies in West and Central Africa are already collaborating to boost the cotton sector through an innovative partnership. The ‘C4+’ Group – comprising Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, and Mali – and are working as a consortium to strengthen the region’s cotton sector and attract more investment in clothing manufacturing.
This has now recently received a significant boost thanks to a groundbreaking partnership between the World Trade Organization (WTO) and FIFA, the international football federation. Backed by a band of organisations, including Better Cotton, UNIDO, the ILO and the ITC, this ‘Partenariat pour le coton’ (Partnership for Cotton) is actively exploring how cotton from the C4+ countries can play a greater part in the production of football merchandise in new manufacturing facilities based in West Africa.
There’s huge potential here: as WTO’s Director-General, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, points out, the value of exports of cotton thread and t-shirts from the region amounts to just $100,000 per year, compared to the $800 million worth in exports of unfinished cotton lint. If a substantial portion of that could be finished in the region, it would be transformative.
The potential of this partnership has been further supported by efforts from UNIDO, the WTO, ITC and Afreximbank, along with financial institutions, Africa Finance Corporation and the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation, who have outlined their goal of raising up to $12 billion in investment to support the growth of a sustainable cotton-to-textile/apparel value chain.
This could finance improvements in energy access and job opportunities, particularly for women. A UNIDO study suggests that finishing just 25% of the region’s raw cotton could create up to 500,000 jobs.
It is a huge opportunity – both for the African economy, and for the future of a more sustainable cotton sector: one with smallholders at its heart.
This year, Better Cotton is participating in COP29, the annual UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties. We are proud to be part of the first-ever COP Standards Pavilion, sharing a platform with leading sustainability standards organisations to showcase international standards as essential, systemic, scalable solutions for achieving large-scale impactful climate resilience.
In Baku, we will be convening a range of discussions on human-centred adaptation and mitigation strategies in cotton farming, engaging in debates about the role of natural fibres in the EU’s shift towards a climate-neutral and circular economy, and exploring how sustainable cotton farming in Azerbaijan can positively impact both local and global market.
For a full breakdown of the events that we will be participating in, please see below.
Declaration of Interest in a Better Cotton Programme in Azerbaijan
Date: 14 November 2024
Time: 10:00 – 11:00
Location: Azerbaijan Pavilion C3
Description: This session will convene global stakeholders to explore sustainable cotton farming practices in Azerbaijan, discussing progress, challenges, and opportunities within the sector, focussing on strategies that promote climate resilience and rural development. The panel will focus on strategies that promote climate resilience and rural development through sustainable cotton production, emphasising the role of finance, policy, and trade in scaling these initiatives, while exploring how sustainable practices can positively impact both local and global markets. Finally, in response to an expression of interest in launching a Better Cotton Programme in Azerbaijan, we will also use this opportunity to set out the elements necessary for an enabling environment to be implemented credibly.
Speakers:
Hon. Majnun Mammadov, Minister of Agriculture of the Azerbaijan Republic
Jannis Bellinghausen, Director of Standards Certification & MEL, Better Cotton
Description: Following the common thread of ‘people first’, this discussion will dive into locally implemented innovative strategies like using biochar or agroforestry tested and adopted in smallholder contexts to improve soil health, remove carbon from the atmosphere and increase incomes of farming communities. A unique set of perspectives brought by voluntary sustainability standards, civil society and supply chain actors will demonstrate how, when the right investments are made, the scalability of multistakeholder collaboration can truly transform agricultural practices and combat climate change.
Description: Do you ever wonder if the clothes that you buy are made of synthetic or natural fibres, and what difference that makes? In this 30 minute conversation, we will explore how the highly debated EU Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) methodology aims to standardise the way we measure and communicate the environmental impact of products. Perspectives brought by Brazilian and Australian cotton stakeholders will shed light on the true environmental and human impact PEF is likely to have and the role of Make the Label Count in advocating for accurate, transparent labelling to empower consumers to make informed, sustainable choices.
As COP29 kicks off today, Better Cotton is urging global leaders to place farming communities at the centre of climate action and to recognise the critical role sustainability standards play in driving measurable progress toward climate resilience.
With a strong focus on securing an ambitious new finance commitment from developed nations to support climate action in developing countries, Better Cotton is pushing for farmers’ voices to be placed at the heart of these discussions, ensuring that they not only withstand climate impacts but are empowered to lead in sustainable agriculture.
Supporting over two million farmers globally, Better Cotton’s existing initiatives show how sustainability standards can drive real-world change. The new Impact Fund, for example, accelerates field-level sustainability and climate resilience efforts in cotton-growing communities starting in India. Better Cotton is also engaging in the Unlock Programme, which breaks down barriers to decarbonising cotton and raw material production.
Farmers are on the frontline of climate change and their voices cannot be relegated to the sideline. Standards like Better Cotton have the power to unlock far-reaching impact and enable businesses to accelerate climate progress. We must not leave the farming communities to face the full force of climate change alone.
Lars van Doremalen, Impact Director at Better Cotton
While smallholder farmers globally receive just 0.8% of total climate finance, those growing cotton – which represent more than 90% of the world’s cotton farmers – are expected to receive an even smaller share.
IFAD estimates that US$75 billion is required each year to enable smallholder farmers to successfully adapt to the effects of climate change.
Better Cotton’s call to action comes as it partners with the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and other sustainability standards bodies to launch the first-ever Standards Pavilion at COP.
To truly empower these farmers to adapt and thrive amidst climate change, leaders at COP29 must prioritise meaningful financial commitments, pledge ambitiously and ensure smallholders have the support they need to drive sustainable agriculture forward.
Lars van Doremalen, Impact Director at Better Cotton
Better Cotton has a delegation attending the COP29 Summit in Baku, including:
Lars van Doremalen – Impact Director
Jannis Bellinghausen – Director of Standards, Certification and MEL
Hélène Bohyn – Policy and Advocacy Manager
Notes to Editors:
Climate change and cotton production:
Research supported by Better Cotton predicts that by 2040, around half of the world’s cotton growing regions will face high or very high-risk exposure to at least one climate hazard – including floods, droughts and wildfires.
Some regions will be exposed to as many as seven climate threats and in the worst-case scenario, all regions could be affected.
Better Cotton at COP29 events:
14 November – 10:00 – 11:00 – ‘Better Cotton’ session at the Azerbaijan Pavilion [public event]
18 November – 11:15 – 12:15 – ‘Human-Centred Adaptation & Mitigation Strategies in Cotton Farming’ (Standards Pavilion B15- Area E) [public event]
19 November – 11:45 – 12:30 – Interactive group discussion with agricultural sector specific civil society organisations and voluntary sustainability standards about opportunities and pathways for joint advocacy strategies to advance climate resilience of farming communities (Standards Pavilion B15- Area E) [closed door event]
20 November – 11:15 – 11:45 ‘Beyond the Label: The Climate Impact of Natural Fibres vs Synthetic Fibres’ (Standards Pavilion B15-Area E) [public event]
This year, we are proud to announce that Better Cotton will be part of the first-ever Standards Pavilion at COP – a space bringing together sustainability standards organisations from across the world to advance climate action.
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