myBetterCotton
Slide

Better Cotton Farmers Achieve a Reduction in Water and Pesticide Use while Increasing Yields and Profits

Slide

Better Cotton Farmers Achieve a Reduction in Water and Pesticide Use while Increasing Yields and Profits

Joe Morphet on October 23, 2019

 
BCI Farmers Demonstrate the Benefits of Implementing more Sustainable Farming Practices

In the 2017-18 cotton season*, the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) and its on-the-ground partners provided training on more sustainable farming practices to more than two million cotton farmers in 21 countries. Through training, tools and capacity building, BCI Farmers address and tackle pertinent issues in cotton production, from water use to pest management to Decent Work. By implementing the Better Cotton Principles and Criteria, farmers produce cotton in a way that is measurably better for themselves, the environment and farming communities.

Each cotton season, BCI and its partners collect data from BCI Farmers to monitor and assess a range of social, environmental and economic indicators. BCI Farmer results from the 2017-18 cotton season clearly demonstrate the benefits of implementing more sustainable practices around the world.Here are some key highlights from China, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Turkey.

Social

  • In Turkey, 74% of BCI Farmers had advanced awareness of child labour issues.
  • In Tajikistan, 25% of BCI Farmers trained on health and safety practices were women.

Environmental

  • BCI Farmers in India used 10% less water than comparison farmers.
  • BCI Farmers in Pakistan used 17% less synthetic fertiliser than comparison farmers.
  • BCI Farmers in Tajikistan used 40% fewer pesticides than comparison farmers.

Economic

  • BCI Farmers in China achieved 14% higher yields than comparison farmers.
  • BCI Farmers in Pakistan achieved 40% higher profits than comparison farmers.

Access the2017-18 BCI Farmer Results to see how BCI is driving measurable improvements in cotton production.

Note about Comparison Farmers: BCI Farmer Results compare the country averages of key social, environmental and economic indicators achieved by licensed BCI Farmers to non-BCI farmers in the same geographic area who are not participating in the BCI programme. We refer to the latter farmers as Comparison Farmers.

*Cotton is sown and harvested in different annual cycles all over the world. For BCI, the 2017-18 cotton season harvest was completed towards the end of 2018. BCI Farmer results indicator data must be submitted to BCI within 12 weeks of the cotton harvest. All data then goes through a rigorous data cleaning and validation process before it can be published.

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Better Cotton’s Membership Grows as New Organisations Support More Sustainable Cotton Farming

Joe Morphet on October 22, 2019

 
In the first half of 2019, the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) welcomed 200 new members across its membership categories. BCI works with members across the cotton supply chain to ensure there is continuous demand and supply of Better Cotton – cotton produced by licensed BCI Farmers in line with the Better Cotton Principles and Criteria.

New members in the first half of 2019 included 34 retailers and brands from 13 countries, 162 suppliers and manufacturers, two civil society organisations, and one field-level producer organisation.

The retailers and brands that joined BCI in the first half of the year include ANTA International (China), Asics Corporation (Japan), Blue Illusion (Australia), Fillippa K (Sweden), Giorgio Armani Operations (Italy), Kiabi (France),Kohl’s Department Stores (United States), MAC Mode (Germany), Melco Resorts and Entertainment (China), Mos Mosh (Denmark), O’Neill Europe (Netherlands), SOK Corporation (Finland), Voice Norge (Norway), Walmart (United States) and Whistles (United Kingdom).You can find a full list of BCI Members here.

BCI’sdemand–drivenfunding model means that retailer and brand member sourcing of cotton as “Better Cotton’ directly translates into increased investment in training for cotton farmers on more sustainable practices. At the time of writing, Better Cotton uptake by these members has already surpassed one million metric tonnes this year, exceeding 2018’s uptake.

BCI’s newest civil society members are the HCV Network (United Kingdom) and the Global Alliance for Sustainable Supply Chain (Japan). HCV Network strives to protect high conservation values in areas where the expansion of forestry and agriculture may put important forests, biodiversity and local communities at risk, while the Global Alliance for Sustainable Supply Chain is a non-governmental organisation promoting a sustainable supply chain in Japan.

Supplier and manufacturer members support the transformation of the cotton sector by joining BCI and sourcing increased volumes of Better Cotton for BCI Retailer and Brand Members – forming a critical link between Better Cotton supply and demand. In the first half of the year, new members joined from 25 countries including Brazil, Costa Rica, India, Indonesia, Italy, Pakistan, Peru, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam.

At the end of the first half of 2019, BCI membership totalled more than 1,600 members.You can find a full list of BCI Members here.

If your organisation is interested in becoming a BCI Member and supporting cotton farmers to embed more sustainable farming practices around the globe, please visit the membership pageon the BCI website,or get in touch with the BCI Membership Team.

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Which Cotton Merchants and Mills Are Sourcing the Largest Volumes of “Better Cotton’?

Joe Morphet on September 18, 2019

 
As demand for Better Cotton – cotton grown by licensed BCI Farmers in line with the Better Cotton Principles and Criteria – increases, more and more organisations throughout the cotton supply chain are joining the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) and supporting increased uptake of Better Cotton*. Earlier in the year, we announced the BCI Retailer and Brand Members that sourced the largest volumes of cotton as Better Cotton in 2018. Now we are launching the Cotton Merchants and Mills Leaderboard.

The Merchants and Mills Leaderboard highlights the top 20 cotton merchants and top 50 mills, based on volumes of cotton sourced as Better Cotton. Access the 2018 Better Cotton Leaderboard.

Cotton merchants and mills are supporting the transformation of the cotton sector by joining BCI and sourcing increased volumes of Better Cotton for BCI Retailer and Brand Members – forming a critical link between Better Cotton supply and demand.

”Market demand for more sustainable cotton has dramatically increased over the years. It began with a few retailers sourcing more sustainable cotton in limited quantities for small collections. Over time, retailers have grown their collections and implemented overarching sustainable sourcing targets which has increased the volumes of more sustainable cotton sourced, including Better Cotton. We see this demand increasing further over the next 5 to 10 years.” – Osman Ustundag,Cotton Purchasing Manager at Kipa≈ü Holding, a BCI Member since 2011.

Increased sourcing of Better Cotton generates essential funding for farmer training and support. This is in turn driving more sustainable practices in cotton production, making it better for the people who produce it and the environment it grows in. BCI has a goal to train five million cotton farmers on more sustainable practices by 2020. Find out more in the BCI 2018 Annual Report.

“With the creation of BCI in 2009, a holistic and pragmatic approach for farmers to embed sustainable farming practices was launched.Better Cotton addressed the gap that existed between retailers’ sustainable sourcing targets and market supply of more sustainably produced cotton. Using innovative models such as mass-balance during sourcing, the market now has access to alarge and growing supply base to procure from.”– Amit Shah, CEO and Founding Director at Spectrum International, a BCI Member since 2013. Amit Shah also holds the position of Treasurer on the BCI Council.

Find out which merchants and mills sourced the largest volumes of cotton as Better Cotton in the 2018 Better Cotton Leaderboard.

*Uptake refers to the sourcing and purchasing of more sustainable cotton in a supply chain. By “sourcing cotton as Better Cotton,’ BCI is referring to the action taken by members when they place orders for cotton-containing products. It does not refer to the cotton present in the finished product. BCI uses a chain of custody model called Mass Balance whereby volumes of Better Cotton are tracked on an online sourcing platform. Better Cotton may be mixed with or replaced by conventional cotton in its journey from field to product, however, the volumes of Better Cotton claimed by members on the online platform never exceeds the volumes physically procured by spinners and traders.
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Join Better Cotton at World Cotton Day | Registration Closes on 20 September 2019

Joe Morphet on September 17, 2019

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) will host the launch of World Cotton Dayon 7 October 2019 at its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

World Cotton Day will celebrate cotton, from its qualities as a natural fibre to the benefits people obtain from its production, transformation, trade and consumption. The event will also serve to shed light on the challenges faced by cotton industries around the world, and particularly in the least-developed countries.

The day’s events will include:

  • A plenary session with heads of state, heads of international organisations, ministers and high-level officials as well as industry and business leaders;
  • Several thematic side events gathering public and private sector leaders and experts on cotton for informative discussions and networking;
  • A partners’ conference organised to leverage resources and catalyse technical expertise specifically towards a new project on technology transfer for the development of cotton by-product value chains in eight pilot African countries;
  • A fashion show to display cotton fashion and designers from different parts of the world with a special focus on Africa;
  • A press conference; and
  • Cotton exhibitions, display booths, a pop-up store, a photo contest, a reception and livestreaming of cotton celebrations around the world.

Representatives from the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) will attend the event and Alan McClay, CEO, will moderate a panel discussion organised by the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC). Join BCI and industry experts from Cotton Incorporated, C&A Foundation, H&M Group, World Textile Information Network, Esquel Group and Vardeman Farms between 15:30-17:00 CET on 7 October. The panel will address many of cotton’s challenges, including climate change, population growth, plastic pollution, innovation and changing consumer preferences.

In addition, Lisa Barratt, BCI Africa Operations Manager, will deliver a presentation on sustainability issues in the cotton sector in Africa, before participating in a panel discusson focused on market and policy trends in the cotton sector.

For further information and to register, please visit the World Cotton Daywebpage. Online registration must be completed no later than 20 September 2019.

Additional details

The WTO Secretariat is organising the event in collaboration with the Secretariats of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC). This event stems from the Cotton-4’s (Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali) official application for the recognition of a World Cotton Day by the United Nations General Assembly, reflecting the importance of cotton as a global commodity.

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