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Register Now for the Better Cotton 2018 Global Cotton Conference: Early-Bird Offer Plus Special Discount for Better Cotton Members

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Register Now for the Better Cotton 2018 Global Cotton Conference: Early-Bird Offer Plus Special Discount for Better Cotton Members

Joe Morphet on January 22, 2018

Toward 2030: Scaling Impact Through Collaboration
26 – 28 June 2018
Brussels, Belgium

26 June 2018: BCI Members-Only General Assembly & An Introduction to BCI
27 – June 2018: BCI Global Cotton Conference open to all

The second edition of the BCI Global Cotton Conference will bring the entire sector together on 26 – 28 June to collaborate on a more sustainable future for cotton. Join industry leaders and experts for an interactive opportunity to explore thematics at field level, in the supply chain and in consumer facing business.

Prior to the public conference, BCI will host a half-day members’ only meeting with relevant organisational updates on membership benefits, governance and strategy.

Take advantage of the early-bird registration fee and book your tickets today – the early-bird rate expires on 15 February 2018. BCI Members receive an additional 60% discount.

Click hereto register

Sponsors

We are always thankful to our generous supporters. We are proud to welcome C&A as the BCI 2018 Global Cotton Conference Welcome Reception Sponsor; JFS San and ChainPoint as Coffee Break Sponsors; VF Corporation and Target as Farmer Travel Sponsors; and IDH The Sustainable Trade Initiative as the Better Cotton Growth and Innovation Fund sponsor.

The conference offers a range of sponsorship opportunities and we look forward to welcoming more supporters. For moreinformation about sponsorship, questions or support with the conference, please contact the Membership team.

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Better Cotton Publishes the Better Cotton Growth and Innovation Fund (GIF) 2016 Report

Joe Morphet on December 19, 2017

In 2016 over 600,000 farmers* benefitted from the Better Cotton GIF due to a 43% growth in BCI Retailer and Brand Members.

The Better Cotton Growth and Innovation Fund (GIF) — a Fund set up by the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) and IDH, The Sustainable Trade Initiative — is well under way to meet BCI’s target to reach 5 million farmers by 2020. Next to a growing number of farmers and participating companies, in 2016 the Better Cotton GIF was also able to invest over ‚Ǩ8.9 million in more sustainable cotton farming in seven major cotton production countries: India, Pakistan, China, Mozambique, Turkey, Tajikistan and Senegal.

The Better Cotton GIF Annual Report, unveils how the Fund has contributed to these targets with stories from seven production countries, and provides insights from organisations large and small that are collaborating through the Better Cotton GIF to make cotton production more sustainable.

ACCESS THE FULL REPORT HERE.

Alan McClay, CEO, BCI: “In 2016, we launched the Better Cotton Growth and Innovation Fund, a global project portfolio designed tobe a catalyst for transforming cotton production by achieving scale and impact. The Better Cotton GIF portfolio needs to grow rapidly over the next four years to keep BCI on track to achieve our ambitious targets, transitioning from hundreds of thousands of farmers — more than a third of the total farmers reached by BCI with its partners — to millions.And to achieve scale, we must innovate, an important facet of BCI that will become increasingly significant as we grow.’

Joost Oorthuizen, CEO, IDH: “The Better Cotton GIF provides a mechanism for retailers and brands so they can make investment decisions and have impact on scale they would never be able to reach on their own. It also enables public-private cooperation on an unprecedented scale which add to its successful implementation.’

WHAT IS THE BETTER COTTON GROWTH AND INNOVATION FUND

Launched in 2016, the Better Cotton Growth and Innovation Fund is truly collaborative, governed by the BCI Council in partnership with BCI Retailer and Brand Members, Civil Society Members, and government bodies.IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative, is the Fund Manager, along with being an important funder. The Better Cotton GIF identifies, supports and invests in field-level programmes and innovation while fostering adoption of the Better Cotton Standard System by governments, trade associations and other entities.

In 2016, the Better Cotton GIF directly invested ‚Ǩ4.2 million in field–level programmes and mobilised an additional ‚Ǩ4.7 million in co–funding from partners—a total portfolio value of ‚Ǩ8.9 million. These investments enabled over 600,000 farmers to participate in BCI programmes over the 2016/17 cotton season.

The success of the Better Cotton GIF depends on the commitment of BCI Retailer and Brand Members, who contribute through a fee based on the volume of cotton they source as Better Cotton. This fee enables brands to directly and efficiently support field-level programmes. In 2016, BCI saw its retailer and brand membership base grow by 43%, indicating strong future growth for the Better Cotton GIF.

2016 BETTER COTTON GIF ANNUAL REPORT SUCCESSES

In its first year, the Better Cotton GIF supported Better Cotton production in seven countries: India, Pakistan, China, Mozambique, Turkey, Tajikistan and Senegal. Major successes for the Better Cotton GIF in 2016 include:

  • Strengthened relationships with governments in India and Pakistan;
  • The highest-ever annual national production of Better Cotton in China; and
  • An exemplary cooperative model of delivering farmer training and capacity building in Tajikistan.

The below table shows the number of farmers reached by the Better Cotton GIF in 2016 and the amount of Better Cotton they produced.

Participating Farmers Metric Tonnes of Better Cotton Produced
India336,000300,000
Pakistan128,000316,000
Mozambique87,00015,500
China57,000463,000
Turkey37430,000
Tajikistan1,00013,000
Senegal6,300(Figure not yet finalised)

 

ACCESS THE FULL REPORT HERE.

The launch of the Better Cotton GIF Annual Report coincides with the launch of the new Better Cotton GIF microsite bettercottonfund.org.

* While the Better Cotton Growth and Innovation Fund reached over 600,000 farmers, the Better Cotton Initiative reached 1.6 million farmers in 2016.

 

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Twenty-Three Renowned Companies Pledge to Source 100% More Sustainable Cotton by 2025

Joe Morphet on October 12, 2017

Twenty-three of the world’s most renowned clothing and textile companies, including Burberry, Adidas, Kathmandu and Timberland have pledged to source 100% more sustainable cotton by 2025. These companies join the original 13 major brands and retailers who made the pledge earlier this year, taking the total committed companies up to 36, including a number of BCI Retailer and Brand Members.

The pledge titled “The Sustainable Cotton Communique’ was the result of a high-level meeting attended by HRH The Prince of Wales and organised by The Prince’s International Sustainability Unit (ISU) in collaboration with Marks & Spencer and The Soil Association. Itdemonstrates that there is a demand for more sustainable cotton, and the commitment made by companies will help to drive sustainable practices across the sector. In turn, this will help alleviate the environmental and social costs that are too often associated with cotton production, including the over-use of pesticides, the release of greenhouse gases, the depletion of local water sources and rising costs of production.

The brands that have now committed to the 100% by 2025 pledge are: ASOS,Adidas, A-Z, BikBOk, Burberry, Burton Snowboards, Carlings, Coyuchi, Cubus, Days like This, Dressmann, EILEEN FISHER, F&F at Tesco, Greenfibres, H&M, Hanky Panky, House of Fraser, IKEA, Indigenous Designs, KappAhl, Kathmandu, Kering, Levi’s, Lindex, Mantis World, M&S, MetaWear, Nike, Otto Group, prAna, Sainsbury’s, SkunkFunk, Timberland, Urban, Volt,Woolworths and Wow.

The companies that have pledged their support areat various stages on their journey to sourcing more sustainable cotton, with some already securing all of their cotton from sustainable sources. However, all are clear that collaboration across the sector is needed to bring about transformative change.

The pledge announcement was made at the annual Textile Exchange Sustainability Conference, where more than 400 textile and apparel leaders have come together to discuss the most important sustainability issues facing the industry. Following the announcement,BCI’s Chief Operating Officer Lena Staafgard joined a panel discussion focusing on scaling the use of more sustainable cotton.

 

This story was originally published by Textile Exchange via CSRwire.

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Better Cotton Retailer and Brand Members Lead the Way in Sustainable Cotton Ranking 2017

Joe Morphet on October 4, 2017

Released on Monday, the Sustainable Cotton Ranking 2017 reveals that BCI Retailer and Brand Members C&A, H&M and M&S have joined IKEA as “frontrunners’ in the Sustainable Cotton Ranking 2017.

BCI Civil Society Members Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK), Solidaridad and WWF share a vision for a more sustainable cotton sector. In the second Sustainable Cotton Ranking report, they assessed the performance of 75 of the largest cotton-using companies, up from 37 companies in 2016. Companies were scored and ranked on uptake of more sustainable cotton, policy and transparency.

The report notes that cultivation of more sustainable cotton has never been higher, reaching 2.6 million tonnes in 2015/16 and representing around 12% – 15% of global cotton supply. Driving this increase are four sustainable cotton cultivation standards:

  • The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), which represents the largest share of more sustainable cotton with 2.5 million metric tonnes (MT) of Better Cotton lint produced in 23 countries (2015/16 season).
  • Organic cotton, which represents 112,488 MT of cotton lint produced in 19 countries (2014/15 season).
  • Fairtrade cotton which represents 16,640 MT of cotton lint produced in seven countries (2015/16 season).
  • Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) which represents 320,100 MT of cotton lint, produced in ten African counties (2016).

Of the companies actively sourcing more sustainable cotton, efforts are being driven by five “frontrunners’ – IKEA, Tchibo GmbH, M&S, C&A, and H&M – four of whom are BCI Retailer and Brand Members.

The “frontrunners’ are followed by eight companies which are “well on the way’ to sourcing more sustainable cotton: Adidas AG, Otto Group, Nike, Inc., Levi Strauss & Co., Woolworths Holdings Ltd, VF Corporation, Tesco PLC and Kering – six of whom are also BCI Retailer and Brand Members. An additional 18 companies are recognised in the ranking as just “starting the journey’, whilst the remaining 44 companies assessed scored no points, having “not begun their journey’ to sourcing more sustainable cotton.

IKEA, C&A and Adidas AG stand out in the report for sourcing more than 50% of the cotton they use as more sustainable cotton.

11 companies have a target for sourcing 100% more sustainable cotton by 2020 or earlier: IKEA, C&A, M&S, Tchibo GmbH, H&M, Adidas, Otto, Nike, Inc., Levi Strauss, Woolworths and Decathlon.

Despite the positive uptake from international retailers and increasing supply of more sustainable cotton, the report also highlights that although sustainable cotton accounts for 12% – 15% of total global cotton production, only around a fifth (21%) of this is actively sourced as sustainable, the remaining 79% is traded as conventional cotton.

The gap between available supply of more sustainable cotton and uptake by companies presents a serious risk to the future of more sustainable cotton, yet it also highlights opportunities for companies to accelerate transformation of the cotton market and presents concrete recommendations. Improvements since the first ranking in 2016 are encouraging and show that more companies have policies and public commitments in place and have increased overall uptake.

ACCESS THE FULL REPORT HERE.

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120 Organisations Gathered in India to Drive the Cotton Sector Towards Sustainability

Joe Morphet on September 29, 2017

Representatives from 120 BCI Member organisations gathered in New Delhi last week, bringing the entire cotton supply chain together in a truly collaborative effort to develop Better Cotton as a sustainable mainstream commodity.

From cotton bale to consumer, ginners, spinners, fabric mills, garment manufacturers, retailers and brands from across the country attended the BCI Regional Members’ Meeting to learn, network and ultimately increase uptake of Better Cotton.Inspiring presentations, networking sessions, panel discussions and one-to-one meetings enabled attendees from both supply and demand to share perspectives and best practices and to discuss both successes and challenges in producing and sourcing Better Cotton.

The day began with interactive sessions which provided a platform for one-to-one conversations and for attendees to network and build valuable business connections. In the afternoonpresentations were given by industry experts, including Suresh Kotak, Chairman at Kotak Commodities; Pramit Chanda, Cotton and Apparel Programme Director at IDH; and Kushal Shah, Trader at Paul Reinhart.Representatives from Splash – the first BCI Retailer and Brand Member from the Middle East – and IKEA also gave presentations on their commitments to sustainability.

To round the day off, a BCI Retailer and Brand Member’s panel discussion saw representatives from GAP, IKEA, Varner and Decathlon share the story of their BCI journey and sustainability experiences.

Vinay Kumar,Membership Coordinator (India) commented, ”It was brilliant to see so many different actors from across the cotton supply chain coming together in such a collaborative manner. The BCI Regional Member Meetings are designed to provide practical advice and guidance to member organisations and also to facilitate opportunities for increased Better Cotton uptake.”

In India, there are more than 408,000 farmers licensed to grow and sell Better Cotton – in the 2015/16 season they produced 373,000 metric tonnes of Better Cotton lint. The 2015/16 Harvest Report containing the latest farm results will be published shortly.

Additional BCI Regional Member Meetings will take place in Pakistan, Bangladesh and China in the coming months. For more information please visit ourevents page.

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Gap Inc. highlighting commitment to Better Cotton

Eva Benavidez Clayton on July 26, 2016

Gap Inc. recently joined the Better Cotton Initiative and this week the company is highlighting its commitment to improving cotton farming practices globally.

In the first half of 2016, Gap Inc. sourced 441,000 pounds of Better Cotton—enough to make 250,000 pairs of jeans. They recognise that cotton is critical to their products and plan to continue to increase sourcing of Better Cotton in the future.

For more information, visit gapinc.com/sustainability.

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Turkey’s 2015 Harvest Report Released

Eva Benavidez Clayton on July 18, 2016

Today, BCI releases the 2015 Harvest Report for Turkey and is excited to announce that BCI Farmers achieved 26% higher profits versus Comparison Farmers despite the continued rise of prices for fertilisers, pesticides and fuel. The Harvest Report can be accessed through an interactive map on the BCI website and details the results that Turkish BCI Farmers achieved as well as contextual factors from the latest harvest.

Highlights from the report include:

  • 7% higher yields despite unpredictable weather patterns;
  • Improved awareness of fertiliser best management practices;
  • 12% lesspesticide usage; and
  • A large majority of farmers possessing an advanced awareness about child labour issues.

Better Cotton is sown and harvested in different annual cycles across the world, which means that harvest data becomes available from different regions throughout the calendar year. When a country’s harvest results are finalised, they will be released on the 2015 Harvest Report map on an ongoing basis.

The next Harvest Report to be released will be Mozambique.

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Better Cotton releases web-based annual report with interactive features

Eva Benavidez Clayton on May 31, 2016

We are excited to announce the launch of our web-based annual report. The BCI 2015 Annual Report provides the latest updates on global numbers, membership and partnership activities, reviews of organizational progress, and our financial statements. We have also integrated interactive and multimedia content to present 2015 accomplishments in an engaging manner.

Key achievements from 2015 include:

» Farmers produced Better Cotton in 21 countries on five continents.

» BCI reached 1.6 million farmers worldwide, a 23% increase from 2014.

» Licensed BCI farmers produced 2.6 million MT of Better Cotton, up 34% from the previous year.

» Membership and retailer procurement grew by 50% and 115%, respectively.

» We launched a formal review of our standard system to ensure it remains relevant, consistent and accessible.

» BCI and our partners invested almost €12 million through the Better Cotton Fast Track Program (BCFTP), supporting 70 farm projects across eight countries.

The report also includes the following dynamic features:

» A video summarising 2015 highlights.

» Two interactive maps that illustrate Better Cotton country highlights and global reach figures.

» Dynamic graphs detailing membership and procurement growth as well as financial information.

”We thank our partners, funders, members and BCI staff for having played such a crucial role in achieving our goals this year and positioning us to make Better Cotton a responsible mainstream commodity by 2020,’ commented Paola Geremicca, Director of Communications and Fundraising.

BCI will continue to report harvest data through our 2015 Harvest Report that is released on a rolling basis throughout the year when harvest results for each country have been finalised.

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Better Cotton appoints Chief Operating Officer

Eva Benavidez Clayton on May 19, 2016

BCI announces the appointment of Lena Staafgard, formerly Programme Director-Global Supply, as Chief Operating Officer reporting to Alan McClay, CEO. In her new role, Lena will oversee the global operational effectiveness of the organisation, including the supply programme.

Lena Staafgard joined BCI in 2010 as Business Director overseeing membership, fundraising, finance, HR and operations. In 2015, she transitioned to the role of Programme Director-Global Supply and was responsible for national government engagement and implementation of the Better Cotton Standard at field level in all countries of operation. Lena developed a new global fund, the BCI Growth & Innovation Fund, in partnership with IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative, which supports Better Cotton projects in eight countries around the globe. Prior to joining BCI, she worked for many years at Forum for the Future in London, advising the private sector on how to integrate sustainability into their business models and strategies.

“The fast expansion and ambitious plans of BCI have prompted us to strengthen the management structure of the organization with the creation of the new role of COO, overseeing global operations. We are delighted that Lena is stepping into this role, where she will be applying her skills and experience to strengthen organisational efficiency and accelerate the growth of BCI,’ commented Alan McClay, CEO of BCI, on the new appointment.

ABOUT BCI
BCI exists to make global cotton production better for the people who produce it, better for the environment it grows in and better for the sector’s future, by developing Better Cotton as a sustainable mainstream commodity. In 2015, BCI trained 1.5 million farmers who produced 2.7 million MT of Better Cotton lint, equalling 12% of global cotton production.

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Israel joins Better Cotton

Well Studio on April 12, 2016

BCI is delighted to announce a new partnership agreement with the Israel Cotton Production & Marketing Board (ICB). As a result of this partnership, 100 percent of Israeli farmers have signed-up to BCI, and Better Cotton from their first harvest is already available. With the addition of Israel, BCI now operates in 21 countries worldwide.

”We’re delighted to welcome Israel to the BCI programme,” said Corin Wood-Jones, BCI’s Senior Programme Manager. ”This addition represents an important step in our continued efforts to engage globally across a diverse range of farming systems. We look forward to working with the ICB so that other Better Cotton farmers can potentially benefit from their extensive agronomic knowledge, and specialised experience in such areas as water management.”

While Israel is a relatively small cotton producer, it demonstrates highly advanced practices at field level. Examples include country-wide implementation of integrated pest management (IPM) methodology based on plot specific scouting of pests and beneficial organisms, regular area-wide infestation assessment, cultural control methods, a pest resistance monitoring routine and regulated usage of pesticides. In the realm of water and nutrition management, highly controlled and cost beneficial application of these inputs are based on direct plant and soil monitoring.The hallmark of the Israeli cotton sector and its proven success in producing high yields of excellent quality cotton is the result of ongoing collaboration between growers and their cooperatives, ginners, extension services and research and development activities and institutions. This cooperation is coordinated under the leadership of ICB.

Israel produces predominantly Extra Long Staple, feeding the Better Cotton supply chain with the highest quality cotton fibre. Many BCI members use Extra Long Staple to produce high-quality textiles.

”ICB is proud to become a member of the BCI community. We view this membership as a mutual opportunity whereby we envisage both sides benefiting from each other’s strengths in the cotton sector. As an Implementing Partner, ICB is excited to contribute its experience as a producer organisation while learning from BCI’s culture and global accomplishments,”said Mr. Uri Gilad, Managing Director, Israel Cotton Production & Marketing Board (ICB).

ICB is starting off their engagement with BCI as an Implementing Partner, providing Israeli producers with capacity building and training on the Better Cotton Standard System. Over the course of the next one to two years, ICB intends to develop an Israeli Better Cotton Standard, which they will own themselves and benchmark against the BCI Standard.

Embedding the BCI Standard into national and sub-national agricultural practices allows BCI to share the responsibility for Better Cotton worldwide with local organisations well-placed to oversee implementation in the field. Maximising results through strategic partnerships with organisations like ICB is a key element of establishing Better Cotton as a more sustainable mainstream commodity.

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‘Real time’ harvest reporting live on Better Cotton’s website

Well Studio on March 30, 2016

BCI is excited to announce the launch of our 2015 Harvest Report now online in the form of an interactive map that displays the latest harvest results shortly after Better Cotton is harvested in a country.

Better Cotton is sown and harvested in different annual cycles across the world, which means that harvest data becomes available from different regions throughout the calendar year. When a country’s harvest results are finalised, they will be released on the 2015 Harvest Report map on an ongoing basis. Previously, all the results for a harvest year were compiled into a single report that was released late the following year. By releasing Better Cotton results in a timely manner, we will have more opportunities to share the progress we are making towards improving cotton growing conditions globally.

The 2015 Harvest Report is live on the BCI website and contains the latest Harvest Report for Australia. The report notes that during the 2015 harvest season, Australia’s cotton farmers faced severe drought conditions in many areas, which impacted the amount of water available for irrigation. As a result, farmers planted only 48% of the originally planned area (196,698 Ha. vs. 414,000 Ha.). However, a combination of ideal growing conditions, good farm management practices and use of improved cotton seed varieties contributed to record yields up to 2950 kg (15 bales) per hectare and a total production of 499,400 MT (56% of the 2014 crop). Average yields set a record at 11.5 bales per hectare, up from the previous best of 10.1 bales.

The next Harvest Report to be released will be Mozambique at the end of April.

 

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