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Better Cotton 2023-24 Annual Report: Key Highlights

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Earthsight: Better Cotton Community Engagement Report Summary and Action Plan Update

Julia Thordsson on September 12, 2024

In April 2024, Better Cotton was the focus of a report, published by the environmental non-profit, Earthsight, which highlighted issues in the cotton industry of Brazil’s Matopiba region.

Better Cotton commissioned an independent consultant1 to investigate potential non-compliances on selected farms2. We subsequently published our statement and summary of findings, which did not detect any breach of the Better Cotton Standard on the licensed farms in question.

In June 2024, Better Cotton was notified that Earthsight would release a “second output”. This specific content was not shared with Better Cotton. Instead, Earthsight contacted us prior to its release for clarity on various points which we have detailed in this document.

In August 2024, Better Cotton received the Community Engagement Report from Imaflora, the independent consultant it had hired to conduct this study. In this document we summarise their findings and how they will inform our action plan.

To reiterate, we welcome scrutiny from civil society organisations. Reports like Earthsight’s help identify instances where improvements can be made. We once again extend an invite to Earthsight to engage with us to learn more about our standard system and the approach we take at field level.

Our mission is to help cotton communities survive and thrive while protecting and restoring the environment, thereby delivering progressive, measurable improvements at field level. Our model focuses on impact, scale and industry uptake to enable all cotton farmers to transition to more sustainable production.

We recognise that challenges exist in many of the countries in which we operate. It is only with action and perseverance in the most challenging circumstances for cotton farming that transformative change at scale can be made, and we are proud of the progress we have helped deliver globally with our dedicated network of partners and members.

In the spirit of transparency, the document below contains further details on our action plan, clarifications and follow-up explanations to our previously issued statement, as well as information about elements of the Better Cotton Standard System.

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Earthsight: Better Cotton Community Engagement Report Summary and Action Plan Update

Updated 12 September 2024
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  1. Peterson was commissioned to conduct an investigation that would assess potential non-compliances against the Better Cotton and ABR standards, while exploring broader issues pervasive within Brazil’s cotton sector and their scope for impact on Better Cotton licensed farms.
  2. There are currently 33 farms licensed by Better Cotton for these two groups, but of these, only three were licensed by Better Cotton during the timeframes in question.
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Large Farm Week 2024

Joe Morphet on September 6, 2024

In late August 2024, Better Cotton held its inaugural Large Farm Week in Türkiye. The four-day affair was an eventful in-person convening of our large farm partners in cotton.

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Certification: Why Better Cotton is Making the Transition 

Joe Morphet on August 28, 2024

Photo Credit: Better Cotton/Baran Vardar. Location: Harran, Turkey 2022. Description: Cotton field.
Photo credit: Jay Louvion/Better Cotton. Description: Alan McClay

By Alan McClay, CEO at Better Cotton 

As the world’s largest cotton sustainability initiative, Better Cotton’s goal is to drive significant, lasting impact as we support the production of more equitable and sustainable cotton. In just 15 years, we have aligned more than a fifth of global cotton production with our standards by balancing rigorous assurance with an adaptable framework that works for farmers in various contexts.  

Our commitment to continuous improvement is a cornerstone of our strategic plans. That’s why our approach has always been about balancing robust assurance with fair costs for farmers and members. As part of this commitment, we have started the journey to become a certification scheme, ensuring that we meet new and emerging legislative requirements while maintaining a robust and credible standard.  

This approach, which places emphasis on the use of third parties to conduct assessments and make certification decisions, complements our existing assurance processes by adding a layer of independence and credibility. 

It is encouraging to see momentum build in the external legislative landscape. Key EU regulations such as the Directive on Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition (ECGT) align with our goals, and provide the additional impetus needed to advance our certification efforts.  

At this pivotal moment, we see third-party certification bodies as essential to bolstering the credibility of our work and amplifying the good work of cotton farmers globally. Our transition to certification, combined with evolving traceability capabilities, will not only strengthen the value chain, but also increase demand for more sustainable cotton.  

This journey will culminate in a new product label, enabling our network of retailers and brands to proudly showcase their commitment to sustainable cotton production. From farm to consumer, we are committed to catalysing the entire sector, supporting continuous improvement, and advancing the lives of cotton farmers worldwide.  

The success of this transition will be predicated on active engagement from all members across the supply chain. Whether you are a retailer, brand, or one of many valued supply chain actors, we are counting on your support to turn this into a reality. 

In the coming weeks and months, we will conduct public consultations on some of the changes to our assurance approaches and provide updates to our Chain of Custody and Claims Framework.  

Watch this space for more information on our journey to certification from our new Head of Certification, Tom Owen.  
 
Thank you for your continued support as we embark on this important new chapter in Better Cotton’s journey.  

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Better Cotton Conference 2024: Interview With Ali Ertuğrul from USB Certification 

Joe Morphet on August 14, 2024

Photo credit: Evronas/Better Cotton. Location: Better Cotton Conference, Istanbul, Türkiye, 2024. Description: Ali Ertuğrul, Technical and Quality Manager for Textiles and Recycling at USB Certification, at the Better Cotton Conference 2024.

In June, we held our annual Better Cotton Conference in Istanbul, Türkiye, bringing together over 400 attendees online and in-person for two days of highly insightful discussions on how to accelerate impact at field level.  

The conference wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of our sponsors. This year, our headline sponsor was USB Certification, a global auditing and certification provider which aims to increase customers’ competitiveness and sustainability through national and international accreditations. It is also an approved third-party verifier for Better Cotton, authorised to carry out assessments against our Chain of Custody Standard. 

During the conference, we sat down with Ali Ertuğrul, Technical and Quality Manager for Textiles and Recycling at USB Certification, to discuss why events like the Better Cotton Conference are so important for the company.  

He explained USB Certification’s journey in the cotton sector, stressing the responsibility the organisation has to share the challenges they have faced and the lessons they have learned through their experiences with other actors in the sector in order to support collaborative change.  

He also highlighted the importance of centring farmers in storytelling to increase understanding of the real-world impact of the decisions that are taken downstream in the supply chain:  

People’s lives are at stake. The environment is at stake. So whatever we do, whatever action we take, we have to focus on this in the everyday work that we’re doing. And by we, I mean not only certification bodies, but also programme owners, brands, retailers, all the supply chain actors and also farmers and producers.

Lastly, he emphasised the role of policy in driving positive change in the cotton sector. “Policy changes are important because we, as private sector participants, can only do so much,” he noted, expressing his optimism about the growth of due diligence directives across the world.

To hear what Ali had to say in full, check out the video below.  

To find out more about the discussions that took place at the 2024 Better Cotton Conference, head to this link.
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Better Cotton Pakistan Partners with PULSE to Enhance Data Transparency 

Joe Morphet on August 7, 2024

Photo credit: Better Cotton. Location: Punjab, Pakistan, 2024. Description: Hina Fouzia, Director at Better Cotton Pakistan and Faiz ul Hassan, Project Coordinator at PULSE, announce strategic partnership.
  • The collaboration will improve verifiable cotton farming data and enhance transparency across Punjab. 
  • Launched by the Government of Punjab, PULSE was created to demarcate and map urban and rural land using advanced geospatial technologies. 
  • Better Cotton will leverage PULSE’s capabilities to validate farm-level data and strengthen its Assurance Programme. 

Better Cotton Pakistan has announced a strategic partnership with the Punjab Urban Land Systems Enhancement (PULSE) initiative to improve verifiable cotton farming data and enhance transparency within the textile supply chain. 

In smallholder countries such as Pakistan, the large number of farms – often less than two hectares in size – makes data collection challenging without digital tools 

This partnership with PULSE aims to leverage its geospatial capabilities, corroborate the field-level data of licensed farms, and reduce the cost of manual data creation and validation. 

PULSE has had great success in modernising field boundaries demarcation across Punjab. For us, it presents a great opportunity both to streamline data collection and ensure it mirrors the results validated by the province’s government.

Hina Fouzia, Director at Better Cotton Pakistan

This partnership will add a new layer of credibility to Better Cotton’s footprint and outreach data. The validation of seasonal area under cotton through satellites and machine learning models will enhance transparency, data traceability and trust in the supply chain.

Muhammad Qadeer, Field Digitalisation Manager at Better Cotton

Following a recent initiative to digitalise field data collection for the 2024 cotton season, Better Cotton Pakistan aims to further enhance its data accuracy and efficiency.  

By sharing farmer data with PULSE for validation, Better Cotton Pakistan will strengthen its Assurance Programme – which ensures that licensed farmers comply with the organisation’s Principles & Criteria (P&C) – and align with the production and processing of Traceable Better Cotton, which launched last year.  

PULSE commits to sharing the attributes of its ‘Digital Gurdawri’, a bi-annual record of the crops grown on land across the province, to which Better Cotton Pakistan can contribute. It will also offer technical support and training on how its geospatial data capture works and how it can benefit Better Cotton Pakistan.  

Being the official custodian of geospatial data on land in Punjab, PULSE has a vision of providing an enabling environment for farmers, businesses and supply chain actors by ensuring that records are transparent, centralised and authenticated. We look forward to exploring how land ownership and crop patterns can help Better Cotton achieve greater transparency and credibility across licensed farms.

Nasir Ashraf, Geographic Information System Specialist at PULSE
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