What’s behind the logo?
Interested in supporting more sustainable cotton farming? Look out for the Better Cotton logo on products around the world.
When you see our logo being used in marketing and communications, it means you’re buying from or working with a committed Better Cotton Member, a retailer or a brand, who is investing in Better Cotton.
The on-product logo is a way of showing that a retailer and brand is investing in sustainable farming practices.
One way that retailers and brands show their support for better farming practices is by making a public commitment to source a percentage of their cotton as more sustainable cotton.
On top of that, for every metric tonne they source, they pay a fee. This, along with the support of other public and private donors, has helped raise over €100 million to date. That’s enabled us to train millions of individuals working in cotton farming in 22 countries over the past decade.
Who can use our logo?
Only committed Retailer and Brand Members can use the On-Product Mark.
This means initially sourcing at least 10% of their cotton as Better Cotton, with a plan to increase this to at least 50% Better Cotton within five years.
We provide detailed guidance and support to help Retailers and Brands make sure that when they use our logo reflects their engagement with the programme and is transparent and credible.
How it works
It’s important to know that our logo can currently only be found on products sourced through the Mass Balance Chain of Custody which is a widely used volume-tracking system. This means that when you see the Better Cotton logo on a product, it doesn’t mean the product is made of Traceable (also known as Physical) Better Cotton.
Mass Balance allows Better Cotton to be substituted or mixed with conventional cotton as long as equivalent volumes are sourced as Better Cotton.
Most importantly, no matter where the cotton from Better Cotton Farmers ends up, they will still receive ongoing support and training.
Why we use this system
The Mass Balance system is less complicated and less costly to set up and run. Using it means that we can reach many more farmers, more quickly.
Mass Balance has and will continue to have an important role to play in achieving scale in sustainability for companies and farmers across the globe – not just in cotton, but other commodities as well.
Real change, at scale, is made possible by Mass Balance, and as we see demand for Traceable Better Cotton grow, we will also explore new opportunities for a Better Cotton Content Mark.
Learn more about Mass Balance
Our new On-Product Mark
In 2021, we launched a brand-new version of the On-Product Mark, one designed to emphasise the pivotal importance of Better Cotton for retailers and brands in the sustainable future that lies ahead.
