AUSTRALIAN COTTON IS PART OF SOMETHING BETTER
Cotton Australia is an active member of Better Cotton, with about 25% of Australia's cotton crop qualifying as Better Cotton.
Better Cotton is a not-for profit organisation stewarding global standards for sustainable cotton production, bringing together the industry’s complex supply chain from farmers to retailers. According to Better Cotton, it “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. Better Cotton brings together farmers, ginners, traders, spinners, mills, cut & sew, manufacturers, retailers, brands and grassroots organisations in a unique global community committed to developing Better Cotton as a sustainable mainstream commodity.”
Better Cotton was established in 2005 by a group of global retailers and civil society groups concerned about sourcing sustainable, ethical cotton for their products. Once trained, Better Cotton farmers have a ready market for their cotton because BCI member retailers demand it in their supply chains. Better Cotton was previously known as the Better Cotton Initiative, and in 2021, it went through a brand name change.
Cotton Australia is an implementing partner and member of Better Cotton, and supplies Better Cotton into the textile supply chain from Australian farms that are fully certified in the industry's myBMP program. Brands and retailers interested in sourcing Better Cotton must first join the program.
HOW BETTER COTTON WORKS
Better Cotton is a global, multi-stakeholder organisation that operates at many levels in many countries. In simple terms Better Cotton:
- Collaborates with "implementing partners", organisations (like Cotton Australia) to facilitate cotton farmers to use the Better Cotton Standard, train farmers in the standard directly and issue licences to those farmers who meet the standard's minimum criteria
- Partners with brands and retailers to encourage demand for Better Cotton
- Channels funds from membership and public-private partnerships into farm-level training and verification
- Facilitates Better Cotton into the supply chain using a mass balance model and the Better Cotton Tracer System for traceability and data collection
BETTER COTTON TARGETS
- In the 2019-20 cotton season, 2.4 million licensed Better Cotton Farmers across 23 countries produced 6.2 million metric tonnes of Better Cotton.
- This accounted for 23% of global cotton production.
- At the end of 2021, Better Cotton launched its 2030 Strategy and the first of five impact targets:
- By 2030, Better Cotton aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions per tonne of Better Cotton produced by 50%.
- The four additional impact targets – soil health, pesticide use, smallholder livelihoods and women’s empowerment – will be announced by the end of 2022.
BETTER COTTON FROM AUSTRALIA
Cotton Australia has been a member of Better Cotton since 2014, and Australia's cotton growers have been part of the program since the 2015 cotton season. During that time, the number of Better Cotton farmers in Australia has continued to grow, with now about 25% of cotton produced in Australia representing Better Cotton.
MORE INFORMATION:
To find out more or to become a member please visit www.bettercotton.org