The European Parliament’s recent endorsement of the Omnibus I Simplification Package threatens to significantly weaken corporate sustainability obligations under the CSRD and CSDDD. What is presented as ‘simplification’ is in truth a dangerous dilution of essential safeguards. By diluting due diligence and reporting requirements, the EU risks sidelining thousands of businesses – alongside the farmers and vulnerable communities they impact – at a time when transparency, accountability, and climate action are more urgent than ever.  

As the world’s largest cotton sustainability standard, the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) sees first-hand how robust due diligence drives real change. It enables companies to identify and address risks like child labour, unsafe pesticide use, and unfair purchasing practices – issues that directly affect cotton farmers, especially smallholders, and their communities. 

Not all hope is lost. With the European Parliament about to start the final stretch of negotiations with the European Commission and the Council of the European Union – the so-called trilogue negotiations – the European institutions have a choice to make: uphold their leadership on responsible business conduct or allow ambition to unravel behind closed doors.

As they approach these negotiations, we strongly urge the European Parliament to reconsider and call on businesses to resist the temptation to lower their standards.  

Who pays the highest price? 

Rather than bringing clarity, the changes approved by the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs have created confusion for companies and rightsholders. Many terms remain vague, making compliance harder and potentially slowing progress on sustainability and human rights protection. As we all know, clarity and ambition are essential to maintain trust and drive meaningful change.  

In the cotton sector, these changes will potentially have significant consequences. They risk removing incentives for brands to address purchasing practices, promote decent living wages, or implement traceability – all issues critical for farmers’ livelihoods and sustainability goals. Voluntary reporting and strong due diligence remain, however, critical for credibility, competitiveness, and climate resilience. Companies that will become out of scope must, therefore, remain resolute and not step back. 

Better Cotton Initiative’s position is clear 

• Due diligence is non-negotiable: BCI will continue to uphold rigorous due diligence standards aligned with UNGP and OECD’s Guidelines, regardless of legislative changes; 

• We will remain engaged: BCI is committed to working with EU institutions to advocate for a strong, ambitious due diligence framework;  

• We call for renewed ambition: We urge EU leaders to restore the integrity of the CSDDD and CSRD and ensure companies remain accountable for their impacts. 

Unless it is meaningful, there is no due diligence  

The revised directive limits companies’ ability to proactively engage with suppliers. It removes contractual assurances, restricts information requests to small businesses, and allows companies to avoid penalties if data is unavailable.  

The erosion of such important pieces of legislation requires action. At the Better Cotton Initiative, we will work with and encourage our members and partners to advocate for a due diligence framework that remains proactive, inclusive, and risk-based.  

Companies must be empowered – and required – to engage meaningfully across their supply chains, including with smallholder farmers. We call on EU institutions to restore provisions that enable early risk identification and stakeholder consultation, ensuring due diligence drives real accountability.  

Climate action, not just goals  

The changes recently approved also weaken requirements for climate transition plans, allowing companies to disclose goals without demonstrating how they will achieve them.  

BCI calls on stakeholders to push for climate transition plans that go beyond mere disclosure. These plans ought to include concrete steps aligned with the Paris Agreement, such as setting measurable targets for Scope 3 emissions – and outline concrete actions across their supply chains, supporting regenerative agriculture, investing in low-emission logistics, and transitioning to renewable energy. Ambition must be matched by implementation. 

EU-wide civil liability is critical 

The removal of EU-wide civil liability undermines the ability of affected communities to seek justice across borders. Farm-level actors – including smallholder cotton farmers – are often the first to experience the impacts of unsustainable practices, yet their voices are rarely heard in corporate decision-making.   

BCI urges EU institutions to reinstate a unified civil liability mechanism to enable access to remedy for rightsholders, provide legal certainty for companies operating in multiple jurisdictions, and ensure consistent enforcement of human rights and environmental standards.

Civil society and farmer collectives must also be meaningfully engaged in shaping, implementing and monitoring civil liability frameworks to ensure that sustainability efforts reflect lived realities, protect rightsholders, and drive accountability across the value chain.  

Many companies – especially mid-sized retailers and brands – will no longer be required to conduct due diligence or report on sustainability risks. This is dangerous. Voluntary reporting and strong due diligence must not become a loophole for inaction.  

What else can we do?   

With final negotiations approaching, we urge stakeholders to act decisively by: 

• Contacting MEPs to raise objections and push for stronger safeguards;  

• Engaging with national governments involved in trilogue negotiations;  

• Coordinating with civil society and industry coalitions to amplify concerns and propose constructive amendments; 

• Using media and public platforms to highlight the risks of dilution and the need for ambition. 

Those committed to responsible business conduct can mitigate the reduced legal requirements by continuing to apply robust due diligence aligned with international standards, engaging proactively with suppliers, investing in traceability, and amplifying stakeholder voices, especially at farm level. 

The stakes are high, and time is short. If no objection is raised in the European Parliament’s plenary, final negotiations could begin as early as 24 October.  The EU must not retreat from its leadership role. We all need to act before the ambition is lost – and with it, the opportunity to build a fairer, more sustainable future.

Read BCI’s statement to the press: BCI warns against ‘dangerous dilution’ of EU corporate directives

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Warning against the impact of the EP’s endorsement of the changes, Hélène Bohyn, Policy & Advocacy Manager at the Better Cotton Initiative said:  “What is presented as ‘simplification’ is in truth a dangerous dilution of essential safeguards. The European Parliament’s endorsement of the changes significantly weakens legal pressure for corporate accountability and risks dismantling the transformative power of the CSRD and CSDDD – landmark frameworks built to protect human rights and the environment. We strongly urge the European Parliament to reconsider and call on businesses to resist the temptation to lower their standards.” 

More about the EU’s sustainability directives: Omnibus Or Not, Due Diligence Is a Must: Policy Breakdown

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By Sahar Haq, Senior Social Impact Coordinator, and Amanda Noakes, Senior Decent Work  Coordinator at the Better Cotton Initiative 

What wages are actually paid on cotton farms in Pakistan?  This is a vital question for the improvement of wages and decent working conditions  in the sector – and one to which the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) has been seeking the most reliable answers. With support from the ISEAL Innovations Fund, between July 2024 and April 2025 BCI launched a pioneering Wage Transparency pilot across Pakistan, in Punjab and Sindh provinces, in search of that missing information. 

While low wages have long been recognised as a persistent challenge in cotton production, the extent of the gap between actual wages received and established benchmarks for minimum and living wages had not been systematically quantified until now. Through the pilot, BCI developed and tested a new wage sampling approach, collecting baseline wage data from the farms involved. The initiative aimed to understand how wages are set, paid, and distributed – specifically,  for permanent , seasonal, hourly-rate , daily-rate and output-based workers, as well as sharecroppers. 

Our new report offers unique insights into the project, with information from over 2,000 farmworkers and 200 farmers, covering nearly 25% of smallholder producer units across the country.

Beyond its immediate application, the project aims to contribute to broader sectoral learning and cross-initiative collaboration. By sharing its findings, BCI hopes to support and collaborate with other stakeholders navigating wage measurement challenges in low- and middle-income agricultural contexts, to explore solutions together.

This milestone marks a big step forward in the Better Cotton Initiative’s mission to promote decent work, including wage improvements, and sustainable livelihoods, including income improvements, for farmers and workers.  

BCI’s Programme Partners in Pakistan, Sangtani Women Rural Development Organisation (SWRDO), CABI Pakistan, WWF Pakistan and Rural Education and Economic Development Society (REEDS), participated in the pilot to develop the farm-level wage sampling tool.  

The road ahead: beyond transparency  

As BCI works to promote decent work and more sustainable value chains, wage transparency is an important tenet of our work, in line with our new Decent Work Strategy.  

By establishing a reliable and scalable wage sampling tool, we have laid the groundwork not only for improved data collection but also for meaningful action to support wage improvements across cotton-producing communities.  Ultimately, this initiative for us is about more than data – it is also about driving change.  

To find out more, click here for the full report  

The post Bridging wage gaps in Pakistan: It starts with data   appeared first on Better Cotton Initiative.

By Sahar Haq, Senior Social Impact Coordinator and Yrene Coli Rivera, Senior Gender Equality Coordinator at the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI)

When Ayesha, a smallholder cotton farmer from Pakistan, talks about her daily work, she lists preparing the soil, weeding, harvesting, and collecting stalks. “Without our hands, there is no cotton,” she says. Ayesha echoes the thoughts of thousands of women farmers in Sindh, Pakistan, where 93% are engaged in sowing, 77% in weeding, 69% in picking, 40% in soil management, yet only 12% in managing finances.

In Gujarat, India, women are similarly at the heart of cultivation: 63% sow, 89% weed and 91% harvest. But market systems and mobility restrictions mean only 23% are involved in selling cotton, and just 13% participate meaningfully in household farm management decisions.

Recent studies by the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) in Sindh and Gujarat reveal the scale of women’s contributions to cotton – and the hurdles they face in moving from invisible labourers to equal decision-makers. Across the regions, women carry out most of the manual and time-intensive work of cotton farming while also managing household responsibilities. As one woman farmer from Pakistan explained, “After the fieldwork, there is still all the housework waiting. There is no time left for us.”

The knowledge and labour of women farmers sustain their households and communities. Yet, the systems in place mean women in the region are rarely consulted on how farm earnings are invested, how they use their time, or how families adapt to the challenges of climate change. This exclusion not only limits women’s income and decision-making power but also leaves families less resilient to economic and climate shocks. On International Day of Rural Women 2025, we shine a light on these experienced farmers whose labour sustains households, livelihoods, and the wider economy.

Identifying systemic barriers

Across both geographies, three barriers stand out:

• Time poverty: In India, unpaid care and farm work absorbs most of women’s time daily. Women reported to have little or no time to engage in activities that earn additional income. In Pakistan, up to 78% of women’s off-farm time is spent on collecting firewood and water for household needs.
• Limited access to resources and markets: Without equal access to markets and resources like credit and land, women are held back from adopting regenerative farm practices that build resilience.
• Decision-making gaps: In many households, men retain final authority because they have access to networks, extension services and market access.

In spite of all that, women’s aspirations across the region are clear. In Pakistan, 65% of the surveyed women farmers said they could manage their own farms and showcased high levels of interest in and willingness to work with technical practices for pest management and land preparation.

“We know which seed is good, but we cannot go to the shop. My husband buys it. If I go, people will talk.”

Woman farmer, Gujarat

The Better Cotton Initiative’s role

As the world’s largest cotton sustainability programme, BCI supports the building of an enabling environment for women farmers to access and own resources and practice regenerative cotton production as a pathway to empowerment and ecosystem resilience.

Through our Principles & Criteria, gender is embedded as a cross-cutting theme. Farm clusters establish Gender Committees and appoint Gender Leads, creating formal structures that address barriers and ensure women farmers can participate in decisions, access training easily, and take on leadership roles.

Working with our partners, we take this further by:

• Expanding leadership pathways with an impact target to increase women field staff globally. By recruiting women into these roles, partners ensure women farmers are supported by peers and visible role models in their communities.
• Reducing time burdens through practical solutions such as labour-saving tools, flexible training schedules and childcare support, so women can engage more fully in training and markets.
• Strengthening women’s collectives and self-help groups, giving women the chance to pool resources, access security nets, improve bargaining power, and gain a stronger voice in markets and community forums.
• Promoting gender dialogues within households, encouraging men and women to share responsibilities and decisions, helping to shift norms and expand women’s influence in farming.

These actions reflect our 2030 Strategy, which links gender equality with broader impact goals on livelihoods, climate resilience, and regenerative agriculture.

The road ahead

Rural women in cotton are not passive beneficiaries; they are farmers engaged directly throughout the production cycle and often facing the harsh impacts of climate change and global economic downturn.

On this International Day of Rural Women, we celebrate what is possible and double down on our commitment. Working with partners, members, producer organisations, and communities, the Better Cotton Initiative is opening new pathways, so women farmers are visible, recognised and empowered, stepping into leadership, accessing resources, and shaping decisions. Cotton can reach its full sustainability only when every farmer’s potential is realised and emboldened.

Sources

• Empowering Women in Cotton: Rethinking Gender Roles, Time Use, and Support Structures, Sindh Pakistan – the full report will be published soon, watch this space!
• Better Cotton Initiative Baseline Report: Women’s Empowerment, Gujarat, India

The post Breaking Barriers, Building Futures: Recognising Women Cotton Farmers appeared first on Better Cotton Initiative.

By Rogerio Simoes, Media & Content Manager at the Better Cotton Initiative

The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) marked this year’s World Cotton Day with significant changes: it launched an innovative product label; it updated its logo, website, and overall design; and adopted its original name, having been known simply as Better Cotton in the past few years.

These changes may seem unrelated, but they are part of the same picture. They are connected to several steps taken recently by BCI to improve transparency, accountability, and its overall connection with members, partners, farmers, consumers, and the general public.  

From the new label that now informs the presence of Physical BCI Cotton contained in a product to a name that emphasises the organisation’s role as an initiative, all that is the result of years of efforts to expand and deepen the organisation’s impact. 

Traceability on a tag 

Our new product label comes out of the traceability system that has been gradually implemented since November 2023. In the past two years, we at the Better Cotton Initiative have been expanding our capacity to trade Physical BCI Cotton, traced back to its country of origin – offering brands, retailers and consumers the assurance of a commodity, BCI Cotton, produced by farmers certified to our standard. 

Now, the BCI Cotton label will offer brands and retailers the ability to share with their consumers that story, on their own products. If a product sourced by a certified BCI Retailer or Brand Member contains at least 30% of Physical BCI Cotton, and the remaining up to 70% contain only other materials, that retailer or brand will now be able to share that information with consumers.

The new label, which is optional, provides the following: 

•  Information that it contains BCI Cotton, grown in accordance with the BCI Farm Standard by certified farmers – who follow more sustainable practices required by the Better Cotton Initiative’s standard – and sourced via a segregated chain of custody model (using our traceability platform); 

• The percentage of BCI Cotton contained in the product; 

• An official identification number that can be used to confirm that the brand is certified.

Our CEO, Nick Weatherill, clearly summarised the meaning of our new product label. “In a time of increasing scrutiny around sustainability claims, global trade pressures, and shifting Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) priorities, transparency and accountability are more critical than ever.” 

“As we celebrate World Cotton Day, our new label reaffirms our commitment to both, as part of our mission to drive measurable impact and continuous improvement in sustainability across the cotton sector.” 

The BCI Cotton label comes in a year marked by another milestone. In June, during BCI’s annual conference in İzmir, Türkiye, we announced that the Better Cotton Initiative’s standard will close remaining gaps, so it is fully aligned with the fundamental principles of regenerative agriculture. While several principles of regenerative agriculture have already been followed by BCI alongside our certified farmers for years, a few elements remain to be fully implemented – and that is what the Better Cotton Initiative is now doing, with completion expected by June 2026. 

None of these new steps, however, would be possible without something even more important: our impact throughout 16 years of operations, in more than 20 countries, improving conditions for over 2 million farmers. Much of this story can be found in the Better Cotton Initiative’s 2024-25 Annual Report, which goes beyond the achievements of the past year to provide a broader report of our impact over the years. You can download the report from this page. 

Once again, we take the initiative 

With new label new logo, and new impact numbers that we proudly share with our community, embracing our original full name was an easy decision to make. By becoming once again the Better Cotton Initiative, we remind our farmers, members, and partners that BCI is and has always been an initiative, a forward movement committed to constantly improve sustainability in cotton farming. 

Not only are we an initiative, but we are taking it too, by creating new ways of communicating with both our community and consumers – on top of the bold actions we have taken. Years ago, even though our mass balance system allowed us to achieve the scale required to support hundreds of thousands of farmers every year, we took the initiative to develop, introduce, and expand our own traceability system. 

We also took the initiative to become a certification system in February of this year. The certification process, conducted by independent third parties, was another important step towards full accountability and transparency, aligning what brands and consumers increasingly demand from us with our responsibility to support farmers, their families, and their communities. 

Whilst the changes above were still being implemented, again we took the initiative, by announcing that the BCI standard would become a regenerative one. Being an initiative was in our creation, has been part of our DNA since then, and it is now once again officially part of our name.

We hope our farmers, members, partners and colleagues appreciate and make good use of our changes, proudly announced on this year’s World Cotton Day. They can be certain that, behind new visual identify, name, and label, one thing remains the same: our determination to improve sustainability in cotton production, including delivering to consumers the information and the results they expect and deserve to see.

Press release: Better Cotton Initiative Marks World Cotton Day with Launch of Innovative Product Label

Our new BCI Cotton label page: What the BCI Cotton Label Means

The post Taking the Initiative: New Label, New Logo, New Website and a Renewed Commitment to Transparency and Accountability appeared first on Better Cotton Initiative.

By Eva Benavidez Clayton, Senior Director of Demand & Engagement at the Better Cotton Initiative

This article was first published by Cotton Outlook on 7 October 2025

It has been six years since the first World Cotton Day, which is celebrated every 7 October. The event was not created by clothing brands or fashion enthusiasts. It was brought to life by the World Trade Organisation upon the request of four African cotton-producing nations – Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Mali – to recognise and celebrate their work. World Cotton Day started with farmers.

While this is always a special date for the team at the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), as we take stock of progress and look to the future, this year feels even more momentous, as it also marks 20 years since the inception of our organisation. In 2005, a WWF-led multistakeholder roundtable met to discuss the future of sustainability in our sector, and the Better Cotton Initiative was born.

Fast forward two decades and BCI now manages a global field-level standard, tailoring its programmes to support the needs of specific farming communities across 15 countries, and accounting for nearly a quarter of the cotton produced around the world. We remain global by first thinking local, and that will continue to be front of mind as we place increasing emphasis on a key pillar of our standard over the coming months: regenerative agriculture.

In collaboration with our network of Programme and Strategic Partners, BCI will offer farming communities the training, tools and guidance they need to continue to adopt the regenerative practices promoted through our standard. This reflects two key values that have always been at the heart of our approach – a determination to continuously improve our approach and a recognition that we will only succeed by working in partnership with cotton farmers.

This is as much true today as it has been in the past two decades. BCI now licenses 1.39 million farmers who produce 23% of global cotton volumes. We also have a vast membership comprising retailers, brands, cotton traders, and everyone in between, connecting supply with growing demand.

We created a global traceability solution, transitioned to a certification scheme, and have just launched a new product label for fashion brands and retailers to publicise the BCI Cotton in their products and better inform consumers about where their purchase comes from.

From Trade Wars to Climate Change

The changes have been immense, and while BCI looks drastically different to what it was back in 2005, so too does the landscape in which we operate.

Trade wars, legislation, and consumer awareness are three widely talked-about factors affecting sustainability in fashion and textiles today. For cotton, though, the most impactful one is something closer to home.

Extreme weather – from droughts and scorching heat to floods, such as the ones that put much of Pakistan’s farms underwater in 2022 and those hitting the Punjab region’s farms hard this summer  – has left the agricultural sector in a precarious position, and the threat of climate disasters continues to loom large.

The Cotton 2040 initiative, convened by Forum for the Future and supported by BCI, may have concluded its work in 2023, but the research and projections it published remain valid.

The initiative estimated that by 2040, around half of the world’s cotton growing regions will face high or very high-risk exposure to at least one climate hazard, whilst some regions could be exposed to as many as seven of them.

It reiterates why boosting the environmental and social resilience of cotton farming communities around the world is so important. Global progress against the goals of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement is off-track. In particular, the decision by the current US administration to once again withdraw from the treaty will further hamper the likelihood of success in meeting CO₂ reduction targets to limit the planet’s temperature at 1.5^oC above pre-industrial levels.

In the face of these challenges two things become increasingly clear if we are going to continue to be successful and deliver our mission. Firstly, with farming communities most exposed to these threats it is essential that we continue to place farmers at the heart of everything we do. And secondly, that we cannot simply seek to reduce the impact of cotton production but must actively aim to revitalise, replenish and regenerate the natural assets that we depend upon. This is why in June of this year, at the 2025 Better Cotton Conference in İzmir, Türkiye, I announced our organisation’s decision to complete the evolution of our field-level standard into one that fully embraces regenerative agriculture.

A Regenerative Future

The Better Cotton Initiative’s farm-level standard, which cotton farmers must meet to become certified, is already recognised to cover many of the key tenets of regenerative agriculture. All farmers that we support work with regenerative practices in some capacity.

It is vital that we continue to build on this progress. Encouraging cotton growers around the world to champion and increase the adoption of regenerative agriculture is a vital step to ensure that cotton is produced in a way that protects and nurtures the natural environment. Like World Cotton Day, the regeneration of our environment starts with farmers.

The benefits are abundantly clear. Regenerative practices improve soil and increase biodiversity, two of our greatest weapons in the fight against climate change. Like our oceans and forests, soil can capture huge quantities of CO₂ from the atmosphere, while diverse animal and plant life is integral to sustaining fully functional ecosystems.

The potential for regenerative agriculture to accelerate our field-level impact as we continue to drive improvements across all that we do makes me very optimistic about the years to come.

The launch of our new product label is a testament to that optimism. To many, it may just look like a piece of paper breaking down an item’s composition, but look closely and you’ll see that it represents much more. The label is the result of our recently implemented certification scheme –  independent third parties verifying the conditions in which the cotton was grown – and our traceability solution, which informs companies about the origin of the BCI Cotton they source.

Our new label brings factual and vital information to the fore. It is the certificate of a journey successfully made, from farms to stores – and towards a more sustainable future.

The post Starting With Farmers, Let Us Regenerate Our Soil and Protect Our Future appeared first on Better Cotton Initiative.

A network of multistakeholder initiatives, including the Better Cotton Initiative, Cotton Incorporated, Cotton Australia, and the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol, has released new guidelines on Lifecycle Assessments (LCA) to help the fashion and textile sectors use them effectively, reliably, and alongside complementary methodologies. 

Presented in the report ‘From Data to Impact: How to Get Cotton LCAs Right’, the guidelines call for LCAs to be used alongside primary data collection methods to optimise field-level insights and support holistic, data-driven sustainability communications.

Lars van Doremalen, Director of Impact at the Better Cotton Initiative, said: “With stronger methodological discipline and clearer communication, the cotton sector can ensure that sustainability claims are science-based, data-backed, and farmer-informed.

“The path forward demands coordinated action from companies, initiatives, and policymakers that is grounded in scientific integrity, acknowledgement of limitations, and real-world applicability.”

The paper, also supported by Cascale, Textile Exchange, and the Cotton Research and Development Corporation, argues that LCAs are often misused across the apparel sector. It adds that their misapplication – whether through inappropriate comparisons, limited context, or a disregard for methodological boundaries – risks not only undermining trust in sustainability claims and data integrity, but also misleading investments and interventions.

Jesse Daystar, Chief Sustainability Officer at Cotton Incorporated, said: “LCAs are like looking through a keyhole, you certainly see something, but it is never the full picture.”

The report underlines that, while LCAs can help identify and prioritise environmental interventions, support regulatory compliance and track long-term trends, they do not account for social indicators or short-term changes in farming practices – therefore presenting a simplified picture of farm-level realities.

The report’s authors have called for greater industry alignment both among standard bodies to define key data metrics, and brands and retailers to ensure that LCA results are used appropriately and in support of farm-level investment in sustainable outcomes.

Allan Williams, Executive Director at Australia’s Cotton Research & Development Corporation said: “LCA doesn’t add anything for a farmer at the moment… Our focus is to invest in the fundamental research so we can understand which practices have the most impact rather than just collecting data for the sake of an LCA.” 

The paper’s authors call on the prioritisation of new primary data collection and for stakeholders using LCA data to invest in both literacy training for its correct use as well as supporting real, on the ground impact within their supply chains.

PDF

3.34 MB

From Data To Impact: How To Get Cotton LCAs Right

Download

Field-Level Results & Impacts Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Sustainability

Notes to Editor   

• The position paper has been produced by consultancy Earthshift Global and funded by the Better Cotton Initiative, Cotton Incorporated, Cotton Australia, and the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol. Cascale, Textile Exchange, and the Cotton Research and Development Corporation supported the paper’s development.
• Daren Abney, Executive Director at U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol, said: “LCAs can be a powerful tool for progress, but they must be applied with transparency and context. By improving LCA literacy and aligning on how results are applied, we can ensure data drives the right kind of impact.”
• For more information and interview requests, please contact Chris Remington (Chris.Remington@bettercotton.org).   

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The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) has launched an innovative product label for the fashion and textile sectors which allows retailer and brand members to provide consumers with greater clarity about the origin and percentage of BCI Cotton in their products. 

The new label, launched on this year’s World Cotton Day, will enable retailers and brands to claim with confidence that their products contain physical BCI Cotton, certified by a third-party body, that has been traced from its country of origin. The label is expected to gradually arrive in stores in the coming months. 

Nick Weatherill, CEO at the Better Cotton Initiative, said: “In a time of increasing scrutiny around sustainability claims, global trade pressures, and shifting Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) priorities, transparency and accountability are more critical than ever.  

“As we celebrate World Cotton Day, our new label reaffirms our commitment to both, as part of our mission to drive measurable impact and continuous improvement in sustainability across the cotton sector.” 

Alongside the launch of the new label, the organisation has announced that as part of a refreshed brand identity, it will call itself the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), a move that provides more clarity to both its institutional identify and the cotton it sources, now to be called BCI Cotton. The new label and brand come as the Better Cotton Initiative publishes its 2024/2025 Annual Report, highlighting the impact of its programmes over more than 15 years in driving environmental, social, and economic improvements in cotton farming. This impact includes: 

• Improving incomes for more than 650,000 licensed farmers;  

• Reducing synthetic nitrogen use per kilogram of cotton produced across 2.15 million hectares of land, supporting 700,000 farmers;  

• Championing women in cotton by training more than 575,000 female farmers or workers as part of capacity strengthening activities;  

• Reducing the volume of synthetic pesticide applied per hectare for more than 788,000 licensed farmers. 81% of our licensed farmers do not use Highly Hazardous Pesticide (HHP).

Nick Weatherill added: “These results represent real change in cotton farming communities around the world. Both our new label and annual report are more than updates, they are evidence of our steadfast determination to catalyse and scale sustainable practices in cotton production. We are proud of our progress but also recognise there is much more to do. Time is of the essence, and with our multistakeholder membership and network of field-level partners, I’m confident we will rise to the challenge.”

Notes to Editor

• To align with the organisation’s label launch, Better Cotton has now rebranded to the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) to clarify to new audiences the scope of its work.  

• The change makes a clearer distinction between the organisation and its commodity, both formerly known as ‘Better Cotton’. The cotton sourced through the Better Cotton Initiative is now called BCI Cotton.  

• For more information and interview requests, please contact Chris Remington (Chris.Remington@bettercotton.org).   

Label Launch  

• The new label reflects that farms, suppliers, retailers, and brands have been certified against either our field-level standard or our Chain of Custody Standard.  

• Farm certification is assessed against BCI’s field-level standard and the organisation’s Principles & Criteria, while supply chain certification is assessed against BCI’s Chain of Custody Standard.  

• The label is optional for certified BCI Retailer and Brand Members and can only be used on products which contain a minimum percentage of 30% Physical BCI Cotton (cotton sourced through our traceability programme), while the remaining 70% cannot contain any other source of cotton, only other materials. Physical BCI Cotton refers to cotton that has been traced back to its country of origin using the organisation’s traceability solution. 

• Besides Physical BCI Cotton, the Better Cotton Initiative also operates a mass balance chain of custody model – a system widely adopted by sustainability initiatives to scale impact. Under this model, cotton from certified farms may be mixed with conventional cotton in the supply chain, meaning that the physical origin of the cotton in a specific product cannot be guaranteed. BCI’s previous mass balance product label, which indicated a brand’s support for BCI even if there wasn’t BCI Cotton in the product, is being discontinued.

Annual Report  

• BCI’s new annual report covers field-level activities from the 2023-24 cotton season.  

• BCI Cotton now accounts for 23% of global production, up from 22% in the previous annual review.   

• Around 1.4 million licensed farmers produced 5.6 million metric tonnes (MT) of BCI Cotton across 15 countries, while more than 1.63m cotton farmers received training.  

• The reduction in licenced farmers since the past season stems from the conclusion of the organisation’s strategic agreement with the Cotton Made in Africa (CMiA) initiative.  

• Despite this, BCI’s market share has increased in the past season because of production volume increases in countries like Brazil.  

• To read the BCI’s 2024-25 Annual Report, visit: Better Cotton Annual Report – Better Cotton 

About   

The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) is the world’s largest cotton sustainability organisation, supporting farming communities to survive and thrive, while protecting and restoring the environment. BCI convenes a global multistakeholder network of farm-level organisations, brands, government bodies, civil society and industry organisations and supply chain actors to promote the supply and demand for cotton produced with sustainable practices. Over the past 16 years, BCI has aligned more than a fifth of the world’s cotton with our farming standard, channelled €200 million to cotton-growing communities and helped supply chain actors towards their sustainability goals.  

The post Better Cotton Initiative Marks World Cotton Day With Launch of Innovative Product Label appeared first on Better Cotton Initiative.

Better Cotton, the world’s largest cotton sustainability initiative, has teamed up with climate technology startup Planboo to help cotton farmers reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – and earn carbon credits for it.

The partnership will involve biochar, a charcoal-like substance made from agricultural waste and other waste products that, when applied to soils, can improve their health, while helping them store carbon for more than a century.

Biochar is known to improve the structure of soil and enhance its ability to retain water and nutrients, while limiting chemical fertiliser use. In collaboration with Planboo, Better Cotton will support licensed farmers to produce this topical solution from farm waste and later apply it on the ground – providing environmental benefits in both phases.

Lars van Doremalen, Director of Impact at Better Cotton, said: “Planboo has championed biochar for over half a decade, and it is easy to see why. This age-old practice creates value from waste and boosts the climate resilience of land. Add to that the scope for farmers to be financially rewarded for their sustainability efforts, and this is an incredibly exciting proposition.”

Better Cotton will leverage Planboo’s digital Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRVin) system throughout this work, capturing data points from the production of biochar to the calculation of carbon reductions and removals.

This end-to-end software synchronises data to accurately calculate waste inputs, biochar volumes, carbon removals, and subsequent carbon allocation. As such, it unlocks new income streams for communities committed to reducing carbon emissions and improving their soil health.

Retailers and brands can also benefit, as their support to scale these efforts within the value chain would help mitigate Scope 3 emissions, which account for the vast majority of greenhouse gas release by the fashion and textile industries.

Freddie Catlow, Co-founder & CEO said: “From our very first days, Better Cotton stood out as the partner to deliver impact within fashion value chains. After seeing a 60% yield increase in cotton crops from our Solidaridad project in Zambia, it became clear this model was well-suited for cotton farming regions.

“With Better Cotton’s global reach and Planboo’s digital MRVin, we’re excited to embed carbon removal and soil health into the fabric of cotton farming, rooted in regeneration, and scaled by software.”

Better Cotton and Planboo will soon provide details of the scope of their first project, targeting smallholder cotton farming communities in India.

Notes to Editors

• Biochar has been used by farmers for thousands of years to improve the health of soil and its resilience to extreme weather conditions.
• In addition to agricultural waste, biochar can also be produced using forestry residues, garden waste, wood chips, manure, food waste, and other plant-based materials.
• Biochar is applied close to the plant root to maximise its effectiveness in retaining moisture and nutrients that aid growth.
• Planboo has co-developed projects across coffee, cotton and cacao value chains across seven countries.
• A company’s Scope 3 emissions are indirectly produced throughout the supply chain, from raw material extraction and transport, among other things.
• The Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action estimates a company’s Scope 3 emission to be approximately 99% of the full footprint, compared to 1% from its own operations.
• Carbon reductions and removals through field-level projects will support retailers and brands in achieving sustainability targets approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

Planboo is a climate tech company based in Stockholm that provides the tools, technology, and training to support high-quality biochar carbon removal across the Tropics. From helping develop projects and tracking carbon removals to connecting them with impact-driven buyers, Planboo’s digital MRV platform, MRVin™, ensures transparency, trust, and real-world accountability. In 2024, Planboo was sixth in the world for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, all by turning agricultural waste like cacao, coffee, and cotton residues into stable carbon biochar, while increasing the incomes of farmers in tropical regions.

The post Better Cotton Partners with Planboo to Reduce Emissions Using Cotton Crop Waste appeared first on Better Cotton Initiative.

Cotton farming is more than a livelihood in Pakistan; it is a legacy passed down through generations. “Everything we have learned, we learned from our parents,” says farmer Abdur Rehman, from Sheikhupura, Punjab, whose family has tended these fields for decades. Today, having just learned something new, about the negative impact of using chemicals on cotton production from a project involving Better Cotton, Pilio and SAMA^Verte, and WWF Pakistan, he has a simple and direct message to share: “Avoid spreading. It harms the environment.”

Over the years, Adbur has witnessed a troubling change: the vibrant chorus of birds and insects that once thrived around his cotton fields has fallen eerily silent.

This loss of biodiversity is no accident. Modern but harmful farming practices, characterised by heavy pesticide use, deforestation, and intensive monoculture, have severely diminished the rich variety of species that once flourished there. Parrots no longer flock to the trees, ladybugs have become scarce, and the delicate balance of the ecosystem has been disrupted. This decline not only threatens wildlife but also directly impacts cotton productivity, making it harder for farmers like Abdur to sustain their families.

“Now we have a project, teaching us how we can protect the environment,” said Adbur during training sessions about how to reduce the harm done by pesticides – and help biodiversity recover.

Data and local knowledge

Better Cotton has partnered with Pilio and SAMA^Verte, alongside WWF Pakistan, to pioneer community-led initiatives that restore biodiversity while supporting cotton farming.

This collaborative project goes beyond traditional scientific studies by blending data collection with the invaluable knowledge and values of local communities. Through desk-based reviews and on-the-ground surveys focusing on key indicator species, the project captures a snapshot of the health of biodiversity in cotton-growing regions. Equally important are the voices of farmers and their communities, whose insights guide interventions in ways that respect and build on their heritage.

The three-year initiative (April 2023 – March 2026) focused on innovative sustainable practices. Better Cotton has been developing a replicable methodology to enhance biodiversity in cotton production. The project focuses on smallholder farmers, combining data with specific local contexts to create an aligned framework.

The project follows a three-step approach:

1. Biodiversity baselining. Understanding the starting point and current state of nature at a community level by integrating both scientific data and community perceptions and values.
2. Creation of community biodiversity enhancement plans. Co-designing a biodiversity enhancement strategy with the community and other stakeholders, including both on-farm and off-farm interventions which vary from habitat creation to community empowerment.
3. Capacity strengthening and support for the community. Training stakeholders, from the farmers and the community to implementing partners and Better Cotton staff, to ensure sustainable, long-term impact.

Farming as part of restoration

Actions underway include reforestation efforts to create habitats for native species, educational programs that reduce reliance on synthetic fertilisers like Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) and urea, and training that promotes sustainable farming methods. These measures help nurture a living landscape where cotton fields become vibrant ecosystems rather than barren monocultures.

“We can reduce the use of fertilisers like DAP and urea, also cut down on spraying the crops [with chemicals], so that the environment benefits” says Abdur Rehman. Early results are promising. Farmers report the return of birds and beneficial insects, while soil health improves, boosting cotton yields and reducing costs. More importantly, communities feel empowered, connecting their ancestral farming wisdom with new practices that safeguard their environment and livelihoods.

The experience of Abdur and many others reflect the transformative potential of biodiversity-centred farming. The decline of natural life threatens ecosystems, agricultural productivity, and long-term sustainability, and the work done in Pakistan shows how we can help restore biodiversity.

Cotton farmers have the potential to be a part of ecosystem restoration, but they need the right support, policies, and financial incentives to make it viable. Protecting biodiversity is not simply an environmental goal, it is a foundation for resilient farming communities and a sustainable cotton future.

The post Cultivating Biodiversity: How Pakistani Farmers Revive Nature While Growing Cotton appeared first on Better Cotton Initiative.

By Alexander Ellebrecht, Account Executive at Source Intelligence

Source Intelligence was Sponsor at the Better Cotton Conference 2025 in İzmir, Türkiye

At Source Intelligence, we help companies strengthen supply chain visibility and compliance through two complementary platforms. C Map enables organizations to meet complex regulatory requirements by leveraging bill of materials (BOM) data across multiple tiers of their supply chain. ChainPoint serves standards and scheme holders, supporting first-mile traceability and capturing critical data that is often difficult to obtain. We are now integrating these platforms. This will deliver deeper transparency and greater value, not only for standards organizations, members, and stakeholders, but also for shareholders. Because today, transparency is not optional anymore.

Better Cotton’s Phased Approach

Better Cotton has taken a thoughtful, step-by-step approach to building traceability using ChainPoint. They started with ginner-to-spinner traceability, then gradually extended the scope and introduced more detailed claim types. Several years ago, the system was based largely on a mass balance approach—a method that allows Better Cotton Claim Units (BCCUs) to be traded through the supply chain while maintaining an associated sustainability claim, even if the cotton is mixed with conventional sources. In recent years, the demand for visibility has grown. More companies now want to know with certainty: “Is this 100% Better Cotton that we are buying?”

This shift has led to the adoption of segregated models, which keep Better Cotton physically separate from conventional cotton throughout the chain. These models provide higher transparency and stronger claims. It’s a journey Better Cotton is still on—and one we are proud to support.

Impact and Transparency where it matters

The cotton industry is aware of its impact. We hear many farmer stories, of farmers who could improve their production with training and support from Better Cotton. Topics like irrigation, regenerative agriculture, are addressed, and it’s good to discuss this with the sector at the Better Cotton conference. These discussions help retailers and companies, at the end of the supply chain, understand the problems on the ground, while also creating opportunities for more collaboration.

With the existence of social media, companies are becoming increasingly responsible and accountable for their supply chain activities. We also see some government regulations and compliance topics, so there is really a driver for transparency. Transparency will not go away. It will stay on the agenda.

One principle I particularly appreciate is controlled transparency. This means not every piece of information is available to everyone, but rather that access is purposeful and relevant. This approach fosters trust, encourages openness, and enables more efficient collaboration.

Proud of Progress, Committed to More

We should be proud of how far we’ve come, but we must also keep asking: What can we do better? By applying proven quality management practices, we can work more efficiently, accelerate progress, and deliver lasting improvements. We’re also seeing strong growth in the collection and management of reliable data. Automation is making documentation less of a burden and more of an opportunity—helping people focus on insight and action rather than paperwork. 

The Better Cotton Conference matters because it’s ultimately about people. Progress in supply chains depends on collaboration, and while we have many digital tools—Zoom, Teams, and others—that make connecting easier, nothing replaces the depth of understanding that comes from meeting in person.

The post ‘Transparency Is Not Optional Anymore’ appeared first on Better Cotton Initiative.