The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) has announced that representatives of German sportswear brand Adidas, Indian yarn supplier Anandi Enterprises, agricultural non-profit Pesticide Action Network and US cotton organisation Supima have been elected to its council. The BCI Council is the organisation’s highest decision-making body and has direct influence on its strategy to make global cotton production more sustainable. New representatives will have their say in determining BCI’s strategy for the next ten-year period, in which the Swiss NGO predicts “a major shift” for economic, social and environmental sustainability indicators.
Joining the council as representatives of these companies and organisations is Adidas’s Senior Manager, merchandising and sustainability materials, Ebru Gencoglu; Anandi’s Founder R S Balagurunathan; Pesticide Action Network’s Director Keith Tyrell; and Supima’s CEO, the re-elected Marc Lewkowitz, who was appointed the chairperson of the BCI Council in 2019. The council is represented by four BCI membership categories: retailers and brands, suppliers and manufacturers, civil society and producer organisations. This is to ensure its strategy encompasses the impact any changes will have on all aspects of the cotton supply chain.
BCI’s demand-driven funding model relies on new members, particularly in the form of brand and retail partners, as the commitment of companies to source greater quantities of better cotton in turn leads to increased investment in training for cotton farmers tasked with supplementing demand.
Data published by BCI in November of last year showed that 2.3 mn cotton farmers spanning 23 countries were trained in more sustainable farming methods during the 2018/19 cotton season.
Whilst training helps mitigate the environmental impacts of cotton harvesting, it’s also proven financially beneficial to farmers. For example, BCI farmers in India achieved 11 per cent higher yields last year, while those in Pakistan enjoyed 38 per cent higher profits.
It bodes well then that the organisation welcomed 400 new organisations throughout 2020, despite the influence COVID-19 had on many fashion industry stakeholders.
Paula Lum Young-Bautil, Deputy Director, membership and supply chain at BCI, recently said: “After a challenging year due to COVID-19, it has been incredibly encouraging to see businesses across the cotton supply chain continue to address sustainability challenges and commit to sourcing and supporting more sustainable cotton.”
What’s more, data published last month highlighted 2020 to be a record-breaking year for the use of ‘Better Cotton’, as retail and brand members adopted upwards of 1.7 mn tonnes of the material, a 13 per cent increase on the previous year.
