Better Cotton Initiative
Best practice starts at the source. Through training, Better Cotton aims to facilitate more sustainable cotton production, making it better for the people who produce it, better for the environment and better for the sector’s future.
Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) is the largest cotton sustainability program in the world, helping cotton communities thrive, while protecting and restoring the environment. Better Cotton trains workers in more sustainable farming practices, outlines and assesses compliance and has created a network of partners to connect supply with demand.
THE BIG ISSUES
Labour challenges
Environmental impact
Cotton quality
THE VISION
A sustainable world, where cotton farmers and workers are more resilient to climate change, threats to environment and global pandemics.
WHY BETTER COTTON
Reducing the impact of our industry
As part of our wider ethos, it’s important to us that we source from ethical, sustainable suppliers. AS Colour is committed to improving cotton farming practices globally with Better Cotton. By partnering with the Better Cotton Initiative, we are part of a collective that is committed to improving social, environmental and economic outcomes for the industry we are a part of.
The Better Cotton Initiative's 2030 strategy covers five key impact areas - climate change mitigation, soil health, pesticide use, smallholder livelihoods and women’s empowerment. Alongside this strategy, they have launched a specific climate change mitigation target - to reduce greenhouse gas emissions per tonne of Better Cotton produced by 50%.
HOW
Helping cotton communities thrive
Better Cotton Initiative works with on-the-ground partners across the world to support cotton communities to build resilience and improve their livelihoods, with a big focus on women’s equality within the cotton farming community and in some cases gaining economic independence and or leadership roles. Better Cotton is sourced via a chain of custody model called mass balance. This means that Better Cotton is not physically traceable to end products, however, Better Cotton Farmers benefit from the demand for Better Cotton in equivalent volumes to those we ‘source.’ Better Cotton trains farmers to use water efficiently, care for soil health and natural habitats, reduce use of the most harmful chemicals and respect workers’ rights and wellbeing.
BETTER COTTON'S IMPACT
Building worker resilience and improving livelihoods
Access to education for better farming practices
Improved biodiversity and land use
TODAY
Almost a quarter of the world’s cotton is produced under the Better Cotton Standard, and 2.4 million cotton farmers have been trained in sustainable farming practices and are licensed to grow Better Cotton. In the past year, we were able to make the below impacts, thanks to our sourcing of Better Cotton:
Contribution to an estimated avoidance of 418 pounds of pesticide active ingredient
An estimated
36,295,673 US gallons were saved
More about our approach to responsible production
Garment care guide
If you care for your garments, and extend their life by as little as nine months, you can reduce their carbon footprint by around 20 – 30 percent. Here’s a few simple tips and tricks to help you maximise the life of your garments.
Production FAQ
In a world where it’s easy to profess to ethical and sustainable standards, it’s important to us to actually be transparent about how we work, who we work with and how we support more vulnerable stakeholders in the supply chain.
Code of Conduct
We care how we do business, who we do business with, and how people are treated. This Code helps us ensure we, and our suppliers, act respectfully and responsibly.