- Natasha Avalos
What is the Better Cotton Initiative?
Updated: Feb 10, 2022
A small step in the right direction towards a more sustainable planet.
The root of sustainability in the fashion industry starts at the sourcing stage of materials. While a great deal of focus on the fashion industry’s sustainability is on how long the clothing lasts, it is also important to consider the environmental impacts of the industry. The majority of clothing is made of cotton. In one way or another, the soft plant is used and spun into fibers and material that makes cloth which is sewn together to create articles of clothing.
Since the majority of clothing we wear is made of cotton, it’s fair to say that cotton is an in demand crop that many suppliers and brands are always on the hunt for. However it is often overlooked what excessive cotton picking can do. How long does it take to grow more? Do farmers use chemicals to speed up the growth of cotton? Is cotton something that can go extinct? Overall, what is the environmental impact of cotton?
In 2005, a roundtable of World Wide Fund of Nature stakeholders joined together to create a plan for creating a more sustainable future. One of their propositions was the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) to be implemented in the fashion and textile industry. The program was launched in 2009 and is voluntary for brands and farms to join, however the partnership is a promise that the company will source cotton from farms that practice sustainable farming and pay a fair wage with decent working conditions to all people who work with the cotton.
Photo by BetterCotton.org
The BCI is currently revising their principles and criteria that ensure that cotton farms are sustainable and aligned with their goals to improve the environmental and social impacts from the cotton industry. Their current criteria was revised in 2017 and is as follows:
Principle 1: BCI Farmers minimise the harmful impact of protection practices.
Principle 2: BCI Farmers promote water stewardship.
Principle 3: BCI Farmers care for the health of soil.
Principle 4: BCI Farmers enhance biodiversity and use land responsibly.
Principle 5: BCI Farmers care for and preserve fibre quality.
Principle 6: BCI Farmers promote decent work.
Principle 7: BCI Farmers operate an effective management system.
These principles are measured upon initiation and throughout partnership to guarantee that the farms are living up to the standards they promise in order to preserve and protect the natural environments.
So how does this all relate to the fashion and textile industry? As mentioned in the beginning of this article, cotton is one of the core supplies of the fashion and textile industry. When buying from this industry, if the brand is a certified partner of the BCI, it’s important to note that the brand is committed to sourcing their cotton in a more sustainable way than before.
To find out if where you shop is committed to taking a step in the right direction to limit their environmental impact through their involvement with cotton, please visit bettercotton.org/membership/find-members/.
Sources:
Better Cotton. BCI Principles And Criteria - Version 2.1. Better Cotton, March 2018, bettercotton.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Better-Cotton-Principles-Criteria-V2.1.pdf.