Better Cotton

Better Cotton has started the journey to become a certification scheme, ensuring that we meet new and emerging legislative requirements while maintaining a robust and credible standard. 🔎 By integrating third-party certification and improving traceability, we aim to increase demand for sustainable cotton and empower retailers and brands to proudly showcase their commitment. From farm to consumer, we are dedicated to driving progress across the entire sector, fostering continuous improvement, and improving the lives of cotton farmers worldwide. In his latest blog, our CEO Alan McClay outlines the reasons behind this transition, and what it means for our stakeholders. To find out more, click the link below. https://lnkd.in/eFyGVNmy #Certification #Sustainability #Cotton #BetterCotton

“Happy, Milestone, Success, Goal!”🎉 Large Farm Week wrapped up with a session that split the team into groups based on postcards representing stages of cotton’s growth: seed, flower, boll, open boll.🌺 AMIPA Executive Dir. Lício Pena Sairre’s group described their open boll as a "milestone", something that makes them happy to see in the field. The same can be said for the team’s week in Türkiye! Better Cotton’s Alvaro Moreira: 💬 "Witnessing colleagues and partners interacting, learning, showing their interest and passion - and seeing how engaged they have been throughout the week - are all testaments to the singular opportunity Large Farm Week presented to us." AMIPA and ABRAPA together represent Brazil’s cotton sector, where producers are leading the way in marketing, certifications and research. Among top priorities: striking a balance for production in a tropical region. Joining forces with Better Cotton, research into beneficial predator insects is currently underway.🐞 Having witnessed further involvement of Better Cotton in other large farm contexts, Lício and the others departed carrying messages for farmers about the importance of this participation. ✨ Photo credits: Alvaro Moreira / Better Cotton Associação Mineira dos Produtores de Algodão - Amipa Abrapa - Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Algodão İYİ PAMUK UYGULAMALARI DERNEĞİ - IPUD #Türkiye #Brasil #LargeFarmWeek #BetterCotton #cottonfarming #sustainability

Caring for our water resources is one of the biggest sustainability challenges of our times.💧 At Better Cotton, we believe that solutions require a water stewardship approach where individual and collective actions benefit both people and nature. This #WorldWaterWeek, we’re shining a light on our commitment to supporting farmers to implement sustainable water practices.🩵 The Better Cotton Principles and Criteria provides farmers with a comprehensive framework for using water in a way that improves yields while conserving resources for them and their community. 🌳 By following this framework, farmers are using water more efficiently on both rainfed and irrigated farms to achieve greater yields and consume and pollute less water. 🤝 This not only contributes to more sustainable water use but also helps farmers improve their livelihoods and build resilience to climate change — something that will become increasingly important as pressure on water supply intensifies. #WaterConservation #SustainableFuture #BetterCotton #WWWeek #Sustainability World Water Week Photo credit: Joe Woodruff/Better Cotton

Uzbekistan was represented at #LargeFarmWeek by Inoyat Nurov, Chief Coordinator, TCT Cluster LLC and Better Cotton’s Azamat Mukhomedjanov, Assurance and Capacity Building Coordinator for Uzbekistan.🙌    Azamat: 💬 “I thoroughly enjoyed attending the Large Farm Week in Türkiye. It was a valuable opportunity to connect with Better Cotton colleagues from the USA, Brazil, Pakistan and Türkiye. “This experience allowed me to get to know our international team better and will facilitate productive collaboration in future projects. Additionally, I found it fascinating to explore Turkish farming methods, the textile industry, and the country's national and traditional attractions.”🌍 Inoyat: 💬 “First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to the organisers of the Better Cotton Large Farm Programme for the opportunity to take part in the Large Farm Week in Türkiye. It was a rewarding and enjoyable experience.     “This event provided a valuable opportunity to share knowledge and insights with Turkish large farms. Additionally, we met with textile producers who showed interest in purchasing Uzbek cotton yarn and exchanged contact information for potential future collaborations.”📞   We are thrilled both were present to offer their insights and come away from the event inspired!✨ Photo Credits: Ashley Barrington / Better Cotton & Ömer Arslan #BetterCotton #cottonfarming #sustainability İYİ PAMUK UYGULAMALARI DERNEĞİ - IPUD Ünteks Group | Fully Integrated Textile Manufacturer From Yarn To Garment

Uzbekistan was represented at #LargeFarmWeek by Inoyat Nurov, Chief Coordinator, TCT Cluster LLC and Better Cotton’s Azamat Mukhomedjanov, Assurance and Capacity Building Coordinator for Uzbekistan.🙌    Azamat: 💬 “I thoroughly enjoyed attending the Large Farm Week in Türkiye. It was a valuable opportunity to connect with Better Cotton colleagues from the USA, Brazil, Pakistan and Türkiye. “This experience allowed me to get to know our international team better and will facilitate productive collaboration in future projects. Additionally, I found it fascinating to explore Turkish farming methods, the textile industry, and the country's national and traditional attractions.”🌍 Inoyat: 💬 “First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to the organisers of the Better Cotton Large Farm Programme for the opportunity to take part in the Large Farm Week in Türkiye. It was a rewarding and enjoyable experience.     “This event provided a valuable opportunity to share knowledge and insights with Turkish large farms. Additionally, we met with textile producers who showed interest in purchasing Uzbek cotton yarn and exchanged contact information for potential future collaborations.”📞   We are thrilled both were present to offer their insights and come away from the event inspired!✨ Photo Credits: Ashley Barrington / Better Cotton & Ömer Arslan #BetterCotton #cottonfarming #sustainability İYİ PAMUK UYGULAMALARI DERNEĞİ - IPUD Ünteks Group | Fully Integrated Textile Manufacturer From Yarn To Garment

Large Farm Week also welcomed Australia’s peak industry body, Cotton Australia, representing up to 1,500 cotton farmers. After over 50 years, the group continues to support growers and industry alike through research and innovation. 📋💡 “It’s been great to hear from other large farm cotton producing countries and listen to their challenges. It helps us see how we can work together to increase not only cotton demand, but the amount of sustainably grown cotton worldwide.” – Tom Mannes, Regional Manager, Cotton Australia 🌏🤝 Alongside the US team, Tom discussed challenges in moving away from hazardous pesticides and the potential in funding more expensive but less toxic pest control methods. 🙌 Cotton Australia has addressed chemical overuse since the ‘90s and has seen a 97% drop in synthetic insecticide usage. A levy on each bale, paid by farmers and matched by the government, funds extension research like insecticide resistant management. 🕷 🔬 Convenings like Large Farm Week keep these conversations going as our allies continue to share their insights and stories around growing cotton.🌱   Photo Credits: Ashley Barrington / Better Cotton & Ömer Arslan #LargeFarmWeek #BetterCotton #CottonAustralia #cottonfarming #sustainability İYİ PAMUK UYGULAMALARI DERNEĞİ - IPUD

Following an inspiring trip to Bismil Tarim Farm with Better Cotton farmer Hamza Altay, the team visited Ünteks Group, one of the largest vertically integrated mills in Türkiye. 🏭 Ünteks is an integrated textile company producing cotton yarn, manufacturing knitted fabric and garments, rotary printing and dyeing. They've been a Better Cotton Member since 2015 and have operated for over 20 years. 🤝👕 In their spinning facility, the Group produces only 100% cotton yarns, which they sell but mainly use for their own production. In addition to Better Cotton, Üntek Group uses other sustainable fibres including recycled and organic cotton. 🌱 And for extra credit: Solar panels on their campus cover 55-60% of the energy they consume. 🎓🌻 Edip Ünver, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors at Ünteks Group – seen here with Better Cotton’s Alvaro Moreira, Senior Manager, Large Farm Programmes and Partnerships - presented our team with this plaque during our visit to their campus. 🏆 Thank you for having us, Unteks Group! Photo credits: Ashley Barrington, João Carlos Resende S. da Rocha / Better Cotton Lício Pena Sairre / AMIPA #LargeFarmWeek #BetterCotton #cottonfarming #sustainability  Ünteks Group | Fully Integrated Textile Manufacturer From Yarn To Garment İYİ PAMUK UYGULAMALARI DERNEĞİ - IPUD

We now turn the large farm spotlight to Better Cotton farmer Raja Khan Rajper of RK BANEED Farm, and Pakistan’s Better Cotton Capacity Building Coordinator, Muhammad Umar Iqbal.✨     Raja Khan has been a Better Cotton licensed grower since 2011 and farms cotton on a large-scale operation in the Sindh province of Pakistan. 🚜🌱     Since becoming involved with Better Cotton, his farm has seen improvements in both cultivation and community. Women, who do the majority of picking, are earning extra to pick cleaner cotton and there is educational support for their children. ♀️🎒     Muhammad Umar Iqbal: 💬 “In our cotton production, the reliance on manual labour, particularly in hand-picking, presents both challenges and opportunities. While it can increase the risk of exploitation, it also provides essential income for many impoverished families.     Through our robust policies and capacity-building programmes, we are committed to ensuring decent work conditions and empowering women, enabling them to work with dignity and security. Our approach balances the need for fair labour practices with the opportunity to uplift communities.”💬     Another significant challenge Pakistani farmers face is the unpredictability of rain, so Raja Khan has adopted practices like harvesting rainwater to use off-season or when there is a shortage.     Other implementations in place include cover cropping and composting banana leaves, which has improved organic matter in the soil and increased yields.    This is but a glimpse into the significant field-level and systems work being supported through our Large Farm Programme in Pakistan.      Photo Credits: Ashley Barrington / Better Cotton     #LargeFarmWeek #BetterCotton #Sustainability #Cotton #Agriculture

As our Large Farm Week unfolds in Türkiye, it is illuminating the vast range of contexts within which Better Cotton large farms operate around the world.🗺️ Today, the group visited Bismil Tarim Farm and met with Better Cotton licensed farmer Hamza Altay and his father Faruk Altay. Hamza’s grandfather started farming on 10 hectares 50 years ago and now his family grows cotton on 1,600 hectares. 🌱 The farm has volcanic soil which is exclusive to the region, and involvement with Better Cotton since 2016 has helped them improve in social sustainability indicators and reduce water use. Here is a sneak peak at some of the other stories being gathered from across the board as our team connects with representatives from each region: ⭐ “Cotton has a good story to tell. We have the potential to improve, but if we can tell our story correctly, we’ll have the consumer demand.” – Shane Stephens, VP Cotton Services and Warehousing at StaplCotn & Better Cotton Licensing Management Partner, U.S.   ⭐ “I am involved in a Better Cotton project that encourages education for women, adopting sustainable practices, implementing traceability and developing a biodiverse ecosystem.” – Raja Khan Rajper, RK BANEEN Farm, Pakistan   ⭐ “The advantages in selling cotton products and the conditions of the global market prompted us to obtain the Better Cotton license. Today, cotton products sold under this license are very profitable. We're not looking for business partners, they're looking for us." – Inoyat Nurov, TCT Cluster LLC, Uzbekistan Stay tuned for more insights from Better Cotton Large Farm Week over the coming days! 💡   Photo credits: Ashley Barrington/Better Cotton   İPUD İYİ PAMUK UYGULAMALARI DERNEĞİ #LargeFarmWeek #LargeFarms #BetterCotton #Cotton #Sustainability

From smallholders farming on a few acres to large farms covering thousands, Better Cotton is on a mission to help cotton farming communities thrive, regardless of scale.🤝 Next week, we will be spotlighting our work in this area, as our large farm Programme Partners convene in person for the first time.🙌   It is commonly assumed that large farm operations face fewer challenges than those of smallholders. In fact, they are met with a different set of obstacles entirely - and, importantly, are exploring promising innovations.   Tune in for Large Farm Week, taking place in Türkiye 19-23 August, as representatives from our programmes in Australia, Brazil, Pakistan, the US and Uzbekistan gather in person for the first time to exchange learnings and obstacles from their respective countries and contexts. Keep an eye on our channels for updates and highlights - much to come! #LargeFarmWeek #Cotton #BetterCotton #CottonFarming #Sustainability Photo credit: Alvaro Moreira/Better Cotton