More than one million bales of cotton were produced in 2017 by U.S. farms participating in the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) licensing program.
“We launched in the United States in 2014, in response to our retailer and brand members who wanted to source U.S. grown cotton that meets the Better Cotton Standard for social and environmental performance,” said Scott Exo, BCI USA Country Manager. “Since then, along with our industry partners, we’ve grown to include 366 farmers in 14 states who now grow 5% of U.S. cotton.”
Key to BCI’s rapid growth in the U.S. has been an innovative “group assurance” approach to managing the requirements for participating farms. Growers participate as a part of a grower group, joining together with other growers in their area. A BCI Group Assurance Implementing Partner – typically from a coop, merchant, gin or grower association – provides farm-level support, helps growers understand licensing requirements, gathers data, conducts farm monitoring, and coordinates 3rd-party verification. BCI provides training and support to the partners.
Among the partners now managing BCI assurance groups are U.S. offices of all the major global cotton trading companies, as well as several regional merchants, marketing coops and one Texas gin. Several local gin managers also help with data-gathering and verification visits.
“The group approach has enabled merchants and others to respond to this demand by helping farmers participate,” said Exo. “But it also holds great potential to advance continuous improvement – one of the fundamental goals of the BCI program.
“Nearly all U.S. farms meet the core requirements for licensing,” he added. “But unlike many other certification programs which merely emphasize compliance, the Better Cotton Standard System also measures and encourages ongoing improvements in things like water stewardship, soil health, and worker well-being. BCI participation creates a framework to assess and accelerate improvement, with the active encouragement of our partners.”
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