H&M, Ikea and Gap are the top three global brands leading on sustainable cotton sourcing, says the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI). In 2018, BCI’s retailer and brand members sourced more than one million metric tonnes. That’s a 45 per cent rise on 2017 sends a clear signal to the market that Better Cotton is becoming a sustainable mainstream commodity. BCI’s demand-driven funding model means that retailer and brand sourcing of ‘Better Cotton’ (cotton produced by licensed BCI Farmers in line with the initiative’s Better Cotton Principles and Criteria that guide BCI Farmers towards continuous improvement across seven key areas) directly translates into increased investment in training for cotton farmers on more sustainable agricultural practices. While all BCI retailers and brand members contributing to the sustainable future of cotton, the sourcing members include Adidas, Nike, Levi Strauss, C&A, PVH Corp, VF Corporation, Bestseller, Decathlon and Target Corporation among others. “Since September 2015, all of the cotton we source for Ikea a decade of determination and hard work to embed sustainability into our supply chain and we are pleased to have reached our 100% sustainable cotton target. We won’t stop there though. We are committed to creating positive change throughout the entire cotton industry and continue to collaborate with our partners to make this a reality,” Rahul Ganju, sustainability manager textiles, Ikea Sweden. “Bestseller joined BCI in 2011 and we’ve been an active member since then. We’ve increased our uptake of Better Cotton year on year and invested in farmer training and support. Bestseller has a target to source 100 per cent of its cotton more sustainably by 2022 – to achieve this we source Better Cotton, Cotton made in Africa, organic cotton and recycled cotton,” Dorte Rye Olsen, sustainability manager, Bestseller.
