Anta Sports Products Ltd has officially become a member of the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) in accordance with execution of its sustainable development philosophy. Anta Sports is the first sportswear company in China to join BCI. Located in Geneva, Switzerland, BCI is an international non-profit organisation with a membership based on a ten-year history. As the largest sustainable cotton development project in the world, BCI has wide coverage in the global supply chain, from farmland to fashion and textile brands. The organisation aims to make cotton production better for the people who produce it, the environment it grows in and the sector’s future. At present, BCI works with 2.2 million cotton farmers globally, and it has close to 1,600 members across the world, encompassing organisations all the way from farms to fashion and textile brands, and civil society organisations, driving the cotton sector towards sustainability. Anta will start to source cotton through the Better Cotton Initiative for product that launches in the second quarter of 2020, said the company in a press release. “We feel honoured to see Anta Sports joining BCI and becoming the first sportswear company in China to join the organisation. Being a leading sportswear company in China, Anta Sports fully understands the importance of sustainable development. We have a close relationship with the planting environment of cotton, and the market environment of cotton farmers. Therefore, applying to enter BCI is an indication of our dedication to blending sustainable development with our daily business operations. It is because we believe that only by facilitating the industry’s sustainable development quality and standards, we can create a positive environment that favours the company’s stable development. In the future, we will continue to maintain and develop excellent environmental, social and corporate governance standards, building a healthier and greener textile ecosystem with our upstream and downstream partners,” said Ding Shizhong, chairman and CEO of Anta Sports.
