Better Cotton

Support Better Cotton as an Independent Council Member🌱 Are you a senior leader passionate about governance, sustainability, and driving meaningful change? We’re looking for an Independent Council Member to help shape the future of the world’s largest cotton sustainability initiative. As part of our governance structure, you’ll play a key role in strategic decision-making, financial oversight, and advocacy, ensuring Better Cotton continues to support millions of farmers worldwide. Think of it as joining our equivalent of a board of directors. Unlike member representatives, who are elected and appointed to our Council from our member organisations, independent members join us from our wider network, which is constantly growing. We want to reach people from all different locations, areas of expertise and backgrounds, so if you tick the boxes below, we want to hear from you: ✅ Senior leadership experience in governance, sustainability, finance, or policy ✅ Strong professional network and experience engaging with governments, international institutions, or multi-stakeholder initiatives ✅ Commitment to Better Cotton’s mission and values What you’ll do: 🌍 Provide strategic oversight and contribute to key governance decisions 💰 Monitor financial stewardship and approve budgets and policies 🤝 Act as an ambassador for Better Cotton and leverage your network to support fundraising and advocacy efforts Commitment: 📍 Join two in-person Council meetings and up to five virtual Council calls per year 📑 Serve on at least two Council committees 🕒 Four-year voluntary term To take a look at our current council members, please click below. Feel free to explore more of our website and the work that we do while you’re there. https://lnkd.in/e4XPHfAk This is an exciting voluntary opportunity to make a lasting impact on global cotton sustainability. Ready to help us drive change? Apply today! #BetterCotton #Sustainability #Leadership #Governance #CottonIndustry #SustainableAgriculture #ImpactLeadership

🌍💧 World Water Day 2025💧🌍 Meet Swaminadham, a pioneer in sustainable agriculture! 🌾🚜 In Kothagattu Singaram, a village in Telangana, India, Nomula Swaminadham has spent the last 37 years cultivating his 9-acre farm. Over time, he has not only become a leader in his community, but also a true champion of sustainable farming. Thirteen years ago, Swaminadham embarked on his journey towards sustainable agriculture by joining Better Cotton, working with our Programme Partners WWF-India. Motivated by the training he received, he adopted innovative practices like vermicomposting and homemade natural extractions to replace chemical pesticides. 🌱💧 Then, facing a severe drought that dried up his well, Swaminadham realised the importance of water conservation. He installed drip irrigation, which saved water, reduced labour and electricity costs, and boosted his crop yields. His success inspired many farmers in his village to follow his lead. 🌟 Swaminadham continued to innovate by constructing field-level channels to retain rainwater, using natural fertilisers like "Amrutha Jalam," and adopting regenerative farming practices. These efforts have significantly improved soil health, water retention, and crop productivity. 🌾💧 Today, Swaminadham's farm uses 50% less water, saves ₹45,000 annually, and produces higher yields. His dedication to sustainable farming has made him a mentor to other farmers, creating a community committed to sustainability. 🌍💙 #WorldWaterDay #WaterConservation #Agriculture #BetterCotton #Cotton #India #Telangana #WWD2025 #WorldWaterDay2025

Enhancing awareness of regenerative agricultural practices and strengthening social support 💪 We recently ran a series of training sessions in Uzbekistan to prepare farmers for the 2025/26 cotton season. 🌱 Thanks to the support of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the hard work of our team, we delivered training across 14 districts, reaching over 350 farmers and farm workers. 👩🌾 We dove into the world of regenerative farming practices and took a closer look at Better Cotton's core social requirements. Our goal? To ensure that successes and lessons learned from last season are used to inform farming practices going forward. 🍃📚 Sessions covered key topics including: ✍️ Effective planning 👌 Decent work principles 🙌 Gender equality 🤝 Inclusive workplaces At the end of the sessions, participants evaluated the training and shared topics they wished to explore in future programs. Based on their feedback, we will adapt training content for the new cotton season.🌟 Here's to more growth and progress! 📈 #RegenerativeAgriculture #Cotton #Uzbekistan #BetterCotton #DecentWork #GenderEquality #InclusiveWorkplaces

In 2025, we are excited to bring the Better Cotton Conference back to Türkiye, a country renowned for its rich cotton heritage. 🌿 This wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of İYİ PAMUK UYGULAMALARI DERNEĞİ - IPUD, our Strategic Partner.🤝 Since we launched our programme together in 2011, IPUD has been implementing the Better Cotton Standard System and managing production of Better Cotton in the country. In the 2022-2023 season alone, the programme produced over 104,000 metric tonnes of cotton, while supporting over 2,400 licensed farmers.👨🌾👩🌾 With its diverse membership base spanning farmers and ginners to manufacturers and civil society organisations, IPUD works to build Better Cotton supply and demand in Türkiye and transform Turkish cotton into a sustainable mainstream commodity.📈 IPUD partners with government research institutes, universities, supply chain actors and other national and international organisations to advance sustainable cotton production practices in Türkiye.🌍 The conference, taking place in İzmir from 18-19 June 2025, will drive progress towards this goal, bringing together industry leaders, farmers, policymakers and innovators from across the world for two days of bold ideas, collaboration and action.💡 Join us on the Aegean coast for a unique event where we’ll explore, innovate, and drive progress in sustainable cotton together. 💥Sign up now and get a special early bird discount! To find out more and register, click the link below👇 🔗https://lnkd.in/dzZD27Dy #BetterCottonConference2025 #Events #Cotton #Sustainability #Fashion #SustainableFashion #Textiles #Networking #Innovation #RegisterNow #Türkiye #İzmir

At Better Cotton, we recognise that the issues of climate change, sustainable livelihoods and women’s empowerment are all highly interconnected. 🌱 Our 2030 Impact Target on women’s empowerment is to reach one million women in cotton with programmes and resources to promote equal farm decision-making, build climate resilience, or support improved livelihoods.📈 To achieve this, our partners across the world are establishing gender committees within cotton communities, promoting peer-to-peer learning.👩🌾 Amina Bibi, a cotton worker from Pakistan, is one woman who has developed skills through this outreach. After attending capacity-strengthening sessions organised by WWF - Pakistan, Amina started her own vegetable garden in order to diversify her income and build resilience against the impacts of climate change.🌾 Following International Women’s Day, we’d like to share her inspirational story. 🌍 To find out more, click here: https://lnkd.in/e4f98wPh #WomensEmpowerment #ClimateAction #BetterCotton #GenderEquality #ClimateResilience #InternationalWomensDay #InspiringWomen #SustainableLivelihoods #Pakistan

At Better Cotton, women’s empowerment is a central tenet of our efforts to support cotton farming communities around the world.🌟 Tomorrow is International Women’s Day, and as we get ready to celebrate the incredible achievements and stories of women around the world, we are excited to share an inspiring interview with our colleague Nini Mehrotra. Nini is Senior Manager for Gender Equality at Better Cotton. With the support of a dedicated group of in-country colleagues and partners, she forges the path to create lasting impact for cotton farming communities across the 22 countries in which we operate. 🌏 We spoke with Nini to unpack what International Women’s Day means to her, and get a glimpse into her motivations, current projects, and aspirations for the future. 💪 Click here to read the full interview: https://lnkd.in/efCCSHak Let's continue to support and uplift each other, today and every day. 💖 #InternationalWomensDay #IWD2025 #WomenInLeadership #Empowerment #Inspiration #BreakingBarriers

Promoting integrated pest management to reduce synthetic pesticide use in Mozambique 🐞 At Better Cotton, one of our key focus areas as we look to protect and restore the environment is reducing the use of synthetic pesticides in cotton farming. In our 2030 Strategy, we outlined our target to reduce the use and risk of synthetic pesticides applied by Better Cotton Farmers and workers by at least 50% by the end of the decade. 🌱 In order to achieve this, we promote an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach to crop protection, emphasising the growth of a healthy crop with the least possible disruption to agroecosystems. 💧 IPM focuses on the prevention of pest pressures and regular, careful monitoring of pest populations. When control measures are necessary, non-chemical methods such as biopesticides or traps are the first choice, with conventional pesticides used as a last resort.  🌿 To support farmers in adopting this approach, we are developing an IPM planning and monitoring framework, and in February, our team visited farmers in Mozambique who are testing this framework to ensure that they have the necessary assistance and guidance.👩🌾👨🌾 Across six days, our Senior Country Coordinator Amelia Sidumo joined field-level experts from our programme partners SANAM and SAN JFS to visit a total of 48 demonstration plots in the Nampula and Niassa-Cuamba regions. The visits were a success, with both participating farmers and other farmers in the community enthusiastic with the IPM package being tested. While excessive rain has made weeding challenging, there was encouraging feedback regarding the inclusion of beans within the cropping system for soil replenishment and food source, and the testing of new active ingredients in the effort to phase out synthetic pesticides. 🌾 We look forward to continuing to work with farmers to protect crops, farmers and the planet! 🌍 #BetterCotton #SustainableFarming #IntegratedPestManagement #IPM #EcoFriendly #ReducePesticides #Mozambique #ProtectThePlanet

🌍 We're seeking a long-term event partner for our annual Better Cotton Conference! 🌍 Are you an experienced international event provider with a passion for sustainability and hybrid events? We want YOU to help us plan and execute our global conference! We’re seeking a partner who can work closely with us to deliver seamless hybrid conferences that align with our sustainability goals and strategic objectives. Click below to apply: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ej2evm38 Key responsibilities include: 🌱 Sourcing and securing sustainable event venues for both in-person and virtual attendees 🌱 Coordinating the full event experience, from staff recruitment to managing technical teams 🌱 Overseeing international payments and contracts with local suppliers 🌱 Developing and executing a comprehensive marketing plan 🌱 Implementing sustainability practices to ensure the event is carbon neutral What you’ll need: ✅ A proven track record in international event planning (5+ years) ✅ Expertise in hybrid event formats and managing large-scale conferences ✅ A strong network of global suppliers and the ability to execute high-quality events ✅ Experience in managing sustainability initiatives and carbon-neutral events ✅ Fluent English and experience collaborating with global teams If you’re ready to collaborate on delivering an impactful hybrid event experience, we want to hear from you! Submit your proposal by visiting the link above! Photo credit: Evronas/Better Cotton #BetterCotton #SustainabilityEvents #HybridEvents #EventPlanning #GlobalPartnership #SustainableFuture #EventsWithPurpose #BetterCottonConference

🌍 Happy World Wildlife Day! 🌿 Today, let’s celebrate the incredible diversity of life on our planet and the vital role that wildlife plays in maintaining the health of our ecosystems. 🐝 At Better Cotton, we are committed to protecting and preserving biodiversity. 🌱 Our global standard, followed by over 2.2 million growers across the world, encourages farmers to adopt key regenerative practices that improve their soil health, conserving and enhancing biodiversity and natural ecosystems, and optimising the quality and availability of water.💧 We are currently working on developing a scalable methodology to enhance biodiversity in cotton production through a project in Punjab, Pakistan. This project, running in collaboration with Pilio and SAMA^Verte, focuses on smallholder farmers, combining data with specific local contexts to create an aligned framework. To find out more, watch the video and head to the link below! https://lnkd.in/eQPKvBsy Let's work together to protect the planet for future generations. 🦋 #WorldWildlifeDay #Biodiversity #Conservation #Sustainability #WildlifeProtection #Punjab #Pakistan

We are excited to announce that we have renewed our partnership with Cotton Australia until 2027! 🎉 Cotton Australia, the official body for Australia’s cotton growers, has been Better Cotton’s Strategic Partner since 2014. 🤝 We have now extended that partnership, providing the framework for continued collaboration and ensuring we remain aligned in our efforts to champion more sustainably produced cotton. 🌱 To find out more, click below! 👇 https://lnkd.in/evURmG6P Photo credit: Cotton Australia #Australia #CottonAustralia #myBMP #Sustainability #Partnership #BetterCotton #Cotton