Contacts
Our commitment to The Better Cotton Initiative: tangible results for people and the environment
Since 2022, we have been a partner with the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI™) , whose mission is to improve cotton farming globally. Our membership in this international organisation represents a concrete choice towards a more responsible cotton supply chain, focused on reducing the environmental and social impacts associated with the cultivation and processing phases of the raw material. A journey that enables us to actively contribute to the dissemination of more sustainable farming practices, capable of generating value throughout the entire supply chain.
Our commitment to sustainability
Aware
of the importance of investing in programmes that support more responsible
agricultural practices, we contribute to the funding of field-level projects
and farmer capacity-building initiatives through BCI's Growth and Innovation
Fund (GIF), via the fees paid on our BCI Cotton sourcing volumes. In 2025,
through our investment, 4,241,797 kg of cotton came from production that
follows these sustainable standards.
Among
the principles promoted by The Better Cotton Initiative is also the support
for farmers, with the aim of ensuring more dignified working conditions and
fair remuneration for the communities involved. Farmers participating in
GIF-funded projects increased their net income per cotton hectare by an
estimated 14.7% over the last 3 growing seasons. Farmers experience net income
increases for a variety of reasons, most commonly due to increased yields and/or
optimised use of inputs (such as irrigation water, pesticides, or synthetic
fertiliser). However, external variations like prices or weather have a large
influence. Important milestones have also been achieved on the environmental
front. Our sourcing of The Better
Cotton Initiative in 2025 supported farmers
participating in GIF-funded projects to save an estimated 49.218 m³ of water
over the last growing season. At the same time, our commitment has contributed
to the reduction in the use of pesticides by approximately 161 kg in the
last growing season, with tangible benefits for people's health, biodiversity,
and soil fertility. In this regard, farmers who participated in GIF-funded
projects have reduced their use of synthetic nitrogen per kg of cotton
produced by approximately 4.1% over the past 3 growing seasons.
A journey of continuous growth
The
results achieved represent a further step forward in our journey towards increasingly
sustainable and transparent production. This commitment is also reflected
in the consolidation of collaboration with suppliers who share our values and
the principles of BCI™. Our objective is to continue supporting farmers in
their daily work, contributing to the protection of water resources, and promoting
farming practices aimed at reducing the use of chemical pesticides. With this
in mind, from the initial adoption of the Mass Balance model, we have decided
to achieve another important milestone, namely joining the BCI™ traceability
programme, which enables the tracking of cotton volumes and movements
throughout the supply chain, right back to the country of origin. Our
transition to BCI's new traceability model is an important step towards greater
transparency in our cotton sourcing as it enables us to identify and trace BCI
Cotton throughout the supply chain. Once certification to BCI's Chain of
Custody Standard is completed, we will be able to label garments containing
traceable BCI Cotton.
