Better Cotton is joining an existing partnership between the World Trade Organization (WTO) and football’s governing body, FIFA, that aims to develop raw material production and improve economic returns in West and Central Africa.
The cotton sustainability initiative will conduct mapping and assessments in Mali and Côte d’Ivoire to better support the needs of 200,000 local smallholder cotton farmers and farm workers.
“Africa is a vibrant and exciting region for cotton production and our expansion on the continent is demonstrative of that,” said Alan McClay, Better Cotton’s CEO. “At the heart of our mission are cotton farmers, workers and the surrounding communities—these assessments will help optimize our efforts and pave the way for continued sustainable economic development across Mali and Côte d’Ivoire.”
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) funds these assessments, allowing Better Cotton to determine the best ways to implement more sustainable and regenerative cotton production practices.
“Through initiatives like these, we are committed to supporting Africa’s smallholder farmers and the entire cotton value chain, enabling them to extract maximum value from their produce, boost value addition, attain higher levels of sustainability and improve quality, all while prioritizing superior products with global market potential,” said Kanayo Awani, executive vice president, Intra-African Trade Bank, Afreximbank.
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In 2022, the WTO and FIFA partnered to “enhance the participation” of the Cotton Four (Burkina Faso, Benin, Chad and Mali) within apparel value chains. And in February, the duo launched a coalition, “Partenariat pour le Coton,” to fast-track their work in this space. As a member of this group, Better Cotton will help connect farming communities to the project and its mission of strengthening supply chains in the region.
The pair also called for investment in the sector, emphasizing that the current balance of exporting 90 percent cotton raw material “falls short” of the region’s economic potential. As raw material exports can generate “vital revenues,” the organizations said they believe there’s scope to increase processing capacities in the region to boost incomes.
Better Cotton said it “remains committed” to Africa and continues to build upon its presence on the continent. Last November, the London-based firm teamed with Chad’s Cotontchad, the African nation’s only aggregator and exporter of cotton, to launch an initiative to develop a new Better Cotton program. The organization added Côte d’Ivoire to its Better Cotton Africa membership roster a week prior.
The news comes after non-profit investigator Earthsight alleged that the industry’s chief sustainable cotton certification scheme contributed to grave environmental and human rights abuses in Brazil.
Following these allegations, Better Cotton said that a third-party audit found no breach of its standards at certified farms linked to those environmental and human rights abuses. However, the allegations and “additional analysis carried out internally” inspired the initiative to expand its due diligence process.