Better Cotton joins an existing partnership between the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and footballs’ governing body FIFA, which aims to develop raw material production in West and Central Africa.
Better Cotton plans to conduct sustainability mapping and assessments in Mali and Côte d’Ivoire to help it better support smallholder cotton farmer needs.
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By GlobalDataFunded by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the assessments will allow Better Cotton to assess how they can target support and aid the production of more sustainable and regenerative cotton.
In February 2024 WTO and FIFA launched a coalition – Partenariat pour le Coton – to accelerate their work in this area. Better Cotton is a member of the group and will help connect farmers to the project and its mission of strengthening supply chains in the region.
WTO and FIFA have called for investment into the sector noting the current balance of exporting 90% cotton raw material does not meet the region’s economic potential.
As raw material exports can generate needed revenues, the organisations believe there is scope to increase processing capacities in the region in order to boost incomes.
Better Cotton’s CEO Alan McClay commented: “Africa is a vibrant and exciting region for cotton production and our expansion on the continent is demonstrative of that. At the heart of our mission are cotton farmers, workers and the surrounding communities – these assessments will help optimise our efforts and pave the way for continued sustainable economic development across Mali and Côte d’Ivoire.”
Intra-African Trade Bank Afreximbank executive vice president Kanayo Awani added: “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 prioritising superior products with global market potential.”
FIFA’s president Gianni Infantino commented at the time of the coalition’s launch: “Together with the WTO and other partners, FIFA wants to do something real, something concrete, something impactful, and something that will have an influence on the lives of many people. We want to create jobs. We want to help in the fight against poverty. We want to empower women — especially in these countries — and this is something that we need to pursue and push.”
Better Cotton recently published an independent audit following allegations that its sustainably-certified cotton was linked to Brazilian farms allegedly engaged in illegal deforestation, which non-profit investigator Earthsight called “almost worthless”.
