• PARTNERING FOR CHANGE

  • INVESTING IN TRAINING

  • ACCELERATING BETTER COTTON

  • IMPROVING LIVELIHOODS

Better Cotton Growth and Innovation Fund

What we do

The Better Cotton GIF makes strategic investments into Better Cotton projects to propel the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) towards its 2020 targets. The Fund identifies, supports and invests in innovations, while fostering adoption of the Better Cotton Standard System by governments, trade associations and other entities. Please refer to the annual report for country-specific project details.

HOW WE’RE FUNDED

The Fund mobilises contributions from BCI Retailer and Brand Members, Better Cotton Implementing Partners, and matched funds from public and private donors.

Who we are

Launched in 2016, as successor of a Fund set up in 2010 by BCI and IDH, the Better Cotton Growth and Innovation Fund is governed by the BCI Council in partnership with BCI Retailers and Brands, Civil Society Members, and Government Bodies. IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative, is the official Fund Manager along with being an important funder.    

OUR MISSION

To support BCI in its aim to make global cotton production better for the people who produce it, better for the environment it grows in and better for the sector’s future.

WHO WE ARE

The Better Cotton Growth and Innovation Fund (GIF) is governed by the BCI Council, in partnership with BCI Retailers and Brands, Civil Society Members, and Government Bodies. These stakeholders work in tandem to pursue a strategy in line with BCI’s wider objectives. IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative, is the official Fund Manager, along with being an important funder. Representatives from IDH and BCI form the Better Cotton GIF Secretariat, who propose and implement the Better Cotton GIF strategy, manage and processes project application, promote knowledge sharing, and manage a growing innovation pipeline.

Two multi-stakeholder committees set the Better Cotton GIF’s annual investment programme: The Buyer and Investor Committee (BIC) and the Field Innovation and Impact Committee (FIIC). The BIC is charged with linking supply and demand and proposing new strategic initiatives, while the FIIC is charged with running the annual application process and seeking out new approaches to more effective and efficient implementation. Companies who contribute more than €150,000 per year, or make public commitments to procure over 50% of their total cotton supply as Better Cotton by 2020, are invited to join the Better Cotton GIF committees and participate in the development of its investment strategy. Current committee members include representatives from the following organisations:

Field Innovation and Impact Committee

German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)

IDH The Sustainable Trade Initiative

IKEA

M&S

Pesticide Action Network UK

The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI)

 

Buyer and Investor Committee

adidas

ASOS

Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

BESTSELLER

C&A

German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)

H&M

IDH The Sustainable Trade Initiative

IKEA

Levi Strauss & Co.

M&S

Nike, Inc.

The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI)

Tommy Hilfiger

VF Corporation

 

 

 

Global Portfolio

2016 Portfolio Summary*

8.39 million
mobilised

613,755
Participating Farmers

1,075,041
Better Cotton Hectares

1,081,021
Metric Tonnes of Better Cotton lint produced

*BCI recently re-aligned from the calendar year to the international cotton calendar (August-July). According to the new international cotton calendar reporting period, GIF therefore funded the Mozambique 2015-16 season, not the 2016-17 season, in its first year

 

2017 Portfolio Outlook

11 million
mobilised

1.1 million
Participating Farmers

2.2 million
Better Cotton Hectares

1.8 million
Metric Tonnes of Better Cotton lint produced

*non-final figures

2016 Better Cotton GIF Report

Learn more about the Fund’s activities in the 2016 Better Cotton GIF Report. The report provides details about projects across seven countries.

Fill in the short form below and press ‘send’ to download the report (PDF).

By downloading the report, you accept that BCI and IDH may contact you from time to time with relevant Better Cotton Growth and Innovation Fund updates. If you do not wish to be contacted, please check the box below.

Please do not contact me

WHAT OUR PARTNERS SAY

  • "The beauty of the Fund is that we work with all key cotton stakeholders."

    Pramit Chanda, GIF Fund Manager and Country Director, IDH India

  • "With support from the Fund, we can reach thousands of farmers, get feedback on our budgets and receive training and products for the safety of ourselves and our plants."

    Vishal Patel, Managing Director of Basil Commodities, BCI Implementing Partner, India

  • "In our environment, every penny counts, so the funding we receive from the Better Cotton GIF makes a difference."

    Francisco Santos, CEO of SAN JFS, BCI Implementing Partner, Mozambique

  • "I think the biggest driver behind the Fund’s effectiveness is the involvement of big brands to motivate local suppliers."

    Arif Hamid Makhdum, Director of the Sustainable Agriculture Programme at WWF Pakistan, BCI Implementing Partner

  • "We see BCI as the mainstream model for sustainable cotton."

    Philipp Meister, Senior Director Sustainability Strategy, Adidas

GET INVOLVED

By 2020 BCI aims to reach 5 million farmers and account for 30% of global cotton production, transforming the cotton sector worldwide through the establishment of Better Cotton as a sustainable, mainstream commodity. The Better Cotton Growth and Innovation Fund is the main investment mechanism that will help catapult BCI towards these targets.

To achieve this growth, and to enable BCI to continue to address the most pressing issues in cotton farming and the communities it supports, the Better Cotton GIF is delighted to issue an open invitation to new public and private investors to step in and help improve the lives and the environment for millions of cotton farmers around the world. The rapid expansion of BCI has been remarkable. Now, the Better Cotton GIF has a clear opportunity to bring the project to scale and transform the cotton industry as we know it.

CONTACT US

To learn more how your organisation could help transform the global cotton industry, contact Claudia Busch, BCI Head of Development at claudia.busch@bettercotton.org.

United Kingdom
claudia.busch@bettercotton.org
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APPLY

BCI Implementing Partners with proven ability to deliver Better Cotton projects in line with the annual Better Cotton GIF strategy are invited annually to submit project proposals to the Fund. The following eight countries are of strategic focus for the current 2018 GIF funding cycle: China, India, Pakistan, Mozambique, Senegal, Mali, Turkey and Tajikistan. Following a multi-step review process, applications will be formally reviewed by the GIF Field Innovation and Impact Committee in January 2018. Only those approved through a unanimous vote will receive funding.

Organisations who are either:

  • Interested in becoming a BCI Implementing Partner and seeking funding for a project within a GIF focus country or,
  • Interested in seeking funding for a BCI Project in a non-GIF focus country

Are encouraged to submit a Request for Interest at any time of the year. To begin this process, please contact elea.papaemmanuel@idhtrade.org with the subject line “2018 GIF RFI”.

CONTACT US

Netherlands
elea.papaemmanuel@idhtrade.org
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