One year after launching its certification scheme, the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) has announced that more than 3,000 supply chain stakeholders have obtained certification. At the production level, over 30% of farms and producer units supplying BCI Cotton have successfully passed audits with positive outcomes.
The organisation has onboarded a growing network of more than 50 certification bodies to support the process and has also been formally recognised as an ISO 17065-compliant certification scheme by organisations including the International Organic Accreditation Service (IOAS).
Tom Owen, Head of Certification at the Better Cotton Initiative, said: “The level of engagement we have seen across agricultural and textile supply chains in our first year as a certification scheme reflects a growing recognition of certification’s importance within these sectors. The continued rollout of this work is integral to improving supply chain sustainability and transparency on a global scale.”
Certification enables traceability and product labelling
A BCI certificate is issued when a farm or organisation complies with the relevant BCI standard, enabling them to produce and trade BCI Cotton, and promote their commitment to sustainable best practice. As of January 2026, every supply chain actor sourcing Physical BCI Cotton has been certified.
Retailers and brands who undergo certification and source Physical BCI Cotton from a fully certified supply chain are also eligible to use the recently launched BCI Cotton Label, which informs that a product contains more than 30% Physical BCI Cotton. These highlights support for BCI and farming communities around the world.
US cotton marketing cooperative Staplcotn and Australian retailer Big W are among the thousands of organisations to have achieved certification.
IOAS partnership to strengthen accreditation and oversight
To help strengthen and scale its certification efforts, BCI has now partnered with IOAS – a leader in agricultural supply chain certification and accreditation – which will evaluate and accredit all certification bodies operating in the BCI system.
Lauren Carlyle, Executive Director of IOAS Inc., said: “We are pleased to launch BCI accreditation at IOAS, not just for sustainable agriculture, but for safeguarding the rights of cotton farmers and workers around the world.”
