Supima and Better Cotton Initiative team up

New York – Two of the most well-known names in the cotton world have joined forces to promote a unified sustainability platform for the key home furnishings fiber.

Supima, which represents U.S. grown American Pima in the marketplace, announced it has become an implementing partner with the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) for the upcoming 2020/2021 harvest season. It represents the first time the two organizations have joined together in this capacity.

Together, they will work to establish a broader footprint for BCI-licensed Supima cotton in the marketplace with the future goal of attaining BCI licensing for all Supima cotton growers, they said in announcing the program.

This two will also work with the American Pima industry to ensure that demand from brands and retailers for Supima cotton with a verified third-party sustainability license is met. According to the announcement, “Both Supima and BCI support the U.S. cotton industry’s development of the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol program and look forward to an alignment of programs in the future for a unified sustainability platform based on data, impact and authenticity.”

“BCI is delighted to welcome Supima to the team of dedicated Implementing Partners in the U.S.,” said April Kappler, U.S. operations manager for BCI. “The partnership is a natural fit: the quality of fiber and advanced farming practices of the Supima member, paired with the only globally recognized sustainability standard for cotton, increases market access for high-quality, U.S.-grown, BCI-licensed Supima cotton,” she said.

“Supima continues to strive to lead in the premium natural fibers segment,” said Marc Lewkowitz, president and CEO of the non-profit organization. He noted that even though the implementing partner designation was new, Supima had a long history of working with BCI. “Our initial efforts began in 2013 with Marks & Spencer to source the first U.S. grown BCI licensed Supima. This next step in our partnership with BCI looks to expand the authentic sustainable messaging built around data to bring the most responsible and verifiable identity cotton to the market for our partners to use.”

He said Supima’s recent efforts in the area have included origin verification for all Supima cotton utilizing forensic sciences with Oritain and support of sustainability efforts through the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol, and the Better Cotton Initiative. “Doing the right thing is not easy or cheap,” Lewkowitz said. “The investment by Supima, our licensees and partner organizations have set the foundation for responsible sourcing and messaging.”

Supima, founded in 1954, represents pima growers in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas and its global licensing program spans more than 50 countries and 500 licensees.

The Better Cotton Initiative, also a global not-for-profit organization, is the largest cotton sustainability program in the world and this year will license more than 400 farms in the U.S.

Better Cotton accounts for around 19% of global cotton production.