Switzerland-based Better Cotton Initiative ( BCI ) has announced a new on product mark, which allows BCI members to demonstrate their commitment to responsibly sourced Better Cotton directly on the products they sell, it said on its website.
“We’re thrilled to launch our first on product Mark. We expect demand for more sustainable cotton to increase as consumers learn more about BCI, taking us closer to our 2020 target of 30 per cent of global cotton production,” Paola Geremicca, director of Fundraising and Communications said.
In addition to off product messaging, the BCI on product Mark showcases members’ commitment to responsibly grown cotton. The on product mark will be the BCI logo accompanied by a text claim, such as “We partner with the Better Cotton Initiative to improve cotton farming globally.” Together with our logo, the commitment claim will be used to explain and substantiate the Mark for the consumer.
At this stage, the BCI logo and claim will represent Mass-Balance Chain of Custody or traceability requirements and will not imply Better Cotton content. Mass-balance traceability does not require physical segregation of the Better Cotton fibre along the supply chain. Instead, actors in the supply chain record the number of Better Cotton Claim Units (BCCUs) they’ve received with a product such as yarn, and allocate these units to the product sold to next actor, such as fabric, so that the amount “allocated” does not exceed the amount “received.
BCI said its aim is to transform cotton production worldwide by developing Better Cotton as a mainstream commodity. The BCI on product Mark contributes to that mission, helping to influence the choices people make when buying cotton products.
