It’s not very often you get to speak with the CEO at the helm of a global organization driving sustainability around cotton farming!  In these trying times, where issues like climate change, and the ubiquitous rural poverty can feel so overwhelming and grim, a talk with Alan McClay, CEO of Better Cotton, based in Geneva, is like a breath of fresh air!  His optimism, passion and insight give us all hope that if we continue to chip away, a better world awaits us all … 

In today’s world, with issues like climate change, ‘fast fashion’ and rural poverty so prevalent, why is Better Cotton so relevant?

Better Cotton is all about incremental improvement – sadly incremental improvement is almost not enough in today’s world - but if you lay it on, year on year, it can be transformational - and the Ambuja Foundation is a brilliant example of that.

These three issues are absolute priorities for us, and the urgency around mitigating and correcting them is vital.

By 2040, around half of cotton regions will be exposed to climate change risks – wreaking havoc on cotton communities. The floods in Pakistan saw 40% of the cotton crop wiped out - we had to work hand in hand with our partners to adapt our standard to meet the needs of farmers in this unique situation. The need of the hour is fostering resilience and training at the field level is vital to this.

As far as fast fashion is concerned, everyone agrees it is a massive problem.  Some of our brand partners, who have been part of the problem, are taking huge steps to recycle and do a lot about it. Similarly, some governments are legislating around fast fashion, for example, Chinese companies are not allowed to advertise. But at the end of the day, the consumer is king and is going to need to balance cost and price with sustainability. We are working to help brands on a number of fronts, but in some areas we can only influence.

Rural poverty has been with us forever and continues to be with us, despite best efforts. However, Better Cotton’s 2023 India Impact Report is a great example of what can be achieved.  When we compared 2 seasons we saw farmer costs per hectare reduced by 15.6%. More than 90% of cotton farmers around the world are smallholders, operating on less than two hectares of land. They make up the vast majority of our farmer network, so the impact we help deliver has got to be on the social side as well as the environmental. We also work with large farmers, but from a people point of view, small land holders are our priority. Helping them be resilient in the face of extreme weather and adapt production patterns to less predictable climate conditions is critical to us. 

What will the journey of the next 10 years look like at Better Cotton?

Where are we going? We are never going to be able to sustain the growth of brands supporting our work – currently we have 300 brands and there is not much more growth there frankly. We need to make sure we go ‘deeper’ and ‘broader’ in what we are doing – impact has to be substantial, measurable at scale, and durable – with year on year results.

We are currently reaching 2.8 million cotton farmers, but this is just the tip of the iceberg.  There are 50 million farmers - and that is just on the cotton front.  We need to increase our resources significantly, and devolve more to local and regional players for action and initiative. There is no reason why local public and private players shouldn’t invest in what we are doing to deliver change at home.  

But more than that, we need to reach out to emerging retailers and brands in BRICs countries where a burgeoning middle class, who have consumer longing for branded goods, will undoubtedly put pressure on the environment as brands and their supply chains try to keep up with demand. These brands need to lock into Better Cotton to cater to these new consumers and integrate sustainability into their supply chain in the wake of the sector’s growth in these emerging economies.

We also need to move beyond a ‘donation base’ operating model to more of an ‘investment approach’ via impact investing.  Here, investors expect a return which is different from our current model of operation. We can show how we can deliver social returns via metrics which show we are making a difference in terms of water, carbon, women’s empowerment, health and safety - delivering returns that all donors are looking for because it’s an imperative in many countries. The potential here is huge – currently we are only really scratching the surface.

As an implementing organization we are focused on the ground level in India, but please share with us the bigger ‘macro’ picture of the sector.

When you look at the market share of cotton, it’s not going up - its stagnant.  Yet the market for fibre is still growing, but it’s still coming from synthetics - they are affordable and versatile even if they are not healthy. They need to be held accountable for what they are doing to the environment - being developed from fossil fuels – and subsequently to people’s health.  

On the other hand, cotton is a renewable resource which employs millions of people. Yet if you look at Better Cotton globally, the amount taken up by brands is still only 10% of global production. There is still so much work to be done!

But at the end of the day if you’re going to have an impact, you can’t have impact at a stroke across the world. We have had the good fortune to be in partnership with local organisations wherever we operate – when we accumulate all these small grassroot initiatives, this ‘micro change’ comes together to make ‘macro change’ – then transformation is possible.

The Ambuja Foundation is a great example of this ‘incremental change’.  We want to bring other countries up to the Indian level, because we are simply awed by the results in India – 53 % reduction in pesticide, water reduction by 50%, input costs reduced by 15%. Of course, our partners are critical. Whilst we provide the standard and link up demand and supply, the real work is done at field level!

How crucial are ‘partners’ in the work of Better Cotton?

Without partners like the Ambuja Foundation, Better Cotton is nothing – it is just a mental construct. But we also need the brands and supply chains to show there is demand and investment at a consumer level to make change at production level.  

Partners are the critical factor in making our global standard ‘localised’ – it can’t be applied in a blanket way around the world. In Maharashtra, its very different to Mozambique. Partners take the Better Cotton Standard and use it in the most relevant way. In one village there will be one more of a need opposed to a village down the road.

The cotton supply chain is so long and opaque that very few brands are involved in the supply area, unlike cocoa or coffee.  There are 12-15 intermediaries in the process, which is huge. Therefore, Better Cotton is required to fill that gap.

Tell us why the role of farmers is so important in the world?

Farmers are at the root of the entire food and fashion business – almost everything we eat and wear comes from agriculture. Yet unlike manufacturing and the service sectors, agriculture is unpredictable and at the whim of climate and issues farmers have no control of – its fundamentally an uncertain economic proposition.

Farmers are also vulnerable, because they have no power in the face of people who buy from them. In that regard, there is great power in collectivization. One of the most striking memories I have of my visit to the Ambuja Foundation was a shop where they are selling homemade pesticides. By helping farmers group together, they can leverage their advantages to increase clout– to have more say over the purchase and sale of their products.

Via Better Cotton, we can help encourage the things that need to be done at the farmer level to not only grow cotton in a better, more sustainable way, but make it more profitable for them.

Women account for half of the population and are significant contributors to agriculture around the world. What are you doing in the area of gender?

Typically, people think the head of a farmer household is male - its anchored into the psyche of everyone – whereas its often a household ‘couple’, with or without children. 

We have lots of anecdotal evidence that shows how underestimating the role of women in agriculture is damaging. Studies show that when you train the women in the community and help them make change, productivity improves by 20-30%.  

We have a lot of areas in which we work but we have singled out 5 targets to drive change faster – Carbon, pesticides, soil health, decent work, and women’s empowerment!  

We can measure the other areas, but it is harder to measure outcomes with women. Women’s roles in agriculture are downplayed universally. We need to foster a more active, visible and leadership-focused environment for women to bring about change. But at the end of the day we can only influence - we can’t dictate. And we have to tread with delicacy and respect as we are dealing with local cultural norms. We feel change often ‘begins at home’, so we are now starting work with our own partners and employees on adopting a ‘gender lens’ to everything they do - change will be slow, but we must begin somewhere.

The Ambuja Foundation & Better Cotton partnership has been long standing and strong, what are some of the key factors that have contributed to this?

Better Cotton grants are not necessarily renewed. If they are renewed, a key factor is a virtuous circle of continuous improvement. There has to be a long-term, genuine commitment on all sides to continuous improvement. Most important is an open and transparent dialogue between parties – this is integral to longstanding partnerships.

The Ambuja Foundation’s approach to delivering impact is proven and commendable, but also the way in which it empowers individuals – I’ve seen some of the Ambuja Foundation’s Heads of Programs and Field Facilitators on ground - even if I can’t speak their language, I can see their dedication. You can’t dictate that kind of passion, but you can create the circumstances for that the flourish - and the Ambuja Foundation has done that effectively.

Expertise is undoubtedly a part of the package. You can’t work with farmers if you don’t understand farming. You need to understand farmers and what they go through. There also needs to be a genuine dedication to being farmer centric – understanding of the local communities and wanting the local communities to deliver their own change. There needs to be buy in at a local level – so many others can learn from Ambuja on that front.

I’m thrilled to support the Ambuja Foundation – they are one of our top partners - the best of the best, and we need more partners like them!

Alan McClay, Better Cotton CEO, Geneva Switzerland