The Better Cotton Fast Track Program (BCFTP), whose committee includes Ikea, H&M, VF Corp and Marks & Spencer, has announced 50 Better Cotton projects for this year. Nearly 750,000 farmers, will work to produce nearly one million tons of Better Cotton, with project spending for the year approved for almost €10 million. A project of the Better Cotton Initiative, the BCFTP held an investors meeting in Delhi, , where 50 Better Cotton projects across India, Pakistan, China, Mozambique and Mali were approved.

The committee, which also includes Adidas, Levi Strauss, and public funders Rabobank, ICCO, Solidaridad and IDH, jointly approved spending of €9.6 million for 2014, alongside a country investment strategy, and invited brands involved in the fastrack program to collaborate on future studies. A new ‘Impact on Cotton’ report from ‘Sustainable Trade Initiative’ highlights a rapid growth in market share of sustainably produced cotton, accounting for 3.1 per cent of global cotton production in 2011-2012, more than double compared to 1.3 per cent in 2010-2011. In 2012, the BCFTP licensed approximately 696,000 metric tons of lint.

Founded in 2009, the BCFTP aims to support the objectives of the Better Cotton Initiative and to accelerate its implementation. Looking forward, the BCI aims to have five million Better Cotton farmers producing 8.2 million metric tons of Better Cotton by 2020.

Bettercotton.org