Sustainable cotton initiative Better Cotton is launching a new fund in partnership with impact investment company FS Impact Finance. The fund aims to scale impact on the ground in women’s empowerment and climate resilience among small-scale cotton farmers.
As part of the MoU, Better Cotton and FS Impact Finance will use the fund to launch the pilot program in India. This initiative will incentivize farming communities to invest in field-level projects focused on women empowerment and climate resilience by removing traditional financing barriers.
Better Cotton explained that small-scale farmers, who make up more than 90% of the world’s cotton farmers, often struggle to access adequate financial support due to poor credit history of their Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO).
In India, there are reportedly 16,000 FPOs representing over 5.8 million farmers. However, Better Cotton highlighted that only a few of these FPOs are large and well-established enough to access formal financial markets. The vast majority lack the sales and credit history needed to qualify for financing, which is essential for growth.
This new fund will support FPOs in implementing gender and climate resilience activities, with the aim of accelerating results at the field level and improving their bankability.
According to Better Cotton, this will enable less developed FPOs to improve their credit history and benefit from services that will help them make strategic and sustainable growth plans for the future.
Alan McClay, CEO of Better Cotton, believes this partnership with FS Impact Finance can accelerate important work already underway in India in an inclusive way.
McClay noted: “Access to finance for smallholder farmers is always a challenge and we are excited about the prospect of changing that.”
Martin Cremer, Managing Director of FS Impact Finance, said: “We look forward to jointly developing this innovative financing solution in the cotton sector, which complements the great work of Better Cotton in this area. Our aim is to improve the situation of smallholder farmers and contribute to the development and professionalization of players in local value chains.”
Leading the lecture on gender equality in the clothing sector
Better Cotton reported that its 2030 strategy includes impact targets related to women’s empowerment and climate change mitigation.
The organization has set a goal of reaching one million women in the cotton sector with programs and resources that promote equal decision-making in the fields, increase climate resilience or support better livelihoods.
This is in addition to the requirement that 25% of field staff must be women, who can influence sustainable cotton production.
These initiatives are crucial to stimulate conversations about women’s empowerment and gender equality within the apparel sector. According to company data shared by GlobalData, ‘gender equality’ has been a prominent topic in the industry since 2016.
‘In 2022, ‘gender equality’ was the most used keyword, with 475 mentions. Although mentions have declined somewhat in 2024, it remains a leading keyword. Other frequently used terms include ‘gender’ and ‘diversity’.
However, it is not all talk and no action, brands and companies are putting their money where their mouth is. They are taking concrete actions and investing money to support the trend that is being emphasized in the industry.
For example the Better Work Bangladesh Program is committed to developing a competitive garment industry that provides decent jobs for workers, including women workers, generates good business for factories and brands, and delivers economic growth for the country.
“In Data: Better Cotton Launches Fund to Advance India’s Climate Resilience and Equality” was originally created and published by Just Stylea brand of GlobalData.
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