The role of ICAC, the intergovernmental organisation for cotton, is to assist its members in fostering a healthy global cotton economy, to provide information, and to serve as a catalyst for cooperative action on issues of global significance.

ICAC’s decision to create SEEP came about in 2006, acknowledging that conventional cotton production can have a negative effect on the environment, people, and the economy. The Expert Panel convenes fifteen members who collectively offer a diverse range of perspectives and knowledge–not only from the cotton sector, but from universities and government agencies too.

“I am delighted that BCI will be able to contribute to ICAC’s Expert Panel on the Social, Environmental and Economic Performance of Cotton. It is a terrific opportunity for BCI to support the shaping of international standards for cotton and to share with, and learn from, the SEEP members on more environmentally, socially and economically sustainable production practices,” said Alan McClay, Chief Executive Officer at BCI.

The Better Cotton Initiative exists to make global cotton production better for the people who produce it, for the environment it grows in and for the sector’s future. BCI aims to transform cotton production worldwide by developing Better Cotton as a sustainable mainstream commodity.

To achieve this mission, BCI works with a diverse range of stakeholders across the cotton supply chain to promote measurable and continuing improvements for the environment, farming communities and the economies of cotton-producing areas.

www.bettercotton.org