In data: Better Cotton launches fund to drive India climate resilience, equality
The sustainability cotton initiative Better Cotton is launching a new fund in partnership with impact investment firm FS Impact Finance aimed to enhance field-level impact related to women’s empowerment and climate resilience among smallholder cotton farmers.
As part of the MoU, Better Cotton and FS Impact Finance will use the fund to launch the pilot programme in India. This initiative will incentivise farming communities to invest in field-level projects focused on women’s empowerment and climate resilience by eliminating traditional financing barriers.
Better Cotton explained that smallholders, who make up more than 90% of the world’s cotton farmers, often struggle to access adequate financial support due to their Farmer Producer Organisation’s (FPO) lack of credit history.
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 turnover and credit history needed to qualify for financing, which is essential for growth.
Under this new fund, FPOs will be supported in the implementation of gender and climate resilience activities with the goal of fast-tracking field-level results 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 create strategic and sustainable growth plans for the future.
Better Cotton CEO, Alan McClay, believes this collaboration with FS Impact Finance can potentially accelerate important work already underway in India, in an inclusive way.
McClay noted: “Access to finance for smallholders is always a challenge and we are excited at the prospect of helping to change that.”
FS Impact Finance managing director, Martin Cremer, said: “We look forward to jointly developing this innovative financing solution in the cotton sector that complements Better Cotton’s great work in this area. Our goal is to improve the situation of smallholder farmers and contribute to the development and professionalisation of players along the local value chains.”
Leading the talk on gender equality in the apparel sector
Better Cotton shared that its 2030 Strategy includes Impact Targets relating to women’s empowerment and climate change mitigation.
The organisation has committed to reaching one million women in cotton with programmes and resources that promote equal farm decision-making, build climate resilience, or support improved livelihoods.
This, it pointed out, is in addition to ensuring that 25% of field staff are women with the power to influence sustainable cotton production.
With these initiatives in place, it is crucial to foster conversations on women’s empowerment and gender equality within the apparel sector. According to company filings data shared by GlobalData, ‘gender equality’ has been a prominent topic in the industry since 2016.
‘In 2022, ‘gender equality’ was the most frequently used keyword, appearing 475 times. Although mentions have decreased somewhat in 2024, it remains a leading keyword. Other frequently used terms include ‘gender’ and ‘diversity’.
However, it is not all words and no action, brands and companies are putting their mouth where the money is. They are taking concrete actions and investing money to back up the trend highlighted in the industry.
For instance, the Better Work Bangladesh programme works to support the development of a competitive garment industry that provides decent jobs for workers, including women workers, good business for factories and brands, and economic growth for the country.
“In data: Better Cotton launches fund to drive India climate resilience, equality” was originally created and published by Just Style, a GlobalData owned brand.
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