UTRECHT – [30.04.10] Some of the leading apparel brands such as Levi‘s, Marks & Spencer, IKEA and H&M have embarked on a six year, Fast Track programme to help transform the cotton market and make sustainable cotton a commercially viable commodity.

The labels have teamed up with organisations such as the Better Cotton Initiative, Rabobank, the Dutch Sustainable Trade Initiative and the WWF to help change the sector through a demand driven approach based on a retail commitment to bring sustainable cotton into their consumer products (jeans, household textiles, furniture and interior decorations).

Of the 30 million tons of global cotton production, the programme aims to ensure the production of one million metric tons of BCI Cotton production by 2015, significantly reducing the footprint of cotton production and improving the lives of hundreds of thousands of poor farmers.

Part of the programme, which will see around €20 million invested over the next five years, is a highly innovative Fast Track Fund established by IDH, ICCO and Rabobank to match private investments in BCI cotton production from retailers, brands and other private players for farmer support programmes to produce sustainable cotton. The fund is accessible to companies who aim for 100% sustainable sourcing.

The programme and the fund will be jointly managed by a BCI supply chain manager and the IDH programme manager that acts on behalf of the funders. A full dedicated website will be available shortly.