Better Cotton today inaugurates the launch of a strategic partnership in Spain by hosting a multistakeholder event in Seville. The meeting convenes the Interprofessional Cotton Association (Espalgodon) and the Regional Government of Andalusia - two partners who have helped to ensure compatibility between the Regional Government's Integrated Production System (IPS) and the Good Cotton Quality System (BCSS), along with participating farmers. , ginners and other industry representatives.

Espalgodon - a consortium of three Spanish agricultural organizations - representing all the country's cotton farmers, is expected to produce around 64,000 tonnes of cotton in the 2023/2023 season. The organization submitted an expression of interest in 2021, outlining its domestic appetite to collaborate in the production of more sustainable cotton.

Better Cotton has worked with the regional government of Andalusia, Spain's main cotton-growing region, to develop its Integrated Production System (IPS) equivalent to the country's Better Cotton Standard System (BCSS). In practice, this allows cotton produced on IPS licensed farms to be marketed as 'good cotton'.

By aligning with firms active in Spain's cotton sector, Better Cotton stands to tap into existing networks and local expertise and avoids duplication. In turn, local cotton farmers get assurance that their product follows the widely recognized Good Cotton Quality System.

In the 2023/24 cotton season, production is expected to be 48% lower than the previous season due to crop development problems exacerbated by drought.

Better Cotton's New Country start-up process included the completion of a benchmarking report by third-party service provider PwC, which outlined the gaps between the two systems and the action needed to reach alignment.

"The effects of climate change on Spain's cotton crop are easy to see from the country's projections for the 2023/24 cotton season. Espalgodon and the regional government of Andalusia have demonstrated their commitment to improving the sustainability credentials of domestically grown cotton, making farmers more resilient in the face of global warming." -  Alan McClay, Chief Executive Officer, Better Cotton