Westwing becomes a Better Cotton member

In early 2022, Westwing became a member of Better Cotton. This is the largest cotton sustainability program in the world, and supports farming communities socially, environmentally, and economically. The key sustainability issues that Better Cotton focuses on are water stewardship, soil health, pesticides, greenhouse gas emissions, gender equality, decent work, and climate change. The initiative spans 23 countries and supports almost three million farmers.

Cotton is the most common natural fiber in the global textile industry. Most cotton plants are grown conventionally, and the methods may include excessive use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, inefficient irrigation systems, and even forced or child labor. These practices can severely damage and degrade the soil and biodiversity, contaminate water sources, and cause water scarcity in areas that are already sensitive to climate change.

We believe in the transformation that Better Cotton can bring about in cotton fields, and in the lives of farmers and their families. Better soil and water management, more sparing use of pesticides, and greater resilience to climate change also offer opportunities. For smallholders, this means improved crops and market access. For farm workers and farming communities, it means decent work, gender empowerment, and less inequality. For farmers operating on an industrial scale, it means embracing new and more innovative practices in which sustainability translates into profitability. That is why Westwing is a proud member of Better Cotton.

Better Cotton is sourced via a chain of custody model called mass balance. This means that Better Cotton is not physically traceable to end products, however, Better Cotton farmers benefit from the demand for Better Cotton in equivalent volumes to those we source.

At Westwing, we have set ourselves the ambitious target of using more than 90% certified organic, recycled, and/or responsibly sourced cotton by 2026. We hope that Better Cotton will play a big role in achieving this goal, and are working hard to make this happen.

For more information, please see the Better Cotton website at: https://bettercotton.org/