Better Cotton Initiative Partners With Uzstandard on Sustainability

The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) and Uzstandard signed a Memorandum of Understanding to align Uzbekistan's national agricultural standards with international sustainability requirements. Under the agreement, BCI will provide technical expertise and share certification methodologies and field-level best practices to help Uzstandard integrate BCI's Principles & Criteria into national cotton production standards.

This partnership aims to establish a nationally-owned sustainability standard benchmarked against the global BCI framework. The collaboration builds on previous efforts to eliminate child and forced labor in the cotton sector. It also follows a 2025 government initiative, managed by the Uzbekistan Light Industry Agency, designed to reimburse producers for the costs of BCI certification.

Katerina Gorbunova, the BCI Uzbekistan programme head, stated that the organization is excited to share knowledge and experience to collaboratively strengthen Uzbekistan's infrastructure.