Get Independently Assessed by an Approved Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) Assessor
Demonstrate your commitment to sustainable cotton production with an independent Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) assessment from an approved BCI Assessor - giving your customers, partners, and stakehol
The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) is the world’s largest cotton sustainability programme, with over a decade of driving positive change across the industry. By training farming communities in sustainable practices, BCI helps ensure cotton production benefits everyone in the supply chain, from growers to retailers.
Becoming BCI-compliant isn’t just about good intentions – it requires verification by an approved assessor. As an approved BCI Assessor, Valpak conducts independent audits against BCI standards, providing formal certification you can confidently share with customers and business partners.
Who We Work With:
- Cotton suppliers
- Manufacturers
- Brand owners
- Retailers of cotton goods
Take the Next Step
Ensure your operations meet BCI standards with an independent audit carried out by an approved BCI Assessor. Our team will guide you through the process, provide expert recommendations, and deliver the certification you need to clearly demonstrate your commitment to sustainability.
If you are a cotton supplier, manufacturer, brand owner, or retailer of cotton goods and would like to support this initiative by becoming a BCI member, please visit their website here to find out more.
Unless exempt, from January 2024, retailers and brand owners that are BCI members will be required to commission an independent assessment of their cotton fibre consumption measurement.
This is to ensure consistency and reliability of their results.
We are an eligible independent assessor and will conduct an independent Better Cotton assessment, which includes:
- Reviewing the cotton fibre consumption submission form
- Reviewing all records related to your business’s cotton fibre consumption measurement in an electronic format
- Reviewing the ‘documented protocol’ of how the records are used to create the cotton fibre consumption measurement
After our assessment is complete, you will have the opportunity to correct any non-conformances and provide the BCI with a signed and completed Outcome Declaration and Conformity Assessment.
Our audits will be conducted online and the requirement and frequency of these will be based on your size category.
Why choose Valpak?
Valpak is an approved BCI Assessor and an independent third party that has auditors who are experienced in conducting various assessments, including Zero Waste to Landfill certification and waste prevention and diversion reviews. Typically, we complete more than 400 audits per year!
We have also met the requirements set out by BCI.
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Find out more...FAQs
We are a BCI-approved assessor, meeting all the experience and qualification requirements outlined by the BCI.
From 2025 onwards, Better Cotton will not accept Independent Assessments completed by internal auditing teams or organisations not included in the approved Assessors list, which can be found here.
Unless exempt, Retailer and Brand Members are required to commission an Independent Assessment of their most recent annual cotton fibre consumption measurement every three years to ensure conformity with the Better Cotton methodology.
Independent Assessment requirements apply to new Retail and Brand members starting from their first annual submission deadline, which occurs after completing a full year of membership.
However, if access to Sourcing Declaration Claims is requested in accordance with the Better Cotton Claims Framework 4.0, the new retail or brand member must complete a successful Independent Assessment beforehand, regardless of their start date.
- A completed Better Cotton’s Annual Cotton Consumption Submission Form (covering the most recent consecutive 12-month period only)
- All records related to your cotton fibre consumption measurement in an electronic format
- Documented protocol which should consist of a written explanation on how the records have been used to arrive at the final measurement
The assessment is conducted online, and all documents need to be an electronic format suitable to Valpak.
The annual submission deadline for submitting the Cotton Fibre Calculation to Better Cotton is 15 January.
Better Cotton recommends that the independent assessment is conducted within six months of the annual submission deadline.
After the assessment is complete, and any non-conformances have been corrected, Valpak will provide you with a signed and completed Outcome Declaration and Conformity Assessment which you must then submit to Better Cotton.
Retailer and Brand Members with non-conformities (NCs) identified during their Independent Assessment must establish a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) within 30 days.
For instance, if an Independent Assessment is completed and submitted to Better Cotton by 31 March, the Retailer or Brand Member must implement their Corrective Action Plan by the end of April.
Retailer and Brand Members unable to resolve all non-conformities within one year will retain their Unsuccessful Outcome. A new Independent Assessment, resulting in a Successful Outcome, must be completed and submitted within that same year.
The quantity and quality of data, systems, and processes vary among Retailer and Brand Members, impacting the duration of the conformity assessment. To minimise the time required by an Independent Assessor, Retailer and Brand Members should focus on improving data quality and ensure they have a well-documented internal protocol ready to share with their assessor ahead of the assessment call.
As the cotton consumption calculation is used to calculate the volume-based fees the calculation needs to cover the total cotton used by the Retailer and Brand Member. This includes all brands, product lines, business divisions and cotton sourcing types that falls under the Retailer and Brand Members organisation.
All membership requirements, including the Independent Assessment, must be completed by all Retailer and Brand Members before making claims in line with the Better Cotton Claims Framework. It is important to note that these claims can not be used at the Product-Level.
The methodology and allowed language for the various Sourcing Declaration Claims can be found in the Better Cotton Claims Framework 4.0 which will be released in January 2025. Further information can be found here.
Make an enquiry
To find out more, contact us today.
We have been very happy with Valpak’s service on our independent assessment of our Better Cotton consumption. They were well aware of their obligations with respect to the assessment and it was easy to understand which documents they needed in order to make the assessment. The assessment was done very fast after we delivered our documentation, and the pricing was competitive. We have been very happy to work with Valpak.
Kentaur A/S
As a member of the Better Cotton Initiative, we are now required to commission an independent assessment of our cotton fibre consumption measurement. We trust Valpak’s auditing expertise and impartiality – having worked with them on other projects; therefore, sought their assistance. We were delighted with the support we received from Valpak. They have become a trusted sustainability partner.