GENEVA - The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) has revealed that its controversial 'mass balance' system could eventually be replaced with full traceability following concerns over its failure to uncover forced labour issues in China.
An independent task force, which recently reviewed the BCI's 'decent work' practices following concerns over the organisation's role in the Xingjiang region of China, singled out mass balance for criticism.
Mass balance involves brands paying farmers to grow a set amount of sustainable cotton and then collecting an equivalent amount of cotton after ginning and spinning – with no guarantee that any of it is the same cotton.
