BCI is a voluntary initiative that welcomes membership of any legally registered organisation that supports the BCI mission and wishes to participate in the realisation of the BCI’s long-term objectives. Members of the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) form the BCI General Assembly, which meets at least every three years and elects the Council.

 

The Membership Association has legal Statutes and By-Laws with which all members must adhere to. For more information on this please refer to the governance of the Association.

In order to ensure a balanced representation between Members, membership categories have been defined. Organisations falling into the following categories are eligible for membership:
- Civil Society: any organisation that runs not-for-profit activity related to the cotton supply chain.
- Producers: any organisation that engages with and aims to represent cotton producers.
- Retailers and Brands: any for-profit organisation selling goods or commodities directly to consumers.
- Suppliers and Manufacturers: any organisation that runs for-profit activity within the cotton supply chain beyond the farm-gate up to retail, from buying, selling, and financing to processing.
- Associate members: any organisation that has an agreement with the Association but does not fall within the above categories; or represents the interests of organisations from the Civil Society, Retailers and Brands, Suppliers and Manufacturers categories.



Members have governance rights. All the Members of the BCI Association form the General Assembly which is the supreme authority of the association. Only the General Assembly can approve modification to the Statutes or decide on the dissolution of the Association. To know more about this, please refere to the governance of the Association.