The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) presented its new pilot project, ‘The Egyptian Cotton Project', in Italy last Thursday at a conference hosted by Fondazione Industrie Cotone e Lino in Milano, in collaboration with the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI). The Egyptian Cotton Project aims to promote the main pillars of a sustainable Egyptian cotton value chain which integrates sustainable industrial processes, traceability, transparency, circular economy, innovation, and green technologies, supported by strategic global public-private partnerships and skills' development toward sustainability, according to a UNIDO statement. The conference where The Egyptian Cotton Project was presented, explored how public private partnerships can drive, change, and create momentum to extend the BCI farming practices in new contexts, such as Egypt. The project is an emblematic example of the collaboration between the BCI and public-private entities in order to expand the adoption of more sustainable and transparent agricultural practices again in new geographical and productive contexts, such as Egypt. The BCI is a worldwide non-profit organisation which aims to make cotton production progressively better for the people who produce it, for the environment, and for the future of the sector. Furthermore, the BCI will strengthen the competitiveness of the Egyptian textile industry in the global market through a holistic approach toward sustainable cotton production, which covers all three pillars of sustainability: environmental, social, and economic. Farmers will receive training, and those who meet rigorous levels of sustainable production and employee welfare will be granted the BCI standard. Funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), The Egyptian Cotton Project is implemented by the UNIDO, in collaboration with the ministries of trade and industry and of agriculture and land reclamation, as well as with local and international textile private sector stakeholders. The project also leverages the ongoing "Cottonforlife" CSR initiative by the Filmar Group, co-funded by the Alexbank of the Intesa San Paolo Group. Albini Group – which is also a project partner – has always been committed to sustainability, research, and enhancement of the best raw materials, and to controlling the supply chain in order to guarantee complete traceability. That is why from December 2017 it has decided to adhere to this project, becoming a sponsor of the BCI and adopting the Better Cotton Standard System–a holistic approach toward sustainable cotton production which covers all three pillars of sustainability: environmental, social, and economic.
