Better Cotton Initiative Partners with Uzbekistan to Advance Sustainable Cotton Standards

New agreement aims to strengthen national cotton regulations and align Uzbekistan’s agricultural standards with internationally recognized sustainability practices.

The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Uzbekistan’s Agency for Technical Regulation (Uzstandard Agency) to support the development of stronger agricultural standards and promote sustainable practices within the country’s cotton sector.

The partnership marks another step in Uzbekistan’s ongoing efforts to modernize its cotton industry by incorporating internationally recognized sustainability principles into national standards and certification systems.

Strengthening Cotton Standards

The Uzstandard Agency, which oversees technical regulations and quality control for both domestically produced and imported goods in Uzbekistan, will collaborate with BCI to improve standards governing cotton production.

Under the agreement, Better Cotton will contribute its expertise in sustainable agriculture, certification systems and field-level best practices to help inform national initiatives and future policy development.

Sharing Best Practices and Certification Expertise

As part of the collaboration, BCI and the Uzstandard Agency will facilitate discussions through national technical working groups, sharing methodologies related to sustainable cotton cultivation, certification processes and responsible farming practices.

The partnership aims to integrate Better Cotton’s Principles & Criteria into Uzbekistan’s national cotton standards, creating greater alignment with internationally recognized sustainability frameworks.

The organizations will also explore the development of a nationally owned cotton sustainability standard, which could later be benchmarked against Better Cotton’s global standard.

Supporting Sustainable Cotton Production

The agreement reflects increasing collaboration between international sustainability organizations and cotton-producing countries seeking to enhance environmental, social and governance practices across agricultural value chains.

Commenting on the partnership, Katerina Gorbunova, Head of Better Cotton’s Uzbekistan Program, said the cooperation represents an important step toward integrating internationally recognized sustainability and social standards into Uzbekistan’s national standardization system.

Advancing Uzbekistan’s Cotton Sector

By combining international expertise with national regulatory initiatives, the collaboration is expected to strengthen Uzbekistan’s cotton industry through improved agricultural practices, enhanced certification systems and greater alignment with global sustainability expectations.

The initiative also supports broader efforts to improve transparency, quality and responsible production within one of the world’s important cotton-producing countries, while fostering closer cooperation between government agencies and international sustainability organizations.