BECOMING A BCI MEMBER

This document comprises of:

1. The membership application form

2. The membership contract (Membership Code of Practice and Terms of membership)

The membership application form must be completed, signed and returned to the BCI along
with required support documents as outlined in the form before membership applications can
be accepted.

Once your application has been approved, you will need to sign the membership contract and
return to BCI along with proof of payment of your annual fee in order to activate your BCI
membership.
 MEMBERSHIP
APPLICATION FORM

CIVIL SOCIETY

Civil Society members are not-for-profit organisations which serve the public interest and
common good related to the cotton supply chain.

Membership criteria
Membership is open to all organisations. BCI is an inclusive initiative which aims to work with
its members and partners to achieve its goal of transforming cotton production worldwide by
developing Better Cotton as a sustainable mainstream commodity. Applicants to membership
should fulfil the following:

1. Your organisation’s long-term aspirations support BCI’s mission, aims and strategic
principles for Better Cotton (bettercotton.org/about-bci/).
2. Your organisation is a legal entity, or a group of legal entities.
If your organisation forms part of a group, BCI recommends that the entire group
becomes a member of BCI. If your organisation runs integrated operations including
several processing steps, your membership will be categorised according to the
highest value activity exercised.
3. Your organisation should have a minimum of 1 year’s existence.
4. Your organisation is able to demonstrate an existing commitment to good
environmental and social standards.
Evidence include but is not limited to a publicly available commitment to sustainability
as well as either implementing a code of conduct or implementing a management
standard covering both environmental and social practices.
5. Your organisation does not pose a reputational risk to BCI through past or present
activities. This includes but is not limited to, child labour, health and safety violations,
being listed on an internationally recognised Default list, or advisory list (e.g. ICA’s List
of Unfulfilled Awards). BCI reserves the right to protect and safeguard itself against
risks to BCI’s integrity and credibility.

Companies not meeting one or more of the membership criteria listed above may still
apply to the BCI by adding a justification to their application form. The justification addendum
can be requested from BCI for completion by applicant after a review of the application form.
The addendum includes clear instructions on what is requested from the applicant.
Company information
About the organisation

Name of company

Business Registration Reference

No.

Building

Street

Address City
(Headquarters) State

Postcode/Zip

Country

Telephone

Website

The information you provide below will be shared with our Members and BCI Council as part
of the consultation and approval process. Answering fully and factually is important to the
success of your application.

Date your organisation was established

Brief description of your company’s key

activities, including any activities on
creating change and building capacity
for sustainable development

Motivation for joining the BCI

(sustainability and business motivation)

What would your organisation like to

achieve during your first year as a
member?

Do you have any interest in becoming YES / NO

a BCI Implementing Partner (IP)? Note
that an IP works with farmers at the
local level to implement the BCI
system.

What is the geographical scope of your

activities?
 Do you collaborate with any partner
organisations in cotton-growing
countries?
If yes, please describe.

Have you run any campaigns on cotton

in recent years?
If yes, please specify how and where.

Data Protection
By becoming a BCI Member, you accept that contact names and email addresses may be
shared through internal group communication (or other means). For more information, please
see the BCI Data Protection Policy.

Members often wish to contact each other outside of BCI. If you do not wish your contact
details to be shared, please indicate by ticking the box below.

No, I do not wish mine or my organisations’ contact details to be shared with other
members

BCI publishes a Membership list on its website and in some presentations. If you do not wish
your organisation to appear in this list, please tick the box below:

No, I do not wish my organisation to appear in the BCI Membership list.

As a member, it is normal for us to display your organisations’ logo and include a link to your
website. If you do not wish this, please tick the boxes below. If you want us to use your logo,
please attach it to the application when submitting.

No, I do not want BCI to link to my organisation’s website

No, I do not want BCI to make use of my organisation’s logo

Primary contact
The primary contact nominated should be the person within your organisation who will act as
the organisations’ day-to-day representative with BCI. All communications from BCI to your
organisations will be directed to the primary contact.

Name First name Last name

Position within
organisation

Email

Skype username
(optional)
 Telephone Country Code Number

Secondary contact
The application should also be endorsed and signed by a senior member of the organisation
who will take responsibility for ensuring that the organisation follows the obligations laid out in
the BCI Principles of Participation. You may nominate this senior member as the secondary
representative to this function. The secondary contact may be copied into communications but
will not be the first point of contact.

Name First name Last name

Position within
organisation

Email

Skype username
(optional)

Telephone Country Code Number

Invoicing address
Please supply details to be used for invoicing purposes. Also, please state if your organization
requires any specific information in order to process an invoice (such as Purchase Order
numbers).

Contact name for

First name Last name
invoices

Email

Telephone Country Code Number

Fax Country Code Number

Building

Street

Address City
(if different State
to HQ)
Postcode /
Zip

Country
 Any additional
information required for
invoices

Membership fees
All members must pay a membership fee, on an annual basis, in accordance with the BCI
membership fee structure. For Civil Society organisations, annual membership fees are
determined based on the organisation’s scope of activities and annual income.

2017 - 2020* MEMBERSHIP FEES FOR CIVIL SOCIETY

Fee Level Annual Income (EUR) Annual Fee (EUR)
National Non-OECD N/A 100 €
National OECD N/A 300 €
Very Small International < 500,000 € 300 €
Small International 500,000 € - 1,000,000 € 1,000 €
Medium International 1,000,000 € - 10,000,000 € 4,000 €
Large International > 10,000,000 € 10,000 €
*Fees are subject to annual review by the BCI Council.

Definitions:

i. An organisation that only has activities within one country is defined as national, and if
it has activities in multiple countries as international.
ii. For a national scope of activities, fees are defined based on whether the organisation
is registered in a non-OECD or in an OECD country.
iii. For an international scope of activities, fees are based on previous year’s annual
income as per fee table.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an

intergovernmental economic organisation with 35 member countries, founded in 1961 to
stimulate economic progress and world trade. Check here for the list of OECD countries

Fee payable :

Please note: you will need to provide evidence of income or size as applicable (see below
Check list).
Check list
Together with this application form, please make sure you submit the following:

1. A Copy of your registration document.

All BCI members must be legally registered. For Civil Society organisations this document will
typically be a copy of legal registration with the local administrative authorities.

2. Copy of document(s) verifying income or size as applicable and geographic

scope of operations
The applicant must submit official documents or documents signed by a senior manager that
verifies the data used as a basis for determining the fee-level. This information will be
treated as strictly confidential, and will not be shared with outside parties.

3. A signed copy of the BCI Code of Practice

Once your membership is approved, please send us a signed copy of the Code of Practice
included in the membership contract below. This, together with your proof of payment, will
activate your membership.

4. A digital copy of your logo (optional)

It should preferably be in an editable format with a good resolution.
Signature

With my signature, ___________________________(entity name) is applying for

membership to the Better Cotton Initiative. I confirm that I have the legal mandate officially to
act on behalf of my organisation.

With the signature below, ___________________________ acknowledges and accepts the

attached BCI Code of Conduct, the BCI Terms of membership, the BCI fee structure, and the
BCI Statutes, the BCI Anti-trust Policy and the Data Protection Policy, as well as the resulting
rights and obligations.

I declare that all information provided is, to the best of my knowledge, comprehensive and
correct.

Date of signature:

Applicant’s signature:

Title:
 MEMBERSHIP CODE OF
PRACTICE

WHAT WE COMMIT TO AS A MEMBER

BCI exists to make global cotton production better for the people who produce it, better for the
environment it grows in and better for the sector’s future. BCI works with a diverse range of
stakeholders to promote measurable and continuing improvements for the environment,
farming communities and the economies of cotton-producing areas. BCI aims to transform
cotton production worldwide by developing better cotton as a sustainable mainstream
commodity.

As a BCI member, you commit to supporting this mission. You understand and meet this Code
of Practice in all your dealings as an organisation. The Code of Practice forms one part of the
BCI Principles of Participation, with other components being specific agreements for
Traceability System users and Implementing Partners. Breaches of the Code of Practice may
lead to a termination of membership as specified in the BCI Statutes.

Commitment and Conduct

The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) is focused on effecting change, and credibility is crucial to
mainstreaming Better Cotton successfully. BCI and its members strive to act with integrity at
all times. In practice this means:

1.1 Members commit themselves to the mission, specific aims and strategic principles of
the BCI.

1.2 Members promote and communicate this commitment throughout their own
organisation and to external partners.

1.3 Members act responsibly and are transparent in their engagement with BCI.

1.4 Members meet the BCI communication rules and do not make any misleading or
unsubstantiated claims about the production, procurement or use of Better Cotton, nor
about the impact associated with Better Cotton. External communications are
evidence-based and consistent.
Collaboration and Promotion

BCI is a multi-stakeholder initiative that promotes collaboration. BCI and its members
welcome constructive feedback and aspire to be innovative.

2.1 Members actively share their knowledge and expertise with BCI and other members.

2.2 BCI complements, rather than competes with, other established initiatives. It works
alongside such approaches to increase the amount of cotton produced in a more
environmentally and socially sustainable way. Members commit to supporting this
collaborative approach.

Ensuring continued credibility of the initiative

Credibility and the multi-stakeholder nature of the initiative are crucial to BCI and its
members.

3.1 Members help BCI monitor for false claims and other risks to BCI’s integrity and
credibility.

3.2 All members contribute to the continuous improvement of the standard and its
system.

3.3 Members demonstrate continuous improvement, and report back to BCI on

progress annually. BCI reserves the right to monitor claims made in these
reports.

3.4 Retailers and Brands support farmers and field activities by providing
investment contributions on an annual basis.
I am authorised on behalf of my company and hereby confirm that we understand and
will follow this Code of Practice.

________________________ __________________________________
Place and date Name of Organisation

_______________________
Title

_______________________
Signature

_______________________ __________________________________
Name in printed letters Organisation stamp

Please sign and submit only this page to the BCI Secretariat.

All members have the responsibility to inform their employees about the content of this
Code of Practice and secure their compliance.

BCI is committed to continuously reviewing and updating its policies and procedures,
therefore this Code of Practice can be subject to modification. Partners and members
are responsible for keeping themselves informed of the contents of such documents.

If you, your employees, or any other representatives of your company have questions
concerning the meaning or application of the BCI’s Member Code of Practice, please
contact [email protected]
 TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP

BCI membership is renewed annually upon fee payment

Members wishing to terminate their membership shall give three months’ advance notice in
writing by emailing [email protected]. Fees already paid for current membership
year are not refundable.

1. Terms of Payment
1.1 Membership fees are payable on an annual basis.
1.2 Invoices will be sent electronically by email by default and as hard copy by post upon
request only.
1.3 Invoices will be considered as received on the next business day following the day
the documents were emailed.
1.4 Membership fee invoices are payable within 30 days of receipt.
1.5 After 30 days a reminder will be sent by the BCI Secretariat. Fee payments will be
considered late if received after 30 days of receipt of the invoice. A fee of up to 5 %
of the initial amount invoiced may be charged for late payments.
1.6 Failure to pay membership fees for 5 months or longer may result in suspension and/
or termination of membership.
1.7 Fees are reviewed annually by the BCI Council.

2. Adherence to the Better Cotton Initiative Code of Practice

The adherence of members to the Better Cotton Initiative Code of Practice is fundamental to
the integrity, credibility and success of Better Cotton.

A violation of the BCI Code of Practice may lead to the suspension and / or termination of
membership. A breach of the BCI Code of Practice includes, but is not limited to the following:
Practice contradicting the spirit of BCI, its mission, aims and strategic principles

2.1 Endangering the interests or the reputation of the Better Cotton Initiative and of Better
Cotton.
2.2 False representation of BCI and Better Cotton.
2.3 Making misleading or unsubstantiated claims about the production, procurement or
use of Better Cotton and the impact associated with it.
2.4 Being listed on a Default list.
2.5 Behaving in a manner contradictory to the BCI anti-trust guidelines.
2.6 Taking part in anti-competitive practices.

Lack of commitment and engagement

2.7 Lack of strategy and annual targets to procure Better Cotton (brands and retailers
only).
2.8 Neglect to provide financial capacity investment contributions (brands and retailers
only).
2.9 Lack of engagement e.g. no attendance at BCI events/ workshops/webinars.
2.10 Failure to report back performance to BCI annually according to guidelines provided
by BCI.
2.11 Failure to demonstrate progress through this report (2.10)

3. Termination of membership
Under the BCI Statutes, a member ceases to be a member of the Association if the
member:

3.1 becomes insolvent

3.2 is wound-up or is dissolved
3.3 resigns that membership by written notice to the BCI Secretariat with a notice period
of at least three months
3.4 or is expelled from the Association, according to art. 3.5-9.

The Council may expel a member if it determines that:

3.5 the member no longer meets the definition specified for the member’s membership
category
3.6 the member no longer meets the membership criteria
3.7 the member fails to adhere to the BCI Code of Practice or to pay membership fees,
on an annual basis, in accordance with the membership fee structure
3.8 the member fails to pay their membership fees on an annual basis, and in accordance
with the membership fee structure
3.9 the member is endangering the interests or the reputation of BCI.

In case of expulsion, the Council must give the member at least 30 days written notice of the
expulsion, stating the grounds for the expulsion and allowing the member to provide a written
submission stating why they should not be expelled, with such submission to be received prior
to the proposed date of expulsion. The Council’s decision whether or not to expel a member
is final.