The Chinese cotton industry plans a new international industry standard-setting platform that would be fairer and more transparent than the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI). This decision was taken after Switzerland-based NGO failed to facilitate the positive and sound development of the global cotton supply chain.

As per a Textile Focus report, BCI has come under fire in China and overseas for making unfounded forced labor accusations against cotton from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in Northwest China. Recently US brand Levi Strauss stepped down from the BCI’s leadership after dispute about the group’s approach to potential human rights violations in Xinjiang’s cotton sector.

The decision by the US company comes after the BCI and H&M caused considerable outrage in China with their false allegations about Xinjiang cotton. The brand’s move was expected, as the BCI’s deception over Xinjiang cotton not only harmed the sector’s reputation, but also created uncertainty in the global textile supply chain.