Organic Cotton Accelerator

🌱 Textile Exchange Conference update! Bart Vollaard, OCA’s Executive Director joined industry leaders for an inspiring panel on the Demand/Supply Paradigm for Preferred Materials. Here are some key takeaways: 🤝 Competitors and partners alike recognise the need for deeper collaboration to meet the growing demand for organic cotton. Brands are hearing a clear call from consumers for more transparency and sustainability. ↔️ There’s a unique opportunity to connect both ends of the supply chain. Stable demand is essential for farmers, who rely on committed, organic-focused brands to invest in the intensive knowledge and resources required to grow successfully. 📈 What was once impossible is now on the market, demonstrating how rapidly shifts occur with the right investments and commitments. 💰For real progress, we need brands, investors, and stakeholders to co-invest and simplify the supply chain, reducing costs and building resilience. Policies are evolving to support this shift, and more organisations are buying in as the potential for economies of scale grows. 🌍A collaborative, cross-organisational approach enables brands to make tangible progress, moving us closer to the ideal of sustainable, accessible organic cotton for all. This journey is about building a future that works for everyone—from farmers to brands to consumers. Let’s continue working together to create impactful change across the supply chain! #TextileExchange #SustainableFashion #OrganicCotton #SupplyChain #Collaboration #Innovationon Ashley Gill, Logan T Duran, Nicole Rycroft

Happy Diwali from OCA! 🌱🪔 Wishing you a joyous Diwali filled with light, laughter and love. #happydiwali #diwali

We’re excited to see the voices of the organic cotton farming community taking center stage at the Textile Exchange Conference 2024! Although Tarsila Buria, an organic cotton farmer and community leader, couldn’t attend in person, she shared an inspiring message remotely. Together with Tarsila and Anjali Mittal from our Implementing Partner Vasudha Swaraj/ Pratibha Syntex Ltd., we brought real stories of smallholder farmers committed to sustainable, regenerative practices. Yesterday’s session, Building Resilient Agricultural Systems for Material Production, showcased how on-farm innovations like bio-input production, biochar development, and organic manure are enhancing soil health—key steps toward climate resilience and a thriving ecosystem for farming communities. A big thank you to Textile Exchange for providing this global platform to amplify such inspiring voices! 📽 Watch Tarsila's message below! Debra Guo Mariana Gatti #organiccotton #TextileExchange2024 #sustainableagriculture #climateresilience #farmingcommunity

Meet OCA at the upcoming Textile Exchange Conference in Pasadena! Join us for an informal and engaging discussion on how partnering with OCA can elevate your brand’s organic cotton strategy and boost your broader sustainability commitments. Event Details: 💼 Meet OCA! (Exclusive for Brands & Retailers) 🗓️ Date: October 30, 2024 ⏰ Time: 13:45 – 14:45 (PST) 📍Room: 208 Why Attend? 🌱 Hear firsthand from some of OCA's current brand Contributors about the value they have derived from OCA. Discover how collaboration with OCA can help your brand navigate the evolving sustainability landscape and enhance your impact from farm to fashion. 🤝 This informal meeting is the perfect opportunity to connect with like-minded brands and retailers. Share ideas, explore synergies, and see how aligning with OCA can support your brand’s growth and sustainability goals. ⚠️ Learn how you can equip your brand to effectively navigate the challenges and opportunities within the organic cotton market while maximising your sustainability outcomes with fully traceable fibres. ✨ Find out more about what it means to support OCA’s vision for a sustainable cotton future. This exclusive session is limited to 30 seats, so don’t miss out on the chance to explore how OCA can help drive your business forward. Interested in attending? Secure your place and register here ➡ https://lnkd.in/ef3n59vR

📣 OCA has long been dedicated to advancing organic cotton farming, and its recent involvement in the development of the Higg MSI cotton methodology marks another important step in our mission. 🌍 For the past three years, OCA joined organisations convened by Cascale as part of the Higg MSI Methodology Cotton Expert Team. 🤝 Together, we collaborated on a cotton-specific model, leveraging member and industry commitments around data collection. Read more here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/ekfKRBhP #OrganicCotton #ClimateChange #ClimateData #Organic

Counting down to the Textile Exchange 2024 Conference in California! OCA is excited to be part of the event, participating in key panels and discussions. A highlight will be the session on the Demand/Supply Paradigm for Preferred Materials, featuring our Executive Director, Bart Vollaard in the panel. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how to make commitments that drive demand and enhance the supply of materials with better environmental and social outcomes. Stay tuned for our updates from the event! Register to meet us: https://lnkd.in/edBsPFUr #TextileExchange #Sustainability #OrganicCotton #Leadership #CollaborateForChange #OCA

Join us for an inspiring few days at our Regional Stakeholder Event: Scaling Organic Cotton in India on November 27-28, 2024, at Le Meridien, New Delhi! Hear from industry leaders, including: 🌿 Anita Chester - Managing Director, Laudes India and OCA Board Member   🌿 Abhishek Goyal - Senior Director, Subnational Climate Fund 🌿 Danique Lodewijks - Cotton Sourcing Manager, Bestseller   🌿 Jagjeet Singh - Country Director, IDH   🌿 Laila Petrie - CEO, 2050   🌿 Narayanasamy Arunachalam - Vice President, Armstrong Spinning Mills 🌿 Punit Lalbhai - Executive Director, Arvind and OCA Board Member   🌿 Rakesh Rathi - Managing Director, RSB Cottex   🌿 Roop Rashi - Textile Commissioner, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India   🌿 Shreyaskar Chaudhary - Managing Director, Pratibha Syntex   🌿 Varun Joseph - Program Manager, Laudes India   And others, as we confirm their participation. This event will bring together key players from the organic cotton value chain, including farmers, brands, suppliers, and public sector representatives to drive collaboration and accelerate the growth of the organic cotton sector in India. Secure your spot! Discover the preliminary event agenda and register today : https://lnkd.in/gVMWaQvM Plus, don’t miss the exclusive field trip to Gujarat to experience the journey of organic cotton firsthand: https://lnkd.in/e88aQjvv #event #fieldtrip #joinus #organiccotton #farm #organiccotton #indiancotton

🌿 Decent Work is central to the philosophy of organic farming and to OCA’s mission. On this #InternationalDayOfRuralWomen we are launching our Decent Work Strategy, aiming to improve working conditions and protections for organic cotton farmers, farm workers, and their communities. At OCA, we believe that all farming communities should be empowered to access their rights and secure decent livelihoods. Our strategy focuses on ensuring living income and wages; eliminating unlawful child labour, bonded and forced labour; improving health and safety on farms; ending discriminatory practices; and providing access to social protection and worker representation. It’s time to drive meaningful change across the sector and create a future where decent work is a reality for farmers and farm workers we support. 👉 Learn more and download our Decent Work brochure: https://lnkd.in/g4pjQ6nQ #decentwork #strategy #farming #communities #organiccotton

OCA's team in India was honoured to participate at a World Cotton Day special event hosted in New Delhi by the Ministry of Textiles of the Government of India, the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) and the Cotton Corporation of India. Special thanks to Ms. Prajakta Verma IAS, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Textiles for her kind invitation to participate. The event was attended by industry leaders from across the value chain, including associations, ginners, seed companies, manufacturers, brands, and senior public officials. Here are some key takeaways of the event: 1️⃣ Industry associations, brands, suppliers, manufacturers and policymakers need to join forces to align on ESG mandates. 2️⃣ Sustainability is no longer a “nice-to-have” agenda, but it's the need of the hour in light of policies and regulations. 3️⃣ Increasing the yield of cotton farmers is necessary to stabilise prices and ensures the business case for growers. 🤝 OCA is forging a leading alliance of key value chain actors. All united by one common purpose: to accelerate the growth of a transparent, responsible, and resilient organic cotton supply chain that promotes farmer prosperity and advances the organic cotton sector’s shared sustainability goals. Join us: https://lnkd.in/eegzNWWH #OrganicCotton #WorldCottonDay #SustainableTextiles #IndianCotton #SustainableFashion Gitanjali Puri, Shankhamala Sen, Sanchit Kukreja, Manish Malokar

🌍 Happy #WorldCottonDay! 🌱 Explore the organic cotton journey, from a small seed to the soft fiber that’s reshaping fashion. At OCA, we’re committed to organic farming practices that regenerate ecosystems and empower farming communities. Swipe through to see how organic cotton grows from seed to harvest, making a positive impact on both people and the planet. Get involved! https://lnkd.in/eegzNWWH #OrganicCotton #WorldCottonDay2024 #OCA #SeedToHarvest