Amsterdam, March 5, 2026 – The Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA) today announced the next phase of its 2030 Strategy to scale organic cotton and support a more resilient global supply. Building on ten years of proven results, the strategy expands OCA’s impact areas, simplifies participation for brands and retailers, and increases global supply through new partnerships. This will allow the organisation to continue supporting its partners in a time when the fashion sector faces rising regulatory expectations and sourcing risks, and farmers confront growing climate and market volatility.
“The industry is at a turning point,” said Bart Vollaard, Executive Director of OCA. “Sustainability expectations are changing fast, and brands now face rising demands on traceability, climate action and human rights, while managing real sourcing risks. Farmers, meanwhile, face growing climate and market volatility and need stable markets and fairer returns to stay resilient. By scaling proven solutions with our partners, we can deliver meaningful impact for farmers and strengthen the long‑term resilience of the global textile sector.”
Proven results, ready to scale
OCA has demonstrated that organic cotton can deliver measurable economic and environmental benefits for farmers, while strengthening transparency and resilience across the supply chain. Today, the organisation works with more than 100,000 farmers, supporting them through training, access to quality inputs, and sourcing commitments that provide better prices and long-term market incentives.
Based on verified data from recent years, farmers participating in OCA’s Farm Programme have earned, on average, higher net income per hectare from organic cotton than their conventional peers. These gains contribute to more stable livelihoods and greater confidence in organic production. Between 2021-2024, farmers participating in OCA’s framework earned, on average, over 9% higher net income per hectare than their non-organic peers. Over the same period, a total of close to €15 million were paid out to farmers as a premium through the OCA Farm Programme.
For brands and retailers, OCA provides a transparent, data-backed system that supports credible impact and helps reduce sourcing risk. With more than 60 partners across the value chain, the organisation has built a collaborative network designed to scale.
What is new: three strategic shifts to scale impact
Building on this foundation, OCA’s strategy focuses on three key shifts to expand impact, simplify participation and scale supply.
- 1. Expanded impact areas and stronger data
OCA is broadening its impact focus beyond farmer income to include climate and nature outcomes such as soil health, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity and water stewardship, alongside social priorities including better working conditions and women’s empowerment. Data systems will support the measurement and reporting of these impact areas, supporting textile companies meet growing due diligence and disclosure requirements.
- 2. Simpler participation through the OCA Farm Fund
A central element of the strategy is the OCA Farm Fund, which evolves the existing Farm Programme into a more streamlined and transparent funding approach. Currently in pilot phase, the Fund is designed to make participation in the OCA Farm Programme easier for brands and retailers by providing clear cost visibility and reducing administrative complexity. By pooling contributions for farmer premiums and technical support and decoupling these investments from cotton prices, the Farm Fund also creates more predictable and stable support for farmers and producer organisations. This coordinated approach will help partners plan and scale their investment while ensuring more funding reaches farmers.
- 3. Scaling supply through strategic partnerships
Growth will also be driven through partnerships that extend the reach of OCA’s model. Alongside expanding its work in India, Pakistan and Türkiye, OCA will collaborate with existing organic initiatives and organisations to channel support to farmers in additional sourcing regions in Africa and Latin America. These partnerships will help strengthen global organic cotton supply while improving coordination, traceability and long-term market access for farming communities.
Collective action across the sector
Alongside these shifts, OCA will continue to grow its Contributor community, bringing together brands, retailers, suppliers, farm groups, and civil society organisations to strengthen collaboration and support long-term market access for farmers. OCA is also increasing its public affairs and engagement efforts to advocate for organic cotton, while ensuring that farmers’ perspectives and on-the-ground realities are reflected in policy discussions.
By aligning action across the value chain, OCA continues to create the conditions for organic cotton to grow sustainably and deliver lasting benefits for farmers, businesses and the environment.
For more information and to access the full OCA 2030 Strategy, visit our Global 2030 Strategy page.
About Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA)
The Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA) is a multi-stakeholder organisation uniting the sector to unleash the potential of organic cotton, from field to fashion, for people and the planet. We envision a future where, every time a farmer switches to organic cotton, there is a ripple effect of positivity. Farmers earn more and have access to better working conditions and secure livelihoods. Their land and soils are regenerated, biodiversity thrives, and together we contribute to combating climate change. We call this the Organic Cotton Effect. As an accelerator, we want to get to this future, faster. For more information on OCA and what we do visit: organiccottonaccelerator.org
For press inquiries, please contact: comms@organiccottonaccelerator.org
