Organic Cotton Accelerator Annual Report 2021 Launched

The Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA), a multi-stakeholder organisation dedicated to organic cotton, announced today the publication of its Annual Report for the year 2021, highlighting the continued steady growth across OCA, with measurable farm-level impact made during a year disrupted by the pandemic.

The collective achievements over the past year detailed in the report are in line with the five pillars of OCA’s 2030 Strategy Plan:

Growing farmer resilience and livelihoods; OCA achieved another year of positive income benefits to organic farmers in their Farm Programme during the 2020/21 cotton season, while growing the number of participating farmers by 83% compared to the number reported in the previous year.

Enhancing seed availability and diversity; The Organisation launched the non-GM cottonseed production guidelines and assurance programme with a group of Indian seed producers.

Scaling organic cotton farming sustainably; The in-conversion programme, started in 2021 by OCA and continuing through the 2021-22 farm season, enabled 21,000 farmers to transition from conventional to organic farming. This focused support is ensuring they have a guaranteed market, better price, and the right conditions in place to make the transition successfully.

Developing robust social and environmental farm-level data; OCA commenced trials of Soil Organic Carbon testing methods as well as studying the impact of Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) cotton to support its wider adoption.

Operating a collaborative sector approach; The organisation achieved growth of 80% in new contributors joining compared to last year, increased sector representation at Board level, and delivered a successful online Organic Cotton Summit.

“Looking back at the amazing growth we saw over the past year, we see a rise in the numbers of farmers we reached, an array of new Contributors joining our mission, and important funding secured to support more and more producers to successfully shift to organic farming and maximising their regenerative practices. I truly believe OCA is in the best possible shape to spearhead the transformation of a transparent, responsible, and resilient organic cotton supply chain, one that creates tangible and lasting benefits for farmers, their lands and soils, and our future generations.” Bart Vollaard, Executive Director at OCA

To read and download the full report, click here.

At the Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA), we believe organic cotton is the catalyst for a truly sustainable textiles sector. As a multi-stakeholder organisation, we unite 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 their land and soils are fertile for future generations, protecting our planet. We call this the Organic Cotton Effect.

We’re committing to enabling this future by creating a transparent, responsible, and resilient organic cotton supply chain that prioritises delivering farmer prosperity and meeting the sector’s shared sustainability goals. As an accelerator, we want to get to this future, faster.

Since our establishment in 2016, with founding partners Laudes Foundation, H&M, Kering, Eileen Fisher, Textile Exchange, Tchibo, Inditex and C&A, OCA has been committed to convening the sector around a common agenda and using our platform’s collective investments to act as a catalyst for change.

For more information on OCA and what we do visit: