Announced last week (5 March) in Amsterdam, Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA)’s updated 2030 strategy builds on ten years of results. It aims to expand its impact areas, simplify participation for brands and retailers and increase supply through new partnerships.
OCA said the move comes as the fashion sector faces rising regulatory expectations and sourcing risks, while 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.”
OCA currently works with more than 100,000 farmers, supporting them through training, access to quality inputs and sourcing commitments designed to provide better prices and long-term market incentives.
OCA’s three strategic shifts to scale impact
- Expand impact areas and stronger data: OCA will broaden its impact focus beyond farmer income to include climate and nature outcomes such as soil health, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity and water stewardship. The organisation will also address social priorities including better working conditions and women’s empowerment. Data systems will be used to measure and report these outcomes to support textile companies facing growing due diligence and disclosure requirements.
- Simpler participation through the OCA Farm Fund: OCA is introducing the OCA Farm Fund, which evolves the existing Farm Programme into a more streamlined funding model. Currently in pilot phase, the fund is designed to make participation easier for brands and retailers by providing clearer cost visibility and reducing administrative complexity. The fund will pool contributions for farmer premiums and technical support and decouple these investments from cotton prices, creating more predictable and stable support for farmers and producer organisations.
- Scaling supply through strategic partnerships: Alongside expanding work in India, Pakistan and Türkiye, the organisation will collaborate with existing organic initiatives and organisations to support 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.
According to verified data from recent years, farmers participating in OCA’s Farm Programme have earned higher net income per hectare from organic cotton than their conventional peers. Between 2021 and 2024, farmers in the programme earned on average more than 9% higher net income per hectare than non-organic farmers.
Over the same period, close to €15m was paid out to farmers as a premium through the OCA Farm Programme.
For brands and retailers, OCA said it provides a transparent, data-backed system designed to support credible impact and reduce sourcing risk. The organisation currently works with more than 60 partners across the value chain.
The organisation will also continue to expand 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.
At the same time, OCA said it is increasing its public affairs and engagement efforts to advocate for organic cotton and ensure farmers’ perspectives are reflected in policy discussions.
By aligning action across the value chain, the organisation said it aims to create the conditions for organic cotton to grow sustainably and deliver benefits for farmers, businesses and the environment.
