The Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA), a multi-stakeholder organisation dedicated to organic cotton, with funding support from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency Fund for Responsible Business (FVO) today announced the launch of a multi-year project targeting transparency and fairness across the organic cotton sector. The project, named Textile in Transition, has attracted brand partners BESTSELLER, ESSENZA HOME and G-Star RAW, as part of their commitment to the Dutch Agreement on Sustainable Garments and Textile (AGT).
Textile in Transition aims to improve decent working conditions in organic cotton production, secure the livelihoods of thousands of farmers while boasting the supply of organic cotton. Funded by the FVO, the project leverages OCA’s established Farm Programme in India, to support the participating companies in achieving transparency to the source of their fibre while installing improved buying practices and targeted interventions that improve farmer livelihoods, worker rights and environmental impact.
Kicking off this year, the initial phase will provide a detailed mapping exercise of corporate social responsibility risks, with a particular focus on decent work. These insights will allow for better informed and targeted interventions to promote and improve decent working conditions across OCA’s programmes in India.
From 2023 onward, the project partners will start investing directly in supporting farmers choosing to take the three-year journey to transition to organic agriculture. The participating brands will be connected directly to Indian farming communities through long-term procurement commitments of in-conversion and certified organic cotton at a premium price, providing security for farmers throughout the transition period and strengthening their business case. In turn, thousands of hectares of farmland will be regenerated through organic practices, eliminating the use of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides, building long-term soil health, and increasing on-farm biodiversity for generations to come.
