Is Fashion Missing Organic Cotton’s Bigger Picture?

Organic cotton’s time may have come, as the subtitle of the Organic Cotton Accelerator’s latest report declares, but moving the fiber from a niche product to the status quo isn’t without its hurdles.

Thanks, in part, to the rise of organic food, the idea of cotton grown without synthetic pesticides, chemical fertilizers or GMO seeds now sits comfortably in the mainstream marketplace—Gap sells organic cotton tees. Madewell hawks an organic cotton tank dress. Even Hanes touts organic cotton undies. Even so, the perception of its availability is more generous than the reality: According to the fiber experts at Textile Exchange, certified organic cotton makes up just 1.4 percent of total cotton production.

In other words, the OCA’s message is only partly a statement of fact. Mostly, it’s a rallying cry, said Ruud Schute, program director at the multi-stakeholder organization, whose founding partners include C&A, H&M Group, Eileen Fisher, Kering, Zara owner Inditex, Textile Exchange and Laudes Foundation. But if there is an organic cotton tipping point, this is it, he said. Since 2016, more than 70,000 farmers in India and Pakistan have switched to organic cotton through the OCA’s farm program, which is underpinned by 16 brands and 13 implementing partners. Another 36,000 in-conversion producers are waiting in the wings. And the 2022-2023 season saw 87,255 metric tons of seed cotton get snapped up—a 33 percent increase from the year before.

“Factors driving this shift include increasing awareness of environmental and social issues, demands for transparency in supply chains, growing consumer interest in sustainable products and the urgency to support and empower farmers,” Schute said.

At the same time, the industry needs to double down more than ever. While the number of farmers converting to organic cotton has grown, less in-conversion cotton has been procured than expected. This is a problem: If brands are not committing to in-conversion volumes necessary for farmers to complete the shift, they’re throttling the future supply of fully organic cotton.

Switching from conventional to in-conversion to organic production isn’t a small ask for growers, Schute said. Those who do so can expect an initial yield loss and a subsequent contraction in income, which is why “financial incentives, extension support and procurement are essential for farmers during this transition phase,” he said. Without them, there is no way to maximize the potential impact of organic cotton.

Schute said that certification isn’t the OCA’s destination, mostly because it isn’t a certification standard. Instead, it creates the conditions that enable farmers to measure up. Organic agriculture standards don’t always focus on decent work or social criteria, he said, yet smallholder growers and farmworkers are among the most vulnerable regarding access to decent work conditions.

Over the past year, the organization launched an organic training curriculum in Pakistan, rolled out a decent work initiative in India and geared up for entry into Turkey. The OCA has also started work on a life-cycle assessment dashboard that will allow brands to track greenhouse gas reductions at the regional level in India. Soon, it’ll be kicking off a biodiversity monitoring trial to help quantify the benefits of organic agriculture practices on local fauna populations.

“As ever, we are proudest of the tangible impact we have had on the lives of farmers, the progress made in strengthening their livelihoods and well-being, and enabling the collaborative efforts of our diverse stakeholder community,” Schute said of the OCA’s 2023 highlights. Last year, it facilitated a 7 percent premium payment to growers, totaling 4.2 million euros, or almost $4.6 million.

One challenge the OCA faces is getting stakeholders’ key performance indicators to align. The supply chain from field to fashion is long, complex and often fragmented. Brands measure impact through decent work conditions and progress on science-based targets, while farmers gauge success based on improved yields, lower impact costs and high revenue. Ginners, spinners and traders, on the other hand, might desire low complexity, long-term commitments or transparent financing agreements. Bringing these disparate objectives together isn’t an easy lift.

Neither is getting organic cotton availability past 1.4 percent, Schute said. Trust in organic cotton certification and certifying bodies has been shattered by widespread allegations of fraud and corruption. Bolstering organic cotton’s integrity will require significant investment in volume reconciliation, traceability, oversight activities and authentication through the use of physical tracers or DNA testing.

To scale organic cotton, the OCA wants more brands, retailers, suppliers and manufacturers to join its platform. It needs donors who can invest in capacity building for growers, implementing partners to deliver its programs on the ground and policymakers who recognize organic cotton as a “genuinely sustainable solution” for the issues plaguing climate, nature and human rights.

Most of all, the OCA wants to keep telling the story of producers who tend to fade into the background of industry conversations that are predominantly brand-focused, if not brand-led as well. Giving them a voice is also a critical part of the work.

“We don’t talk enough about farmers, the stewards of the land,” Schute said. “The transition to sustainable raw materials can only happen through them, but the social and environment impact on farming communities is often overlooked. Recognizing and addressing these social dimensions is crucial for achieving holistic sustainability in the cotton sector and ensuring that sustainable practices benefit all stakeholders involved.”