**Joint statement from the members of the Organic Cotton Accelerator**

A recent independent publication claims that major users of cotton globally are failing to source sustainable cotton on a large scale, and should be considered a call to action.

The report, commissioned by Pesticide Action Network (PAN) UK, Solidaridad, and WWF, concludes that despite the significant progress made by a few leading companies, there is ΅significant room for improvement in company sourcing and reporting on sustainable cottonΆ. We feel that this is an accurate conclusion, and urge stakeholders to join hands in an effort to transform the industry in a sustainable way.

The last years have seen an increase in attention for sustainable apparel from both society as well as the market, which has created momentum for initiatives focused on promoting the sustainable production of cotton. Under the right conditions, organic cotton production, regarded as the gold standard for sustainable cotton production, delivers impressive benefits to the farmer, the environment, and the industry as a whole.

This momentum for sustainable apparel motivated several sustainability front-runners in apparel to join forces within the Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA). OCA is a new collaborative platform which strives to address the issues the sector is facing, by coordinating actions that enable improvements in the organic cotton farmerΆs business case, appropriate integrity, and increased security of supply. One of the main benefits of collaborating in a non-competitive way is the ability to set shared targets and goals that go beyond the influence of a single organization, and have the capacity for structurally transforming a sector to become more sustainable.

We urge all brands to take heed of this call to action. We ask them to join the movement in growing a prosperous organic cotton sector, and invest in a more sustainable cotton sector as a whole. We realize this will take time, but the time for action is now!

The Organic Cotton Accelerator is committed to building a prosperous organic cotton sector which benefits everyone—from farmer to consumer. Our aim is to build a fair, robust organic cotton market with appropriate integrity at every relevant level, whilst growing supply and demand. For more information, please contact communications@organiccottonaccelerator.org