Organic Cotton Round Table 2019, Vancouver

TEXTILE EXCHANGE ORGANIC COTTON ROUND TABLE

2019 Organic Cotton Round Table Summit 2019 | Vancouver

Textile Exchange’s Organic Cotton Round Table (OCRT) is a global stakeholder platform that supports and brings together the organic cotton community to be inspired, mobilized, and equipped to act. Each year, we hold a global OCRT Summit alongside Textile Exchange’s annual Textile Sustainability Conference, in addition to Regional OCRTs held through the year.

The 2019 Global OCRT will take place in Vancouver on Friday October 18. The cross-cutting theme of the day will be Greater Together | SDG 17: Partnership for the Goals, with some of the greatest partnerships in the world of organic cotton being celebrated alongside the progress being made in production, seed, and integrity.

Connector.
When
October 18, 2019
Connector.
Where
Vancouver BC, Canada

2018 Round Tables – High Level Agenda

Connector.
Organic cotton round table
Find out more here
Connector.
lunch session: LCA and Circularity
Hosted by thinkstep - find out more here

Connector.
lunch session: LCA and Circularity
Hosted by thinkstep - find out more here
Connector.
Organic cotton round table
Find out more here

To access the full Textile Sustainability Conference agenda, click here.

2019 OCRT Agenda outline

Detailed agenda coming soon.

Friday October 18 | 9am – 5pm | Ballroom BC, East Wing, Vancouver Convention Centre
THEME: GREATER TOGETHER | SDG 17 PARTNERSHIP FOR THE GOALS

09:00 Welcomes

09:15 PART 1: GREATER TOGETHER

Organic Cotton Collective Impact.

Hear updates and have the opportunity to ask questions about the exciting progress being made under the Organic Cotton Collective Impact (OCCI) initiative.

10:30 Refreshment break

11:00 PART 2: REGIONAL DIALOGUES

Updates from the field.

Panel discussion with representatives from each organic cotton producing region. Hear updates about each region’s production trends, future outlook, and progress of key regional initiatives. Each regional representative will pose a challenge that the region is currently facing and invite attendees to join them in co-creating a solution during the lunch break.

12:40 Lunch break – Take a Tour of the Regions

Each organic cotton producing region will have a dedicated Regional Hub on the outskirts of the ballroom where the OCRT will take place. All attendees are invited and encouraged to take a “tour of the regions” during the lunchbreak by joining a lunchtable discussion, perusing the informative poster displays, or providing input on key questions via our interactive pin boards. Regional experts will be on hand to answer any questions you may have.

14:40 PART 3: INTEGRITY DEBATE

Now is the time to be honest about integrity.

This court-case style debate comes with a twist: a dual-fishbowl set up will allow YOU the attendees the chance to have your say. There will be one fishbowl for each side of the debate, taking it in turns to speak:

#1. “Our side would walk away from a supplier if we discovered integrity problems”
#2. “Our side would work with our suppliers if we found integrity problems”

An expert Jury will give their input before going to a full audience vote.

15:20 Refreshment break

15:50 PART 4: SEED CELEBRATION

Celebrating the progress in seed.

Panel discussion with experts leading the way in developing seed suitable for organic cotton production. Hear the latest updates from their work and join us in celebrating the progress being made.

16:50 Wrap-up

17:00 Close

In 2018 in Milan, we co-created a new approach – a General Assembly for Organic Cotton.

In the six years since the first Organic Cotton Round Table (OCRT) in Hong Kong, the gatherings have really lived up to their aspiration of being a Platform for Collective Action and an Incubator for Great Ideas. With our new approach, we have gone to the next level.

We believe this structure, inspired by the United Nations approach, provides a model for our development, uniting global and regional OCRTs and encouraging a two-way flow of information between the regional communities. Delegations from each region come together, alongside brands, retailers and other stakeholders, to report globally on their regional updates, activities and successes.

The General Assembly takes the informal linkages of the current OCRT to a more focused and mindful model of engagement between stakeholders. All of the ingredients that make the OCRT so valuable to stakeholders remain, such as the multi-stakeholder, accessible, and catalytic principles, with the added impact of a global and regional strategy that aim to link the pathway to region-based growth to a strengthened interaction between regions, supply networks and global thinking.

In Milan, time was dedicated to explaining the new model, discussing how a General Assembly can benefit us all, and ensuring next steps are developed with broad stakeholder input.

Participating Companies

OCRT SCHOLARSHIP FUND

2019 CONTRIBUTORS

SUPPORT THE OCRT SCHOLARSHIP FUND

Each year, we strive to ensure that the OCRT is as inclusive as possible by having voices from each region represented on the day. We are therefore continuing the OCRT Scholarship Fund started last year in order to support the attendance of farmers / regional representatives who wouldn’t otherwise have the means to travel to Vancouver to join in the OCRT discussions. We are still seeking contributors for 2019 and are asking for your support either through:

1. Direct sponsorship of farmer attendance.
2. Financial sponsorship of the OCRT, which goes directly to the OCRT Scholarship Fund, from which Textile Exchange will make allocations to those nominated to receive support. See page 11 of our Conference Participation Guide for options.

2019 Conference Participation Guide

Established themes
Emerging Themes

Seeds & Soils
Business Models
Fair Financing
Integrity
Consumer Engagement

Sustainable Development Goals
Regenerative Agriculture
Water Stewardship
In-conversion Cotton
Integrated Supply Network Models

Related resources

Out of the Box Interviews: 2 Series Now available

Previous ocrt highlights

Series 1: Business as if People Mattered. Filmed during the 2016 OCRT in Hamburg, Germany.

Series 2: West Africa’s otton Trailblazers. Filmed during the 2018 Regional OCRT in Koudougou, Burkina Faso.

Regional OCRT 2019, China
Global OCRT 2018, Milan
Regional OCRT 2018, Burkina Faso
Regional OCRT 2018, Izmir
Global OCRT 2017, Washington D.C.
Regional OCRT 2017, Izmir
Global OCRT 2016, Hamburg
Global OCRT 2015, Mumbai
Global OCRT 2014, Portland
Global OCRT 2013, Istanbul
Global OCRT 2012, Hong Kong

2018 PARTICIPANT COMMENTS

“Excellent global insight and education”

“Very comprehensive, interesting and informative”

“Inspiring, dedicated people with one common goal”

“Rich day with a lot of experience shared between organic cotton actors”

“The OCRT is very important to educate all value chain actors”

“The dialogue was content rich”

“Especially good to hear from South America and Turkey”

“Great to hear so many voices, very democratic”

“Very well organised round table, many good topics discussed”

“We need to look at livable incomes in a specific geographical region and determine the true cost of production, making sure that there is a sustainable margin on that.”Heinrich Schultz Organimark, & Chair of Textile Exchange Catalyst

“We believe now is the time to embed a common agenda through a connected community, to drive meaningful adoption of organic cotton, and to solidify our role in the sustainable cotton continuum.”La Rhea Pepper, Managing Director, Textile Exchange

“Being a first timer at the OCRT was incredibly inspiring. The access to industry thought leaders from Burkina Faso to Jaipur helped me gain a clearer picture of the challenges and immense promise of Organic Cotton. I walked away from the day feeling well informed and part of a larger ecosytem of smart and dedicated people committed to organic cotton and sustainability. It made me proud to be an OCRT sponsor. Thank you!”Linda Cabot, Founder, Linda Cabot Designs

OCRT Team

Quick Links

About organic cotton

Organic cotton is cotton that is produced and certified to organic agricultural standards.

Learn more

2018 Market reports

The 2018 Preferred Fiber & Materials Market Report and the Organic Cotton Market Report are now available.

PFM Benchmark

The Preferred Fiber & Materials (PFM) Benchmark helps companies measure, manage and integrate a PFM strategy.

SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT

A framework for assessing the environmental, social & economic impacts of organic cotton agriculture.