Financing the Transition: ODFs Key Takeaways from the Organic Cotton Summit

Published: June 5, 2026

We are happy to share that Robert Pothoven and Flonja Drenofci joined the Organic Cotton Summit in Istanbul, where Robert took part in an insightful panel discussion on investment and funding for scaling sustainable cotton production.

One key takeaway stood out: scaling organic cotton is not just a production challenge. It is also a financing and partnership challenge.

Farmers need to be treated as long-term business partners, not beneficiaries. The transition to organic can take up to three years, often with lower yields, higher upfront costs and limited access to organic premiums during the conversion period. Without the right support, this risk is too high for many smallholder farmers.

That is where fit-for-purpose finance can make a difference. Working capital, input financing, fair off-take agreements and better risk-sharing can help make the transition more viable.

Scaling organic cotton requires the full ecosystem to move together: farmers, brands, governments, lenders and civil society. Strong partnerships are not a nice-to-have, but the foundation for building resilient and investable organic cotton value chains.

A big thank you to Organic Cotton Accelerator, Textile Exchange, and the fellow speakers Ruud Schute, Hakan Karan, PhD, Danique Lodewijks, Ashis Mondal and Angela Russ for contributing to such an insightful discussion.

ODF looks forward to exploring how we can contribute to this growing sector.