Organic Trade Association & Textile Exchange partner to bolster organic textile industry

By

Dani Greene

Published
Jan 22, 2016

The Organic Trade Association (OTA) and Textile Exchange (TE) announced a joint effort to bolster public relations and the industry’s influence on public policy. OTA and TE signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on legislative advocacy, public outreach and consumer education initiatives.

 
Marci Zaroff, founder of Under the Canopy and board member of OTA and TE, said of the partnership: "This is just the beginning of an exciting collaboration that will propel the organic fiber sector to the next level. People want to make organic a bigger part of their lifestyle, but they are often unaware of all the ways that organic fiber can contribute to human and planetary wellness, as well as social justice." Organic fiber sales were the fastest-growing non-food sector in 2014 with $1.1 billion in sales. In the U.S., 18,234 acres of farmland were devoted to growing organic cotton.
 
The Organic Trade Association represents over 8,500 organic businesses across 50 states. Its members include growers, shippers, processors, certifiers, farmers' associations, distributors, importers, exporters, consultants, retailers and others. OTA's mission is to promote and protect ORGANIC with a unifying voice that serves and engages its diverse members from farm to marketplace.

The Textile Exchange was founded in 2002 as a global non-profit that works to minimize the negative impacts of the textile sector on water, soil and the human population. The organization, headquartered in the United States, also has established a presence in Europe, Latin America, India, China and Africa.