After confronting the reality of conventional cotton farming, the next step was clear: change had to begin at the source.

1999 - The Oro Blanco Initiative

In 1999 Solidaridad began working together with a group of cotton farmers in Peru to explore a new way of growing cotton. What looked like a simple fibre was part of a system built on harmful, synthetic and wasteful production. Seeing this up close left a deep impression.

This collaboration became known as Oro Blanco, Spanish for “White Gold.”

Cotton was an essential source of income for many communities in the region. But conventional farming methods relied heavily on pesticides and unstable market prices that often left farmers with very little security.

The Oro Blanco initiative set out to prove that cotton could be grown differently.

Farmers began transitioning towards growing organic cotton, eliminating harmful pesticides and working in a way that protected both the soil and their own health.

It was a shift away from extractive agriculture, towards a more balanced way of working with nature.

A radical idea at the time

Today, conversations around organic cotton and fair trade are becoming more common. But in the late 1990s, this approach was far from standard.

Organic cotton was rare and the industry showed little urgency to change. Still, the farmers involved in Oro Blanco moved forward. They proved that cotton could be grown differently.