At a Glance
Location: San Martín, Peru
Impact Areas: Income Generation, Sustainable Agriculture
People Supported:
Smallholder Farmers, Indigenous Communities
NESsT Program: Lirio Fund
Joined NESsT Portfolio:
2026
Overview
Cotton Nation is a triple-impact company, generating economic, social, and environmental value through sustainable cotton production in the Peruvian Amazon. The company promotes organic and regenerative cotton farming, working closely with more than 3,000 Indigenous and rural producers across the San Martín region, where smallholder agriculture is highly exposed to climate risk and has limited access to formal markets.
Cotton Nation’s impact is rooted in ensuring stable income for smallholder farmers while supporting them to become more resilient players in the value chain. For many of the farming families Cotton Nation supports, cotton represents their primary and most reliable source of income.
Through guaranteed purchase agreements, Cotton Nation assures its producers a market for their produce and stable prices that are above informal market alternatives. The company also offers full financing of the cotton production cycle, including seeds, organic inputs, in addition to technical assistance for organic cotton farming. By covering logistics and coordinating cotton collection directly from the field, Cotton Nation reduces operational burdens for farmers and enables them to focus on sustainable production, increasing their yields and income.
Environmental sustainability is embedded throughout Cotton Nation’s operations. The company is a leader in organic and regenerative practices, including rain-fed (zero-irrigation) agriculture, biodiversity protection, and climate-resilient land management. It holds a broad portfolio of internationally recognized certifications—GOTS, ROC, OCS, Regenagri, Organic, Fair for Life and B Corp—which reinforce its commitment to environmental stewardship and responsible production.
Cotton Nation’s fully traceable cotton is used by major international brands such as Patagonia, Lululemon,, Hugo Boss and Lacoste, demonstrating both the commercial viability of regenerative cotton and the growing global demand for ethically sourced raw materials.
Results & Impact
+3,000
smallholder farmers supported to practice organic and regenerative farming
10–15%
Indigenous producers, including Kechwa, Awajún, and Shawi communities
100%
guaranteed purchase of cotton output from small-holder farmers, reducing income volatility
“NESsT’s financial support represents a key step for Cotton Nation, allowing us to strengthen our cotton value chain and expand the reach of our organic and regenerative agriculture model with small producers in the Peruvian Amazon. This funding not only drives our production and commercial growth but also reinforces our commitment to sustainability, ecosystem restoration, and long-term social and environmental impact.”
NESsT Investment
Operating within a rapidly growing organic and regenerative cotton sector, Cotton Nation is scaling its operations to meet increasing demand for traceable and climate-resilient cotton. NESsT’s investment will support Cotton Nation to expand its cotton cultivation to more than 350 new hectares, onboarding additional small-holder producers into the company’s supply chain under guaranteed pricing.
The investment will also strengthen Cotton Nation’s operational capacity across sourcing, aggregation, and traceability, reinforcing its role as the commercial and certification hub of the Cotton Nation Group. By supporting the company’s continued growth, NESsT is helping to strengthen income stability for smallholder farming families while scaling a model that integrates organic and regenerative agriculture, biodiversity protection, and strong market access in the Peruvian Amazon.