Cotton made in Africa Launches Public Consultation for Standard Revision

The Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF) is opening public consultation on its Cotton made in Africa standard. Interested parties will have 60 days to provide feedback, helping shape the future of one of largest standard for sustainable cotton. The latest update to the standard, Version 5.0, focusses on increasing Cotton made in Africa’s effectiveness and adapting its criteria and indicators to external factors, which currently include biodiversity loss and a growing set of reporting requirements for companies.

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Cotton made in Africa

Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) is an internationally recognised standard for sustainable cotton from Africa. Since 2005, CmiA has been committed to protecting the environment while improving working and living conditions for smallholder farmers and ginnery workers.

Aid by Trade

Aid by Trade Foundation

Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF) is a Hamburg-based foundation established by Prof. Dr. Michael Otto. It administers the Cotton made in Africa standard with the goal of protecting valuable resources, improving living conditions, and ensuring the viability of future generations through sustainable action…

Sustainability Standards

The CmiA standards include sustainability criteria for cotton, with independent verifiers regularly monitoring for compliance.

Impacts

CmiA in figures for the year 2022

715,000
total CmiA cotton harvest (ginned, in t)
900,000 about
smallholder farmers
66
CmiA trading partners
total CmiA cotton harvest (ginned, in t)
smallholder farmers
CmiA trading partners
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CmiA Community Cooperation programme

With the CmiA Community Cooperation Programme, the initiative is working together with local cotton companies and textile companies to improve living conditions beyond sustainable cotton cultivation in the areas of health, education, women’s empowerment, environment and nature conservation.

Training

Training for smallholders is at the heart of Cotton made in Africa’s work and includes both agricultural and business management training.

African Cotton

Cotton is one of the most important raw materials for textiles. The African continent is one of the world’s largest producers.

Project Regions

Africa is a huge continent – larger than the USA, China, India, Japan, and Europe put together. CmiA is active in many countries on the continent, from Benin to Tanzania.

Projects

Health
2.1 billion people around the world lack access to safe drinking water, while 4.4 billion people do not have access to adequate sanitation facilities. As a consequence, children …
Education
Many African countries south of the Sahara have a high rate of illiteracy. Purely practical considerations are often responsible for the lack of education: in many cases, the closest school is simply too far away…
Environment
Our image of Africa is that of a continent with unique scenery and exotic wildlife. The rich and varied flora and fauna are some of the …
Advancement of Women
The improvement of living conditions in sub-Saharan Africa is directly linked to the advancement of women. Women do a…
Make the Label Count Interview
Make the Label Count Interview

The Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF) has joined the Make the Label Count initiative which was created in response to the development of new EU regulations for product statements on sustainability.

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Contact Us

You can reach us at
info@abt-foundation.org or +49 (0)40 2576 755 0.
We look forward to hearing from you.

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