Milan/Hamburg, 28 October 2025. OVS, one of Italy’s leading textile and fashion companies, is now partnering with Cotton made in Africa (CmiA). In 2025 so far, the Italian fashion house has already brought to market almost 2.5 million items made of CmiA-verified cotton, including children’s clothing. In this way, OVS is ensuring verifiable transparency and traceability from the cotton bale to the final product.
“We chose Cotton made in Africa to further expand our commitment to source better the most important fiber for our collections. In addition, we can use the CmiA Inside label to ensure that only CmiA-verified cotton is used in our products. This creates transparency and trust, including for our customers,” explains Simone Colombo, Head of Corporate Sustainability OVS Group. OVS products containing CmiA cotton are labelled “Cotton made in Africa Inside”, meaning that the cotton is physically traceable throughout the entire value chain. To bear this label, products must be proven to contain only CmiA-verified cotton. In 2025 alone, OVS has already put out almost 2.5 million textile items under the CmiA Inside label, primarily denim products, such as jeans and denim jackets.
“We are pleased to welcome OVS as a new partner in our international demand alliance for Cotton made in Africa,” says Tina Stridde, the managing director of the Aid by Trade Foundation, expanding, “OVS’s implementation of Cotton made in Africa Inside makes a strong statement about transparency and traceability—one we are very happy to see.”
The Hard Identity Preserved (HIP) system, which is used for CmiA Inside products, ensures that only CmiA-verified cotton is used in yarn and textile production and that the product may be labelled with the „Cotton made in Africa Inside“-label.
In addition to its criteria for the protection of water, soil, and biodiversity, the sustainability standard Cotton made in Africa encompasses social criteria and indicators. For example, women are explicitly promoted, human rights are granted, child labor is excluded, and smallholder producer communities are supported.
Press Contact
Christina Ben Bella, email: Christina.Benbella@abt-foundation.org
Holger Diedrich, email: Holger.Diedrich@abt-foundation.org
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About the Aid by Trade Foundation
Founded in 2005 by the entrepreneur Prof. Dr Michael Otto, the Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF) is now an internationally renowned non-profit organisation that works throughout the world to promote sustainable raw materials. Its activities make a decisive and measurable contribution to improving the living conditions of people and animals while protecting the environment. As the challenges facing textile companies and small-scale farmers grow, the standards have a major role to play in ensuring their resilience and future viability. AbTF collaborates closely with industry experts and with specialists in animal protection and nature conservation. More information at: www.aidbytrade.org
About Cotton made in Africa
Cotton made in Africa© (CmiA) is an internationally recognised standard for sustainably produced cotton. The largest such standard in Africa, it enables transparent traceability from cotton bale to textile. It is 100 percent GMO-free and maintains a clear focus on protecting human rights as well as biodiversity, soil, and water. More than 30 percent of African cotton is verified under CmiA or CmiA Organic. Over 60 textile companies and fashion brands—from Bestseller to OTTO—use CmiA cotton, enabling around 800,000 small-scale farmers to practise ecologically and economically resilient agriculture, to improve their families’ living standards, and to protect our planet’s ecosystems. In addition, CmiA invests in rural communities through projects in the areas of education, environmental protection, health, and women’s empowerment. CmiA is one of four sustainability standards under the umbrella of the Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF), a Hamburg-based foundation established by Prof. Dr Michael Otto. Learn more at: cottonmadeinafrica.org