Fashion Brands and Textile Retailers Back Cotton made in Africa
Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) cotton is more in demand than ever before. Around 50 million textiles displayed the Cotton made in Africa seal in 2016 alone. The biggest buyers include the Otto Group with its frontrunner bonprix, Tchibo and the REWE Group.
Some 30 companies and brands use CmiA cotton for their textiles. The top customers 2016 include the Otto Group, with bonprix as the biggest buyer within the company group, Tchibo and the Rewe Group with its sales channels REWE, Penny and Toom Baumarkt. Additionally, Engelbert Strauss, Ernsting’s family, Asos, Aldi Süd and BESTSELLER rank among the biggest buyers that support through their demand for CmiA cotton. Smaller fashion labels such as Hiitu from Germany, Cooekid from Great Britain, Weaverbirds from Denmark or Abaana from Uganda also made an important contribution by purchasing Cotton made in Africa cotton. They offer an exclusive selection of products made from Cotton made in Africa cotton, ranging from children’s clothing to high fashion textiles.
Cotton made in Africa cotton is used by internationally operating textile companies and small fashion labels alike. The partners thereby show that sustainable cotton from Africa is a strong part of their procurement and can be used in a versatile way. Christian Barthel, Director Supply Chain Management, underlines: “In view of the many heterogeneous buyers of Cotton made in Africa cotton, it is clear that sustainable cotton from Africa can be used for a number of different product groups.” This means that consumers can fall back on a wide range of CmiA textiles and do something good without paying more. With every sale or purchase of a CmiA textile, companies and consumers make a contribution towards environmental protection and better working and living conditions for Africa smallholder farmers and their families. “Sustainable cotton can be used for a very wide basis in the textile industry. Our partners successfully show that Cotton made in Africa cotton can lay a sustainable foundation for many branches,” continues Barthel.
Cotton made in Africa cotton is grown by more than 780,000 smallholder farmers in 10 countries of sub-Saharan Africa and in accordance with the ecological and socio-economic criteria of the CmiA standard. More than 320,000 tons of CmiA certified cotton were harvested in 2016 and processed further by textile producers in Asia, Europe and Africa. More than 100 partners in the textile value chain work with Cotton made in Africa across the globe, to implement the principle of helping people to help themselves through trade.