AbTF and Broad Alliance Launch Campaign for UN International Year of the Woman Farmer

HAMBURG, 2026-11-03. To mark 2026 as the UN Year of the Woman Farmer, the Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF) is launching its new campaign, “From My Hands to Your Wardrobe”, today. It aims to recognise the central role women play in cotton and cashmere production for the global textile industry. The initiative is supported by prominent partners from business, politics, and civil society, including Bestseller and Tchibo, BMZ (the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development), WWF and the Global Nature Fund. Visually, the campaign is represented by a scarf made of cotton and cashmere that are verified, respectively, under Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) and The Good Cashmere Standard (GCS). This scarf tells the stories of the women standing at the beginning of the supply chain. 

“Women farmers and herders are often underrepresented in public perception, even though they make an important contribution at the start of the supply chain,” says Tina Stridde, the managing director of the Aid by Trade Foundation, continuing, “We see it as our task to raise awareness of this in international supply chains and among consumers. Our campaign, ‘From my hands to your wardrobe’, gives these impressive women a platform and makes their stories visible.” 

Structural Disadvantage as a Global Problem 

Structural discrimination against women remains a major cause of global injustice and untapped development potential. According to the World Food Organization (FAO), closing the gender gap in agriculture has enormous potential: it could boost the global economy by USD 1 trillion and provide food security for 45 million people. Although women do much of the agricultural work worldwide, they often lack equal access to resources, education, and financial autonomy.1 

AbTF Supports Women in Cotton and Cashmere Production  

AbTF addresses this imbalance through a multi-step approach, establishing equality criteria in all its independently verified sustainability standards for cotton and cashmere and developing gender-specific training content. 

In Africa, the foundation is active in ten countries south of the Sahara through its standards Cotton made in Africa and Cotton made in Africa Organic. It also implements projects for women’s empowerment, often built around the establishment of women’s groups, already numbering over 100, and commitment of African partner companies to actively engage in gender equality. The partners support the women’s groups in organising themselves, setting up their own projects, and opening up additional sources of income. Such sources range from the creation of small start-ups and literacy services to easier access to loans and to their own contracts with the cotton companies. An independent study from 2024 shows progress being made. In Mozambique, 80 percent of the men and women surveyed disagreed with the statement that housework is the sole responsibility of women. In addition, more than 80 percent of women farmers in Côte d’Ivoire said they receive an equal share of the proceeds from the sale of cotton.2

These developments are also reflected in Inner Mongolia’s cashmere production regions, where AbTF operates through The Good Cashmere Standard. In their family-run goat-herding businesses, women play a central role and, like their male colleagues, benefit from the training offered by the standard. The key role of women is also reflected in the fact that all four GCS model farms are managed equally by men and women. For herders throughout the region, these farms serve as centres for providing training and sharing best practices.  

Women working in cashmere production or in cotton ginning factories benefit from the clear guidelines The Good Cashmere Standard and Cotton made in Africa have on gender equality, which include requirements of equal pay for equal work.  

The Foundation Invites You to Participate 

The campaign, “From my hands to your wardrobe”, is being publicised via its landing page at From my Hands - Aid by Trade Foundation and across social media and on participating partners’ channels, calling for everyone to get involved under the hashtag #frommyhands.

Press Contact

Christina Ben Bella, e-mail: christina.benbella@abt-foundation.org Holger Diedrich, e-mail: holger.diedrich@abt-foundation.org

Aid by Trade Foundation | Werner-Otto-Straße 13 b | 22197 Hamburg | Germany

About the Aid by Trade Foundation

The Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF), founded in 2005 by the entrepreneur Prof. Dr. Michael Otto, is an internationally active non-profit organization. Through its raw material standards Cotton made in Africa^® (CmiA), Cotton made in Africa Organic (CmiA Organic), Regenerative Cotton Standard^® (RCS), and The Good Cashmere Standard^® (GCS), independent third parties verify compliance with environmental, social, and animal welfare criteria. Digital tracking systems of the AbTF additionally ensure the transparent traceability of the verified raw materials. This allows fashion brands and textile companies to source cotton and cashmere that has been produced according to the criteria of the respective standard, and to trace it from its origin to the finished product. Furthermore, the AbTF invests in training for producers as well as in community-oriented projects in the growing regions. In the face of climate change effects, biodiversity loss, and regulations, these standards are of fundamental importance for agricultural businesses and partner companies. The foundation cooperates closely with experts from business, animal welfare, and nature conservation. More information at: www.aidbytrade.org