It ain't fashion, if it ain't sustainable

Aid by Trade Foundation

Climate Action / Carbon Credits

13 March 2025

2 minutes

By using sustainable agricultural strategies such as the use of biochar, minimal tillage and the cultivation of cover crops, up to 5.75 tonnes of CO₂ per hectare per year can be sequestered in the soil.

ICAC, AbTF Launch Carbon Credits Scheme for African Smallholder Farmers

Aimed to empower smallholder farmers, the Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF) and International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) have launched a project to promote carbon credits in African cotton production.

Staff Writer

Biodiversity Loss / Zambia Farmers

1 October 2024

2 minutes

Deforestation, poaching, and the expansion of settlements have severely affected many wild animals, even leading to the extinction of some species, and fuelled many conflicts between humans and wildlife.

Zambian Cotton Farmers Hit by Biodiversity Loss, Climate Change; Take Recourse to Sustainable Practices

Cotton cultivation has been majorly impacted with the noticeable loss of biodiversity and effects of climate change in south of the Sahara, says a Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) survey.

Staff Writer

PRESS RELEASE / Announcement

3 September 2024

4 minutes

In the 2022/2023 season, around 900,000 CmiA cotton farmers worked 1.7 million hectares of land in accordance with CmiA or CmiA Organic.

AbTF Publishes Independent Verification Results for Cotton made in Africa’s Standards

Hamburg, Germany: The Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF) is releasing the latest edition of its annual, aggregated report on the verification and implementation of Cotton made in Africa (CmiA). This report demonstrates AbTF’s continued commitment to transparency in 2024 and offers the public insight into how its partners in Africa are implementing the...

Football for Cotton / Cotton 4+

19 June 2024

2 minutes

Benin hosts steering committee meeting of WTO-FIFA Partenariat pour le Coton initiative, 4-6 June 2024.

CmiA Joins WTO-FIFA Initiative in Supporting Cotton 4+ West African Countries Through Football

In a bid to integrate West African cotton-growing countries more closely in the global value chain for football clothing, Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) will now be a part of the joint initiative of the WTO and FIFA that aims to open up new markets to African cotton farmers and producers, for example in the area of sportswear.

Staff Writer

Event Preview / RegenTextiles 2023

14 November 2023

5 minutes

Apart from the soil health approach, on which the industrialised regenerative farming stakeholder community entirely agrees upon, RCS considers the importance of rooting the transformation in traditional farming knowledge. Traditional ways of farming must be respected, valued, supported, and combined with what science knows today in order to reach not just some kind of proof of impact, but true ownership in the farming communities.

Smallholder Farmer Groups Need Best Possible Support to Adapt to Climate Change

As the Regenerative Agriculture & Textiles Summit 2023 gets going today at Washington DC to discuss ways and means to accelerate regenerative agriculture practices through collaborative efforts, Inka Sachse, Project Manager, Standards & Outreach at Aid by Trade Foundation, talks about how these two days will try to understand stakeholder challenges, drive solutions and build partnerships across industries.

Special Correspondent

Interview

Cotton Standards / RCS

7 November 2023

2 minutes

The Regenerative Cotton Standard (RCS) offers all participating stakeholders in the supply chain the advantage of being able to meet increasingly strict requirements for sustainability reporting.

Aid by Trade Foundation Launches Regenerative Standard to Future-Proof Production of Cotton

A new standard for sustainable cotton — Regenerative Cotton Standard (RCS) — has been launched by the Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF).

Staff Writer

Sustainable Cotton / CmiA

22 October 2022

2 minutes

To enable consumers to better navigate the market, Green Button’s meta-label approach recognises only independent, exacting, and relevant certification programmes in the textile sector. This recognition means that over 90 companies would be able to meet meta-label requirements by using cotton from CmiA; without a recognised certification seal, products cannot bear the Green Button label.

Double Take: CmiA Now Recognised by Green Button, Certified by Cradle to Cradle

Cotton made in Africa (CmiA), the standard for sustainably produced cotton from Africa, has got the nod from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), which administers Green Button, and also the Cradle to Cradle Certified for products that are safe, circular, and responsibly made.

Staff Writer

Sustainable Cotton / Africa

26 May 2022

3 minutes

Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) is an internationally recognised seal for sustainably produced cotton from Africa. The CmiA initiative was established by the Hamburg-based Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF) in 2005. AbTF is working to realise its goals through CmiA, which is one of the world’s leading standards for sustainable cotton.

CmiA Doubles Cotton Output, European Chains Make Beeline for Africa

Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) has once again achieved record levels of supply and demand. New and existing clients are seeking to purchase greater amounts of cotton verified through CmiA and CmiA Organic. A total of 600 million CmiA textiles were brought to market, more than doubling Cotton made in Africa’s volume from the previous year.