Through the implementation of its standards, Cotton Made in Africa (CmiA) and The Good Cashmere Standard (GCS), the Aid by Trade Foundation was able to further develop its global networks in 2023. CmiA collaborated with 2,700 partners in the global textile supply chain and operated in 54 textile production markets. It is evident that there is still a strong level of business interest in AbTF’s work given the recent addition of well-known global corporations to its customer list, IKEA and AVON, as well as the growing demand for transparency and CmiA Organic. In addition to working with 54 retailers and brands—including well-known ones like J. Crew, the H&M Group, and The White Company—the Good Cashmere Standard, which supports the sustainable manufacturing of cashmere fibers, was present in 16 textile production markets using GCS-verified cashmere. AbTF generated a total revenue of about EUR 8.1 million in the previous fiscal year due to the robust demand for both standards.
“Living and labor conditions in production areas were improved, and soil quality and biodiversity were conserved, through numerous sustainability- and innovation-focused projects that aimed to enable people to help themselves,” said Prof. Dr. Michael Otto, the founder of AbTF, in expressing his satisfaction with the annual results.
Tina Stridde, managing director of Aid by Trade Foundation, adds, “We are happy to be making an essential contribution to transforming how the raw materials and textiles are produced,” in response to a question about the efficacy of the standards. The 2023 results demonstrate that, despite the weak economy, there remains a significant market for our certified, sustainable raw resources.
In addition to consistently delivering the high level of transparency that legislators and consumers are increasingly demanding, the AbTF standards were able to satisfy producers’ need for creative solutions in 2023 by fusing traditional knowledge with cutting-edge agricultural technology and efficient tracing systems like the Hard Identity Preserved (HIP) tracking system. AbTF led the way in 2023 in a number of ways, including regional workshops, digital learning platforms, and innovations like the remote sensing project and the recently formed Innovations Club. These initiatives provided partner organizations with clear guidelines, data-driven approaches, and measures to build upon as they strived to produce raw materials for the textile industry responsibly. In 2023, AbTF also created the Regenerative Cotton Standard (RCS) in an effort to strengthen small-scale farmers’ resistance to the consequences of climate change. RCS takes a comprehensive approach to farming and sets itself apart by being the first to encourage natural regeneration processes in small-scale cotton production.
The Aid by Trade Foundation has been advancing the idea of using market forces to empower individuals to assist themselves for almost 20 years. Consequently, business activities accounted for 84% of income earned in 2023. About 900,000 small-scale farming households that adhere to CmiA and CmiA Organic standards and cultivate about 500,000 tons of cotton on 1.7 million hectares of land were supported by the proceeds from this sale. Comparatively speaking, that is around one billion t-shirts’ worth of cotton. Because of this, CmiA is now the largest cotton standard operating in Africa and among the most successful in the world. Furthermore, 2,200 tons of GCS-verified cashmere were produced in Inner Mongolia by 9,100 farms with 4.3 million goats, indicating a further year-over-year rise of more than 15 percent.