Every fibre has a face

Cotton made in Africa works at the field and ginnery levels with smallholders and cotton companies to improve livelihoods and promote more sustainable cotton production. This close connection to the field enables brands to communicate credible farmers’ stories backed by measurable impact data. In addition to the traceable cotton, our Mass Balance model makes it easy to integrate CmiA into existing supply chains, enabling scalable sourcing programmes.

Our primary focus is on brands and retailers who want to achieve their sustainability targets or transform their sourcing strategy to incorporate more responsible materials.

Manufacturers, spinning mills, ginneries, and traders can all partner with CmiA and offer the verified materials to their customers. We have onboarding paths for sourcing teams as well as legal, sustainability, and marketing departments. If you source cotton or communicate its impact, there’s a path for you.

For brands and retailers, our licensing model is designed to keep things simple. A single, volume-based fee covers access to verified CmiA cotton, traceability, communication rights, and authentic impact storytelling. No additional membership, certification, or partnership fees are required.

For supply chain partners, costs depend on your role. No matter if you are a textile producer, fabric producer, spinning mill, or cotton trader, we offer different ways for supply chain organisations to become a CmiA partner. The annual membership fee differs, depending on your role in the supply chain and which chain of custody model is implemented.

CmiA cotton is grown by approximately 715,000 small-scale farmers in several African countries, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. All farming is rainfed and GMO-free.

More than 90 percent of African cotton is already exported, primarily to Asia, where it is spun, woven, and manufactured into textile products. This means you can source Cotton made in Africa cotton through an established network of mills and manufacturers across all major production countries — without fundamentally changing your existing supply chain. Simply ask your sourcing partners to procure CmiA-verified cotton from one of our registered suppliers.

Yes. Cotton made in Africa combines the impact of smallholder farming with the scale required by global brands and retailers. In 2025, over 500,000 metric tonnes of CmiA-verified cotton were available — enough to support even the largest sourcing programmes. Through our established network of cotton companies and supply chain partners, CmiA cotton is available at scale throughout the global textile industry.

CmiA farmers receive practical training covering a wide range of topics, including good agricultural practices, integrated pest management, soil fertility, cotton quality, child protection, gender equality, the production and implementation of biological pesticides, the safe handling of crop protection products, and regenerative and climate-positive agriculture.

Training is delivered by qualified extension staff employed by the Managing Entities and is adapted to local conditions and farmers’ needs. This practical knowledge helps farmers improve productivity while promoting more sustainable farming practices.

The CmiA Standard contains strict requirements regarding child protection and detailed requirements to minimise the adverse effects of crop protection practices. Managing Entities must train farmers on these topics, monitor compliance, and implement preventive measures. Highly hazardous pesticides are prohibited, organic pesticides supplement or replace conventional inputs, genetically modified cotton seed is not permitted, and child labour as defined by the ILO is strictly forbidden. Compliance is independently checked through regular verifications.

As a non-profit, the Aid by Trade Foundation reinvests licensing income into the implementation and continuous development of its standards. This includes independent verification, farmer training, support for cotton companies (Managing Entities), projects under the CmiA Community Cooperation Programme (CCCP), its monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL), supply chain management, traceability systems, and the development of new projects and standards. By sourcing CmiA cotton, partners directly contribute to creating a measurable impact for farming communities.

Yes. Cotton made in Africa can complement other sustainability standards and sourcing programmes. Depending on the product requirements and sourcing model, CmiA can be combined with various standards, enabling brands to meet multiple sustainability objectives within a single sourcing strategy. Our team is happy to advise on the best solution for your programme.