The Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF) says it has significantly expanded the ecosystem able to verify Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) from finished goods back to source, more than doubling the number of participating partners compared with last year and reaching a new high for Cotton made in Africa traceability.
AbTF now counts around 700 suppliers and producers across 25 countries operating under its requirements, enabling consistent origin verification for CmiA cotton. The foundation says this growth is enabled by its Hard Identity Preserved (HIP) chain-of-custody model, which is designed to keep CmiA cotton physically traceable through processing steps—rather than relying on limited regional pilots. HIP applies across all cotton-producing countries where AbTF is active.
To date, the organisation reports that about 33,000 tonnes of physically traceable CmiA cotton have been processed into roughly 190 million textile products worldwide. Around 700 spinning mills, along with fabric and textile producers in 25 countries, are currently working in line with the HIP requirements, and AbTF expects participation to keep increasing.
“As a standards organisation, our mission is to ensure transparency throughout global supply chains,” says Tina Stridde, the managing director of the Aid by Trade Foundation, explaining, “The physical traceability of Cotton made in Africa cotton, one of the world’s leadings standards for verified cotton that respects human rights and biodiversity, is very important for textile companies and fashion brands. It ensures that social and environmental criteria are adhered to during cotton production and that their customers can make informed purchasing decisions. It also prevents greenwashing because audits create full transparency that the verified cotton is used.”
Brands and retailers including Bestseller, the Otto Group, OVS, Primark and the Rewe Group are already using the system. AbTF highlighted Rewe as a long-term partner that has achieved a full trace-back for CmiA cotton in its private-label products.
“We have reached our goal and were able to fully trace the Cotton made in Africa cotton used in our private label products back to its origin by the end of 2025,” says Torsten Stau, executive buying director, non-food / indirect spend, Rewe Group.
“The transparency system of the Aid by Trade Foundation enables us to clearly prove the origin and ensure that the cotton comes from African small-scale farmers who produce under recognised social and environmental standards. In this way, we are further increasing transparency along the entire supply chain, strengthen customer trust, and at the same time make a direct contribution to supporting the people in cultivation.”
AbTF also confirmed that verification requirements will soon tighten for companies that want to make CmiA content claims. From March 2026, compliance with its Transparency Standard becomes mandatory for partners seeking to prove that their products contain CmiA cotton. Introduced in spring last year, the standard adds additional controls—such as digital transaction documents (DTDs) and risk-based desktop audits carried out by independent, ISO-accredited audit firms—aimed at strengthening Cotton made in Africa traceability and reducing the risk of unsubstantiated claims.