CmiA Verified Cotton Output Jumps By 80,000 Tons In 2022
Around 240,000 tons of Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) cotton was processed in 2022, or 80,000 tons more over the previous year.
According to Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF), 890 million textile products were also brought to market under the CmiA label, by various CmiA licensing brand partners in 2022.
This helped generate licensing revenues of €4.5 million for AbTF while rising global demand for CmiA and CmiA organic verified cotton resulted in partnership fees rising to €1.14 million, up 27 percent over 2021.
AbTF said that CmiA expanded its market network, with new partners like international cotton trading companies, spinning mills and textile processing companies.
“The continued rise in demand for sustainable cotton confirms my belief that the process of transformation requires trade and that protectionism and barriers to trade are counterproductive,” Prof Michael Otto, Head at AbTF said.
“CmiA licensing revenue is not only used to benefit small-scale farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa but also plays a major role in restructuring the textile value chain to become more sustainable,” Prof Otto added.
During 2022, CMiA extended its Hard Identity Preserved (HIP) tracking system, which makes it possible to trace the entire journey of cotton from ginnery to final product.
“Policy changes such as the law demanding due diligence in supply chains in Germany, or the planned Digital Product Passport in the EU, are also major drivers towards equitable and responsible value chains,” Prof Otto informed.
Around 900,000 farmers are part of the CmiA scheme, and 40 percent of cotton grown in Africa is CmiA verified.
