Cotton made in Africa, an initiative of the Aid by Trade Foundation, is one of the world’s leading standards for sustainably produced cotton. Our goal is to help people help themselves, via trade rather than donations, in order to improve the living and working conditions of smallholder farmers in Africa and to protect our environment. We work with a wide-ranging network in cotton-growing countries, including numerous partners throughout the textile value chain as well as both governmental and non-governmental organisations, to ensure the implementation of the standard and the proper processing of certified raw materials throughout the world.

The Aid by Trade Foundation is an umbrella organization for three cotton standards: Cotton made in Africa (CmiA), Cotton made in Africa-Organic (CmiA-Organic) and the Sub-Saharan Cotton Standard (SCS). These standards were developed to improve the living conditions of African smallholder farmers and working conditions in ginning factories and to promote an environmentally friendly cotton production. Central to the standards are predetermined social, economic and ecological criteria. CmiA partners need to prove that standards are met in cotton cultivation and ginning factories.