Cotton made in Africa,Promoting Sustainable Development of Cotton Textile Supply Chain

Cotton made in Africa is an initiative of the Aid for Trade Foundation and one of the world's leading standards for sustainable cotton production. Its goal is to help people helpthemselves through trade rather than donations, in order to improve the living and working conditions of African small farmers and protect our environment.

CmiA traceability system

CmiA has developed two reliable systems for the integration and traceability of CmiA cotton in the supply chain, namely the Quality Balance System (MB) and the Hard Label Retention (HIP) system, both of which ensure complete traceability from field cultivation to ginning plants and then to spinning plants. The systems are then forked behind the spinning plant, providing different levels of transparency.

MB System - The Mass Balance System

At the spinning factory level, CmiA cotton can be mixed with cotton from other sources - quantity checks are conducted to ensure a balance between purchased CmiA cotton and yarn sold as CmiA.

The CmiA tracking system SCOT ensures that the quantity of purchased CmiA cotton is balanced with the yarn on the CmiA label.

To be qualified to produce MB products, the final product must be composed of at least5% cotton, but not necessarily CmiA cotton.

Since CmiA MB is not a component standard, CmiA MB yarn can be produced through the following methods:

Cotton validated with 100% CmiA

• Mix CmiA validated cotton with any other traditional cotton

• Use 100% other traditional cotton, i.e. cotton that has not been validated by CmiA at all

It should be noted that cotton verified by CmiA can only be purchased by designated cotton traders.

The key is to ensure that sufficient CmiA validated cotton has been purchased, and the number of CmiA label yarns sold does not exceed the quantity of CmiA validated cottonpurchased.

The spinning factory submits a monthly procurement and sales report. This can ensure that the quality balance is maintained.

CmiA labeled products must contain at least 5% cotton.

The finished product can carry the logo "Supporting the Cotton Made in Africa Initiative".

HIP System - The Hard Identity Preserved System

Retailers who want to achieve the highest transparency through CmiA can choose a Content Statement based Hard Label Protection (HIP) system, which ensures complete transparency of the entire textile value chain through an online tracking system. At any production stage, it cannot be mixed with other cotton, so it can be 100% traced back to theorigin of CmiA cotton.

In order to qualify for HIP production, the final product must be composed of at least 5% cotton, including any other percentage of non cotton fibers. He also needs to complywith the following specific requirements:

Cotton verified by CmiA can only be purchased by designated cotton traders.

Throughout the entire textile production process from cotton to yarn to fabric, cotton that has been validated by CmiA must be used and must always be stored and processed separately.

To ensure compliance with all requirements, all participants in the entire textile value chain must submit relevant information to the HIP tracking system. This way, the source ofraw materials can be accurately explained in communication, up to their place of growth.

Only the final product of a successfully implemented and properly documented HIP system can bear the "Cotton made in Africa Inside" logo.

Registration requirements

1. Confirm understanding and agreement to the CmiA Code of Conduct and CoC Guidelines.

2. Provide information about the applying company

3. Pay annual fees (different or free depending on the type of manufacturer)

4. Designate a CmiA responsible person within your company (to ensure compliance with CoC and SCOT traceability system requirements)

5. Responsible person completes SCOT training (only company leaders registered with CmiA can register in the SCOT tracking system)

The CmiA project is built on the three pillars of sustainability, which constitute the core of African standard cotton:

People: CmiA supports small farmers and is committed to promoting gender equality, dignified working conditions, and respecting children's rights.

Earth: CmiA is committed to protecting soil, water, biodiversity, climate, and the environment, including banning the use of genetically modified organisms and reducing the negative impacts of crop protection.

Prosperity: CmiA helps to obtain high-quality equipment and actively helps improve productivity, fiber quality, and overall living conditions.