The Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF), known for cotton standards like Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) and Cotton made in Africa Organic, announced today the introduction of its new transparency standard in the first quarter of 2025. Only in November last year, the foundation joined the transparency initiative Make the Label Count to ensure that clothing labelling is transparent.

The new AbTF Transparency Standard will ensure the transparency, safety and reliability of sustainable cotton verified under Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) or the Regenerative Cotton Standard (RCS) around the world and throughout the textile supply chain, from the cotton field to the finished product.

An essential part of the new standard is the implementation of risk-based desktop audits by independent auditors, which will review both tracking-system data for all production stages and associated documents, such as production reports and delivery notes.

Traceability of CmiA and RCS cotton along the supply chain

Digital transaction documents (DTDs), validated regularly by independent auditors, are key. Used to trace CmiA and RCS cotton back through the supply chain, they make it much easier to prove that CmiA- or RCS-verified cotton was used. “Since a single missed step, such as one missing data input in the supply chain, means that the DTD can no longer be created and that this proof of the cotton’s origin is not present, DTDs represent an additional level of assurance in the system,“ states the Aid by Trade Foundation in a press release.

“The AbTF Transparency Standard sets a new benchmark for reliability and traceability in the textile industry,” comments Gerlind Bäz, senior project manager at the Aid by Foundation who is responsible for integrating CmiA-and RCS-verified cotton into global supply chains.

“While brands and retailers can already rely on our current tracking system, which was established in 2018 and monitors whether yarns, fabrics and textiles were produced using exclusively cotton verified under Cotton made in Africa or the Regenerative Cotton Standard, we are now going one step further. In future, independent auditors will regularly check whether the transparency requirements of the new standard are reliably adhered to in the supply chain,” adds Bäz.

Processed CmiA cotton. Credits: Aid by Trade Foundation

“Our global trading operations will benefit from the increased safety and reliability the new standard offers in the use and promotion of cotton verified under Cotton made in Africa; it represents a major building block for due diligence in our supply chains,” states Tobias Wollermann, vice president corporate responsibility of the Otto Group.

The AbTF Transparency Standard also includes regular self-assessment questionnaires for all stages of the supply chain, as well as on-site onboarding audits for spinning mills, conducted by independent audit companies.

“The Aid by Trade Foundation’s new transparency standard provides solutions to this challenge, which textile companies and brands have no choice but to face due to increased political and social pressure at the international level,” sums up Tina Stridde, managing director of the Aid by Trade Foundation.