Rösch offers first 100 percent CmiA collection

German textile and apparel company Rösch believes in maximum transparency in the textile value chain and is the first company to offer a sleepwear collection made of 100 percent CmiA cotton that can be traced back to the African cotton growing region.

Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) is an initiative by the Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF) that certifies adherence to the requirements through its Hard Identity Preserved (HIP) Standard.

HIP

standard certifies CmiA requirements

“By introducing the new Hard Identity Preserved Standard, the Aid by Trade Foundation will make a significant contribution to providing greater transparency throughout the textile value chain. This is a great achievement for us to be the first company to offer its customers products that can be traced back to the growing area of CmiA cotton in Africa," explains Andreas Söffker, managing director of Gerhard Rösch.

According to AbTF, separate storage of cotton throughout all production stages of the value chain is one of the HIP-standard’s requirements. Additional ones for the entire value chain can be found in AbTF’s guidelines “Chain of Custody” (CoC), which is available online. Customers can easily identify CmiA HIP products according to a specific label (see below).

"We are pleased that Rösch has succeeded in fulfilling the requirements of the Hard Identity Preserved system and launching the first CmiA products certified according to the HIP standard. These requirements follow our demand for transparency and simultaneously pragmatic feasibility and can thus be used by a wide range of customers," said Christian Barthel, supply chain manager of the Aid by Trade Foundation.  

Rösch is a CmiA partner since 2013. Currently, around 435,000 African smallholder farmers are part of the initiative, which aims at improving the living conditions of cotton farmers and their families (3.2 million people in total) in Sub-Saharan Africa through trade and assistance in helping people help themselves. Among other international partners are C&A, H.I.S., Otto Group and Puma.

Photos: Rösch/AfT