Human Rights Day: Cotton made in Africa Reinforces Its Commitment to Ensuring Respect for Human Rights in Cotton Production
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Hamburg, 10 December 2025. The sustainable cotton standard Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) has always focussed on respect for human rights, including by prohibiting child labour and discrimination. With the new version of the CmiA standard coming into force, AbTF raises requirements for due diligence in the areas of human rights and risk management. Going forward, CmiA-verified cotton companies will be expected to comply with extensive obligations to monitor, report, and undertake corrective action with regard to both human rights and environmental protection. For fashion brands and textile companies that use CmiA cotton, this offers greater assurance in terms of due diligence and sustainability reporting.
For all partners in the production regions, human-rights compliance is evaluated as part of the independent verifications conducted for Cotton made in Africa at both the field and ginnery levels. With the new version of the CmiA Standard coming into force in 2026, the obligation to respect human rights is becoming an integral part of the standard’s requirements.
CmiA’s partner companies must ensure that training and other farm and ginnery level activities are inclusive and accessible to all. In future, training programmes will be designed and implemented in a way that promotes the participation of women, young people, and vulnerable groups and takes their needs into consideration.
Cotton companies will also be required to introduce a monitoring and reporting system to assess risks related to human rights, to production-related environmental damage, and to non-compliance with CmiA’s core indicators. As part of these efforts, cotton companies will engage with all relevant interest groups, such as farmers, workers, NGOs, and village communities.
Truly sustainable cotton production can only be achieved through consistent commitment to human rights and to the right to a healthy environment. In this way Cotton made in Africa is now reinforcing its more than two decades of commitment to promoting sustainable cotton production. “Especially today, on Human Rights Day, we are thrilled to note that Cotton made in Africa, through its intensive focus on human rights and environmental protection, will contribute even more to improving living conditions in the production regions in future,” says Alexandra Perschau, the head of standards and outreach at the Aid by Trade Foundation, adding, “We are pleased to be launching this upgrade after intensive and productive consultations, especially with our partners in the growing areas, and are convinced that the revised Cotton made in Africa Standard will provide valuable support for fashion brands and textile companies in meeting their reporting obligations.”
Press Contact
Christina Ben Bella, e-mail: christina.benbella@abt-foundation.org Holger Diedrich, e-mail: holger.diedrich@abt-foundation.org
Aid by Trade Foundation | Gurlittstraße 14 | 20099 Hamburg | Germany
About Cotton made in Africa
The Cotton made in Africa initiative® (CmiA) was founded in 2005 under the umbrella of the Hamburg-based Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF). CmiA is an internationally recognised standard for sustainably produced cotton from Africa, connecting African small-scale farmers with trading companies and fashion brands throughout the global textile value chain. The initiative’s objective is to employ trade, rather than donations, to protect the environment and to improve the living conditions of small-scale farmers and their families. Apart from the farming families, people working in ginneries also benefit from improved working conditions. Additional projects addressing schooling, health, environmental protection, and women’s empowerment contribute to better living conditions in farming communities as well. Learn more at: cottonmadeinafrica.org/en
About the Aid by Trade Foundation
Founded by the entrepreneur Prof. Dr Michael Otto in 2005, the Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF) is an internationally renowned non-profit organisation that works throughout the world to promote sustainable raw materials. Its work makes a decisive and measurable contribution to improving the living conditions of people and animals while protecting the environment. With its verified raw materials Cotton made in Africa® (CmiA), Cotton made in Africa Organic (CmiA Organic), Regenerative Cotton Standard® (RCS) and The Good Cashmere Standard® (GCS), the foundation is putting its goals into practice. In view of the increasing challenges posed to small farmers and textile companies by the consequences of climate change and market shifts, the standards are of fundamental importance for their resilience and sustainability. The foundation works in close cooperation with industry experts and with specialists in animal and nature protection. More information at: www.aidbytrade.org
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