Cotton made in Africa® is one of the world’s leading sustainability standards for cotton, dedicated to improving the livelihoods of African smallholder farmers while safeguarding the environment. Through the integration of TextileGenesis’s Fibercoins™ technology, the collaboration ensures full traceability of CmiA cotton from the cotton bale to finished products, enabling brands to confidently verify their supply chains and uphold accurate sustainability claims.

This continuation of their collaboration builds on the success of the previous collaboration between TextileGenesis and AbTF on The Good Cashmere Standard®, focused on enhancing traceability, which launched earlier in 2024. The extension of this partnership to CmiA further strengthens both organizations’ efforts towards scalable and impactful sustainable practices in the textile industry.

“At Cotton made in Africa®, we highly value transparency and strive to create meaningful change for both nature and farming communities. By making CmiA cotton traceable through TextileGenesis, we empower brands already utilizing TextileGenesis to not only source ethically but also benefit from established tracking tools in their business practices. This collaboration promotes long-term sustainability for farmers, nature, and transparency while offering practical options for implementing traceability requirements within the industry,” said Christian Barthel, Head of Business Development at the Aid by Trade Foundation. “We are excited to expand our collaboration with the Aid by Trade Foundation and bring our cutting-edge technology to Cotton made in Africa®. This partnership empowers brands to ensure the integrity and sustainability of their supply chains, while also supporting the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Africa,” adds Amit Gautam, founder and CEO of TextileGenesis.

The cooperation between TextileGenesis and Cotton made in Africa® empowers brands to confidently verify the origins of CmiA verified cotton, ensuring accurate sustainability claims while improving annual reporting. In addition, brands using TextileGenesis will have access to the industry’s largest supplier network, enabling them to track their entire production ecosystem, gaining comprehensive visibility across their entire supply chain—from fiber producers to third-party auditors. Through this new partnership, retailers and brands can benefit from two established tracking systems that provide transparency for CmiA-verified cotton from field to fashion, offering great flexibility in tracking their cotton. Those already collaborating with TextileGenesis benefit from using a single platform to manage traceability across multiple material sustainability standards, including Cotton made in Africa®. This streamlined approach improves efficiency and creates synergies across the supply chain. Others can continue to rely on CmiA’s own established SCOT system to monitor CmiA-verified cotton throughout their entire textile supply chain.

It is notable that 90% of material sustainability standards, including CmiA, have adopted TextileGenesis as their traceability backbone. This adoption highlights TextileGenesis as a single, easy-to-access platform for traceability across a variety of certified materials, making it the industry standard for ensuring authenticity and compliance across diverse certification systems.