CmiA brings 50 mn textiles to the market in 2016

Since 2016 Jack & Jones from Denmark, Asos from Great Britain, Kid Interior from Norway and Aldi Süd have joined CmiA. About 50 million textiles were marked with the CmiA label in 2016. License revenues for the CmiA label increased by 47 per cent in comparison to the previous year, reaching €1,484,546.

"Every T-shirt and every pair of jeans with the CmiA seal contributes towards combating poverty and thereby counteracting the causes of migration,” said Dr Michael Otto, the founder of CmiA.

CmiA could achieve a consolidated revenue of plus 47 percent in 2016 due to the boost in sales of CmiA certified cotton in the textile production countries. The share of public financial aid in 2016 reached the lowest level of 1 per cent. The result substantiates the motto of the sponsoring organisation - Aid by Trade. Based on its goals, the foundation was able to increase the effectiveness of its contributed funds by a further percentage point in comparison to the previous year, reaching 72 per cent, said CmiA in a press release.

A total of 20 verification operations in 2016 ensured compliance with the CmiA standards and offered helpful guidelines for improvements, alongside the continual trainings. The aggregated data from verification operations in 2016 proves that the implementation of CmiA standards was significantly improved in subsequent verifications. The reviews were carried out by the three independent audit companies, EcoCert, AfriCert and Control Union.

As part of the AbTF family of standards, around 780,000 smallholder farmers, of which 18 per cent are female smallholder farmers, took part in 2016 and produced 320,000 tons of fibre cotton. This means that CmiA certifies 30 per cent of cotton production in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2016, CmiA covered a cultivation area of over 1.1 million hectares and has become the biggest standard for sustainable cotton from Africa.

Above its standard implementation, CmiA supports projects by village communities and provides financing. Among the projects are solar power projects for farmer training centres, water or women's projects. The total volume invested in cooperation projects that have been active since 2016 came to €950,000. The projects are implemented in close alliance with local cotton companies, partners such as CARE, Welthungerhilfe, Otto, C&A, Otto Austria, and the Deutschen Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (German Investment and Development Corporation) with funds by the federal ministry of economic cooperation and development (BMZ). (KD)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India