Aid by Trade revealed in its 2023 annual report that 900,000 small-scale farming families cultivated 1.7 million hectares of cotton according to the criteria of the CmiA and CmiA Organic standards. In total, they produced 508,000 tonnes of CmiA and CmiA Organic lint cotton, which was then used to make textiles. CmiA was present in 54 textile production markets worldwide and worked with 2,700 partners in the textile supply chain,
Good Cashmere Standard (GCS), developed by Aid by Trade, worked with 54 retailers and brands and was present in 16 textile production markets. In 2023, 9,100 farms in Inner Mongolia with 4.3 million goats produced a total of 2,200 tons of GCS-verified cashmere, which represents a further increase year-on-year.
Sales under the CmiA and GCS labels generated licensing revenues of €4.765 million.
To increase the resilience of smallholder farmers to the impacts of climate change, AbTF also developed the Regenerative Cotton Standard (RCS) in 2023. RCS takes a holistic approach to agriculture and is distinguished by being the first to specifically promote natural regenerative processes in smallholder cotton farming.
Despite the economic difficulties in the textile sector, Aid by Trade managed to generate €8.1 million in revenue, which the programme said was due to the company’s “strong market position”.
The foundation increased its financial commitment by 23% year-on-year to support environmentally and socially responsible raw cotton and cashmere production. This growth also helped fund projects aimed at improving living conditions in production areas.
Professor Dr Michael Otto described the Aid by Trade Foundation and its standards objectives as having a clear role in increasing the resilience of goat herders and cotton producers.
Nearly all (84%) of the foundation’s income in 2023 came from commercial activities, supporting nearly 900,000 small-scale farming families who farmed 1.7 million hectares to produce approximately 500,000 tons of cotton under CmiA and CmiA Organic Standards. In addition, 9,100 farms in Inner Mongolia, raising 4.3 million goats, produced 2,200 tons of GCS-verified cashmere – a 15% increase from the previous year.
By integrating traditional knowledge with modern agricultural technology and effective traceability systems, such as the Hard Identity Preserved (HIP) tracking system, producers were able to benefit from the innovative boost they needed, while reliably meeting the high levels of transparency increasingly demanded by regulators, retailers, brands and consumers.
Aid by Trade explained “Regional workshops, digital learning platforms and innovations such as the remote sensing project or the recently established Innovations Club are just some of the ways in which AbTF led the way in 2023 by providing clear measures, guidance and data-driven approaches that partner organisations can build on as they work to responsibly source raw materials for the textile industry.”
“Aid by Trade raises cotton and cashmere production standards by 2023” was originally created and published by Just Stylea brand of GlobalData.
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