Cotton made in Africa Publishes 2025 Verification Report with Strong Sustainability Ratings Across African Cotton Sector

Independent assessments covering 20 cotton companies in 10 African countries report “very good” performance across management, people, prosperity and environmental criteria.

Cotton made in Africa® (CmiA) and CmiA Organic, two internationally recognised standards supporting sustainable development in the African cotton sector south of the Sahara, have published their 2025 Aggregated Verification & Implementation Report. The report presents the findings of independent verification missions carried out to assess compliance with the standards among participating cotton companies.

During 2025, 24 verification missions were conducted across 20 cotton companies operating in ten production countries in Africa south of the Sahara. The assessments included twelve field-level verifications and twelve ginnery-level verifications, where harvested cotton is prepared for further processing.

The verification process evaluated compliance across the four sustainability pillars of the CmiA standards: management, people, planet and prosperity.

Independent Verifications Report Strong Compliance

The report summarises the outcomes of assessments covering twelve principles and 288 indicators applicable to all participating partners. According to the findings, both field operations and business activities achieved a "very good" rating across all four sustainability pillars.

Among the four areas assessed, the prosperity pillar recorded the strongest results, followed closely by management, with people and planet also receiving "very good" ratings.

Ruth Achterwinter, CmiA Verification Manager, Aid by Trade Foundation; Credit_Catrin-Anja Eichinger for AbTF

Commenting on the findings, Ruth Achterwinter, the CmiA verification manager at the Aid by Trade Foundation, said:

“These results bear out our principle of consistently assisting partners in implementing the standards’ requirements through diverse approaches. Only close cooperation—as equals and on site—makes these results possible,”

She added:

“The verifications are carried out on an ongoing basis by independent and qualified organisations. We make targeted use of the results to support our partners as needed.”

Training and Partner Collaboration Support Implementation

According to the report, training activities continued to support approximately 715,000 CmiA farmers, including almost 43,000 producers of CmiA Organic cotton, during 2025.

Training programmes covered a range of topics, including climate-resilient cotton production practices, women's empowerment and soil improvement methods to assist farmers in implementing the standards' requirements.

The report also highlights collaboration between the Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF) and its partners through initiatives such as the Innovations Club, regional workshops and engagement with international cotton representatives and stakeholders.

Cotton made in Africa stated that the verification findings are used to support continuous implementation of sustainability requirements across participating organisations.