Cotton made in Africa® Receives ‘Excellent’ Rating in Updated Siegelklarheit Sustainability Assessment

German sustainability label platform awards CmiA its highest rating following revised evaluation system covering credibility, environmental and social standards.

Cotton made in Africa® (CmiA) has received the highest rating of "Excellent" from the German sustainability label assessment platform Siegelklarheit. The rating recognises the standard's performance in the areas of credibility, environmental responsibility and social standards, placing it among the highest-rated sustainability labels assessed by the platform.

The assessment was conducted by Siegelklarheit using a professionally reviewed evaluation system.

The latest evaluation formed part of a comprehensive update to the Siegelklarheit assessment methodology. Since reviewing sustainability labels for consumers in 2015, the platform has expanded its rating scale from two to five levels. The revised system is intended to provide clearer differentiation between sustainability labels and offer consumers more detailed and reliable guidance.

According to the platform, sustainability labels differ in their requirements relating to credibility, environmental performance and social responsibility. The revised assessment framework was introduced to improve transparency and consumer information.

The evaluation of Cotton made in Africa® was carried out using the Sustainability Standards Comparison Tool (SSCT).

According to the SSCT assessment, CmiA meets 100 percent of all minimum criteria relating to credibility and social compatibility, while achieving 88 percent in the environmental category.

The SSCT is a methodology developed to assess and compare sustainability standards. Its development involved more than 200 national and international experts representing federal institutions, standard organisations, academia, industry and civil society. Participating organisations included the International Trade Centre (ITC), ISEAL Alliance, and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The evaluation framework is based on international agreements, including those established by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

The Siegelklarheit information platform is operated by Verbraucherzentrale NRW (Consumer Association of North Rhine-Westphalia), funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and supported by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

Prior to the latest assessment, the Cotton made in Africa® standard had been recognised by Siegelklarheit with the rating "Very good choice".

Further information on the Sustainability Standards Comparison Tool (SSCT) is available through SSCT Admintool v3.27.13.