“The AbTF Transparency Standard sets a new benchmark for reliability and traceability in the textile industry,” says Gerlind Bäz, a senior project manager at the Aid by Foundation who is responsible for integrating CmiA- and RCS-verified cotton into global supply chains. She adds, “While brands and retailers can already rely on our current tracking system, which was established in 2018 and monitors whether yarns, fabrics, and textiles were produced using exclusively cotton verified under Cotton made in Africa® or the Regenerative Cotton Standard®, we are now going one step further. In future, independent auditors will regularly check whether the transparency requirements of the new standard are reliably adhered to in the supply chain.”

Prof. Dr Tobias Wollermann, Vice President Corporate Responsibility of the Otto Group, underlines that this step comes at exactly the right time, saying, “Our global trading operations will benefit from the increased safety and reliability the new standard offers in the use and promotion of cotton verified under Cotton made in Africa; it represents a major building block for due diligence in our supply chains.”

The new AbTF Transparency Standard will be available for products that have been proven to contain cotton verified under Cotton made in Africa® or the Regenerative Cotton Standard®. An essential aspect of the new standard is the implementation of risk-based desktop audits by independent auditors, which will review both tracking-system data for all production stages and associated documents, such as production reports and delivery notes. In this way, they will ensure compliance with the requirements of the standards while generating additional confidence in the integrity of the system and the transparency of CmiA- and RCS-labelled products.

Another central element of the new standard are digital transaction documents (DTDs). Created digitally and validated regularly by independent auditors, DTDs can be used to trace CmiA and RCS cotton back through the supply chain, making it much easier to prove that CmiA- or RCS-verified cotton was used. Since a single missed step, such as one missing data input in the supply chain, means that the DTD can no longer be created and that this proof of the cotton’s origin is not present, DTDs represent an additional level of assurance in the system.

Regular self-assessment questionnaires for all stages of the supply chain are also included in the standard, as are on-site onboarding audits for spinning mills, conducted by independent audit companies. “The AbTF Transparency Standard strengthens the position of Cotton made in Africa® and of the Regenerative Cotton Standard® as internationally sought-after and reliable standards whose sustainability requirements in cotton production have always been independently verified. Being able to prove where a product’s raw materials come from—and being able to trace them throughout the textile production process, back to the cotton field—is essential for companies and brands today,” summarises Tina Stridde, the managing director of the Aid by Trade Foundation, adding, “The Aid by Trade Foundation’s new transparency standard provides solutions to this challenge, which textile companies and brands have no choice but to face due to increased political and social pressure at the international level.”