Aid by Trade Foundation

Michael Otto has long been convinced that entrepreneurial drive and fair production conditions can lead to greater prosperity and security for people on the African continent. Fair trade plays a critical role here. In 2005, Michael Otto founded the Aid by Trade Foundation for this very reason. The aim of this independent foundation is to improve the living conditions of people in commodity-producing countries through trade, to protect animal welfare, to promote environmental protection and to ensure the future viability of generations ahead.
And the foundation is putting its goals into practice with its certified raw materials Cotton made in Africa (CmiA), Cotton made in Africa Organic (CmiA Organic) and the Regenerative Cotton Standard (RCS).

A critical component in this concept is „Cotton made in Africa“. To this day, cotton is grown in small farming systems on the African continent. For many small farmers, cotton is the only crop they grow – not for their own consumption, but for sale to generate income. However, they often lacked the know-how and have inferior seeds, so cotton from the sub-Saharan zone was not able to be produced competitively for a long time.
This is where Michael Otto’s initiative comes in. Cotton growers are trained and empowered to optimize their yield – and do so with ecologically sustainable measures, such as rainfed agriculture and a minimal use of pesticides. Improved social standards arising from the initiative also benefit the families of cotton farmers. This has enabled schools and health stations to be built, for example. At the beginning of 2006, three cotton companies and around 100,000 smallholder cotton farmers in three African countries were members of the CmiA initiative. In 2025, there are already 22 cotton companies and around 800,000 smallholder farmers in ten growing countries. It is not only the local people who benefit from this. CmiA cotton accounts for 36 percent of African production and has a very favorable ecological balance due to sustainable cultivation: CmiA cotton produces 13 percent fewer greenhouse gases than conventional cotton and its cultivation consumes significantly less fresh water (two liters compared to 1500 liters).1. With the support of various partners from business, politics, science and NGOs, the foundation focuses on development cooperation through trade. Around one billion CmiA-label textiles were brought to market in 2025, in comparison to just 20 million in 2012.

The Good Cashmere Standard^® (GCS) is also an independent standard developed by the Aid by Trade Foundation. This stands for sustainably-farmed cashmere and was set up to improve the keeping of cashmere goats and to improve the economic, social and ecological conditions of goat farmers and their families and communities in Inner Mongolia, as well as to protect nature. The standard defines clear and comprehensive criteria for the sustainable production of cashmere. Independent auditors regularly check compliance with these criteria.

Source: CmiA LCA-Study 2021