Project organisers

1888 Mills, LLC is a leading global manufacturer of home and commercial textiles catering to the retail, hospitality and healthcare markets worldwide. Consistent with the Brand Purpose of "Weaving a Better World", the people at 1888 Mills believe that it is their responsibility to the stakeholders and the economic regions where they operate to drive innovation in the global marketplace by executing initiatives that promote environmental stewardship and contribute to poverty reduction.
www.1888mills.com

Accenture is a globally active management consultancy, technology and outsourcing service provider. It works with its customers to put innovations into practice, thus improving their performance. Accenture has extensive industry knowledge, business process know-how, and international teams with strong implementation expertise, enabling it to provide the right staff, skills and technologies to improve the performance of its customers. With some 175,000 employees in 49 countries, Accenture earned net revenues of 19.7 billion US dollars in the past fiscal year (to 31 August 2007). Accenture also engages in Corporate Social Responsibility, with voluntary involvement in numerous relief projects worldwide. The aim is to work particularly in development cooperation, on projects that help people to help themselves, thus giving people new perspectives. That is why Accenture supports the "Cotton made in Africa" project.
www.accenture.com

Avery Dennison Information and Brand Management Division (IBMD) is a global expert and customer driven innovator in retail tag, ticketing and brand identification. The company is the supplier of choice for the world's leading apparel retailers, brand owners and contractors with a product portfolio which includes graphic tags and tickets, variable data, printed and woven labels, heat transfers and patches, eco-friendly apparel trim, packaging solutions, security and in-plant printing solutions, RFID solutions, web services and designer label collections. Through global scale and local presence, Avery Dennison IBMD offers customers co-ordinated labeling programmes in line with retailer/brand specification that are supplied and supported locally at point of manufacture to ensure global product consistency and integrity and at the same time a responsive local service.
(www.averydennison.com)

Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people-especially those with the fewest resources-have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Jeff Raikes and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett. (www.gatesfoundation.org)

The work of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is directed at reducing poverty worldwide, securing peace, and making globalisation fair. This is increasingly done in the form of cooperation with the private sector. It is characteristic of Public Private Partnership (PPP) activities that they give economic benefit to the partner companies and at the same time give added value for development policy.
(www.bmz.de)

DEG, the Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (German Investment and Development Company), is a company in the KfW bank group. It is one of the largest European development financing institutions for long-term project and company funding. The DEG invests in projects which are effective for development in all areas of the economy - from farming to services, and including infrastructure. Another major area of its activities is investment in the finance sector.
(www.deginvest.de)

The German famine relief organisation Deutsche Welthungerhilfe is one Germany's largest private-sector organisations for development cooperation and humanitarian aid. It is a non-profit organisation, and is independent of political and religious organisations. Since its foundation in 1962, all German Federal Presidents have taken on patronage of Welthungerhilfe. The patron since the end of July 2004 is Federal President Horst Köhler.
(www.welthungerhilfe.de)

Dunavant SA located in Geneva, Switzerland, is a fully owned subsidiary of Dunavant Enterprises Inc, one of the largest privately owned cotton merchandisers in the world, handling in excess of 6 million bales (1.350 mio tons) of U.S. and foreign cotton per year. Dunavant SA owns ginning operations in southeastern Africa. Through their Zambian operation, Dunavant actively participates in the project "Cotton Made In Africa" by supporting Zambian small scale farmers to grow cotton and supplying them with the required inputs and certified treated planting seed. Dunavant also provides the necessary extension services to assist farmers in yield enhancement at the different stages of growing cotton.
(www.dunavant.com)

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH (German Society for Technical Cooperation) supports complex reforms and change processes in developing and transformation countries. All its activities are aimed at improving the conditions of life and perspectives of the people on a permanent basis. The GTZ is active worldwide.
(www.gtz.de)

"Truth Well Told" has been the motto of the communication agency McCann-Erickson for nearly 100 years. The poverty of African cotton farmers is one of the truths that we want not only to tell, but to change. That’s why we support the project "Cotton Made in Africa".
(www.mccann.de)

For over a hundred years now, the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) has been promoting the interests of people and nature, drawing on its unwavering commitment, specialised know-how and the backing of its 400,000 members. NABU, one of the leading non-profit and non-governmental organizations for nature conservation and environmental protection in Germany, has clearly defined aims: preserving habitat and species biodiversity, promoting sustainable agriculture, forestry and water management and attaining an enhanced profile within society for nature conservation. Further key focal points in our work include combating global warming, sustainable development of urban areas and transport infrastructure, consumer protection and international projects. Africa, Central Asia and Caucasus form the geographical focus of international commitment. In respect of content, NABU's work connects ecologic and social aspects ranging from conservation of habitat and species diversity, ecotourism and environmental education to capacity building, poverty alleviation and strengthening of civil society. NABU is the German Partner of BirdLife International.
(www.nabu.de)

www.sa-intl.org

The North Rhine-Westphalian Foundation for the Environment and Development supports civil society engagement in North Rhine-Westphalia. Non-profit organisations can receive advice and funding for projects in the field of environment and development. The foundation in particular sponsors projects relating to environmental protection, nature conservation, development policy as well as intercultural learning.Between 2001 and 2005 the North Rhine-Westphalian Foundation for the Environment and Development has funded about 500 projects with 32 million Euro. The Foundation receives its funds from the proceeds of the Oddset betting system.
(www.sue-nrw.de)

The Otto Group had a total sales volume of 14,424 million Euro in fiscal year 2004/05. It is active in retailing in the three large economic areas of Europe, North America and Asia. The Group has a strong position in many markets, with its wide range of products, its multi-channel distribution system, and its extensive supporting services. All the companies of the Otto Group share common values. The Otto Group acknowledges commitment to its employees, to society as a whole, and to the environment.
(www.otto.com)

The REWE Group, based in Cologne, Germany is one of Europe’s leading retail and tourism company groups. In 2008 the Group generated record sales of some 50 billion euros, has more than 319,000 employees and operates close to 14,700 supermarkets in Germany and 15 other European countries. In a world of globalizing markets, companies’ responsibility towards people, the environment as well as to the diversity of cultures is growing. Therefore, the success of a company can be measured by the sustainability of its actions and by the degree to which it assumes its corporate social responsibilities. The REWE Group is very much aware of this and has set itself the objective of reconciling economic, ecological, social and cultural requirements within its business model. The Group has been committed for several years to sustainable development in its various business sectors and is constantly expanding its Retail and Tourism business lines in accordance with this philosophy.
www.rewe-group.com

Tchibo with registered offices in Hamburg is one of Germany's largest globally operating consumer goods and retailing companies. The company was founded in 1949 and has more than 12,500 employees. Tchibo stands for a unique business model: It unites the ultimate in coffee roasting competence and surprises every week with a different range of consumer articles. Tchibo is one of the largest textile suppliers in Germany. Since 2008 Tchibo has been supporting the "Cotton made in Africa" project and is also a member of the advisory board of the "Aid by Trade Foundation".
(www.tchibo.co.uk)

Tom Tailor is a leading retailer of young casual fashion. The company was started up by Hans-Heinrich Pünjer in 1962. Tom Tailor GmbH has also been selling through its own outlets since 1994, which has enhanced the visibility of this fashion house. The company now has a workforce of 610 people in Germany, and 1300 worldwide.
(www.tom-tailor.de)

 

The World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) is one of the world's largest independent nature conservation organisations. The WWF was founded in Switzerland on 11 September 1961. By 2001 alone, it had collected more than 2,8 billion Euro and used these funds to conduct more than 11,000 nature conservation projects worldwide. The WWF is active in more than 90 countries, and is supported by nearly five million donors.
(www.wwf.de)