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Business sense Cotton made in Africa makes good business sense
Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and ethical consumption have now become mainstream. Companies in all sectors are aware of the relevance of CSR, and are making an effort to meet the expectations of their customers for ethically responsible, sustainably produced products. In many cases social and ecological value added is associated with higher cost – higher cost of raw materials or surcharges at the various stages of processing can have an impact on the price of the end product. The Aid by Trade Foundation deliberately takes a different approach with Cotton made in Africa – it enables the partners of the Demand Alliance to buy sustainably produced African cotton at world market prices. They then pay a licence fee to the Foundation.
To ensure smooth integration of cotton into the textile chain, the Foundation supports partner companies in the subsequent sourcing process. The Cotton made in Africa Initiative thus gives companies a pragmatic way of meeting their corporate responsibility and fulfilling consumer wishes for sustainable products. The goal of Cotton made in Africa is to offer a socially and ecologically sustainable raw material which is compatible with the requirements of a price-sensitive mass market.
Consumers demand sustainability without price surcharge
Sustainability is a consideration in product purchase for 34% of shoppers over the age of 14 in Germany, according to a 2009 consumer analysis. However, 50% of shoppers were not willing to pay more for sustainable products, as shown by a representative survey conducted by the management consultants McKinsey. Cotton made in Africa gets sustainability and market economy into harmony – it gives textile companies cotton with social value added at market prices. The cotton produced in the project regions meets the needs of the mass market in terms of quality and price. The companies pay the initiative a licence fee of between 1.5 and 2.5% (based on their purchase prices). A large proportion of these licence fees is returned to the producers of the sustainable raw material, that is the African smallholder farmers.
Independent local verification ensures fulfilment of promise
Cotton made in Africa has set up its own verification system together with the Netherlands University of Wageningen, the management consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers and the cotton companies. Every two years, the initiative mandates Ecocert and Africert, two sustainable development certification organisations, to check compliance with its regulations. This impact monitoring also examines how far the conditions of life and working of the cotton growers are improved by participation in the programme. Verification and impact monitoring give transparency – they ensure that the partners of the Demand Alliance fulfil their promise to customers and really do use sustainably produced raw material.
Support for the textile chain worldwide
Efficient integration in the textile chain of buyers is very important for successful processing of Cotton made in Africa. That is why Cotton made in Africa provides support to the participating commercial companies in sourcing, too – that is for further processing of the cotton in downstream production stages such as spinning. The Aid by Trade Foundation has set up a Global Sourcing Unit to give the companies of the Demand Alliance fast, uncomplicated access to the raw material; this service is available both to the retail partners and to the production companies worldwide.
Ingredient brand with recognition value
Cotton made in Africa is an “ingredient brand”, i.e. a label which is used alongside an existing brand, giving defined value added. So our partners keep their own brand as the primary brand, with its defined brand attributes; and they can communicate use of Cotton made in Africa, for example as part of their CSR strategy. The good quality and the sustainability verification of the raw material give added value to reinforce the brand loyalty of their customers, and have a positive influence on purchase decision. All Cotton made in Africa items are marked with a burgundy-coloured label, enabling customers to recognise it at once and to make a conscious decision for a product with social value added.
Where can I buy CmiA products?Cotton made in Africa Business Partners
