AbTF Cotton Conference advocates for sustainable farming

The Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF) Cotton Conference emphasized the importance of combining advanced technologies and traditional knowledge to promote regenerative farming methods. At the conference, speakers stressed the crucial role of workers in supply chains and fields, highlighting that traceability and transparency are impossible without their contribution.

The changing global regulatory landscape is driving a growing demand for traceability in supply chains. Cotton Made in Africa (CmiA) introduced a Hard Identity Preserved system to meet these new standards, successfully implemented by the German retail cooperative REWE Group.

In a panel discussion, textile supply chain professionals discussed methods to establish traceability, including physical monitoring and artificial intelligence (AI). They agreed that leveraging AI for due diligence requirements could be a significant advancement.

Tina Stridde, managing director of the Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF), emphasized the organization’s commitment to innovation for ecologically and socially sustainable cotton production. Collaborating with partners, they aim to create a cotton sector that benefits all stakeholders while protecting nature from harm or exploitation.