One of Italy’s premier textile and fashion companies, OVS has officially partnered with Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) to ensure verifiable transparency and traceability for the company, from the initial cotton bale to the final product.

So far in 2025, the Italian fashion house has already brought nearly 2.5 million items made of CmiA-verified cotton to market, including a line of children’s apparel. OVS products containing CmiA cotton are marked with the ‘Cotton made in Africa Inside’ label. This designation signifies that the cotton is physically traceable throughout the entire value chain.

To qualify for this label, products must be proven to contain only CmiA-verified cotton. In 2025 alone, OVS has produced almost 2.5 million textile items under the CmiA Inside label, primarily consisting of denim products like jeans and denim jackets.

Tina Stridde, the Managing Director, Aid by Trade Foundation, avers, OVS’s implementation of Cotton made in Africa Inside makes a strong statement about transparency and traceability.

In addition to criteria for the protection of water, soil, and biodiversity, the CmiA sustainability standard also enforces strict social criteria and indicators for gender equality, human rights and community support.

An internationally recognized standard for sustainably produced cotton and the largest such standard in Africa, Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) guarantees transparent traceability and is 100 per cent GMO-free. Over 30 per cent of African cotton is CmiA or CmiA Organic verified. By using this cotton, over 60 textile companies and fashion brands support approximately 800,000 small-scale farmers in practicing ecologically and economically resilient agriculture, improving their families' living standards, and protecting the environment.