+++ Press release +++ Cotonea is the world’s fourth-largest processor of organic fair cotton Cotonea has come fourth in a list of the ten largest manufacturers of fair organic cotton – of 111 companies worldwide that took part in the survey. This has just been announced by the US non-governmental organization Textile Exchange (TE). For more than ten years Cotonea has been using organic fair cotton from its own cultivations and has now been rewarded for its many years of commitment in Uganda and Kyrgyzstan with fourth place in the Organic Fair Trade Ranking (OFT).
Bempflingen, 28th November 2018. TE’s Annual Benchmark Report 2018 recognizes Elmer & Zweifel as a company whose Cotonea brand has managed to balance the price challenges of the market and Cotonea’s ethical commitment to all the production companies involved. “Cotonea uses both its technical know-how and its organic fair cotton to produce high-quality products which are monitored all the way from the fibre to the final product.”
“As delighted as we are with the result, we are disappointed not to see any of the major manufacturers of organic cotton on the list, apart from Coop Switzerland. Organic and ethical – as far as we’re concerned, you can’t separate the two. Life in the countries of origin would improve significantly if “the big ones” insisted on fair standards, too”, is how Cotonea CEO Roland Stelzer sees the result.
For more than ten years Cotonea has been sourcing its cotton from its own organic and ethical projects in Kyrgyzstan and Uganda. The TE Report 2016 for the first time listed Cotonea as one of the top ten brands with the highest organic cotton growth.
About Textile Exchange: The non-governmental organization Textile Exchange, based in Texas/USA, looks to working with farmers, manufacturers/brands and retailers to promote the