OVS, one of Italy’s leading textile and fashion companies, is now partnering with Cotton made in Africa (CmiA). In 2025 so far, the Italian fashion house has already brought to market almost 2.5 million items made of CmiA-verified cotton, including children’s clothing. In this way, OVS is ensuring verifiable transparency and traceability from the cotton bale to the final product.
“We chose Cotton made in Africa to further expand our commitment to source better the most important fiber for our collections. In addition, we can use the CmiA Inside label to ensure that only CmiA-verified cotton is used in our products. This creates transparency and trust, including for our customers,” explains Simone Colombo, Head of Corporate Sustainability OVS Group. OVS products containing CmiA cotton are labelled “Cotton made in Africa Inside”, meaning that the cotton is physically traceable throughout the entire value chain. To bear this label, products must be proven to contain only CmiA-verified cotton. In 2025 alone, OVS has already put out almost 2.5 million textile items under the CmiA Inside label, primarily denim products, such as jeans and denim jackets.
“We are pleased to welcome OVS as a new partner in our international demand alliance for Cotton made in Africa,” says Tina Stridde, the Managing Director of the Aid by Trade Foundation, expanding, “OVS’s implementation of Cotton made in Africa Inside makes a strong statement about transparency and traceability—one we are very happy to see.”
The Hard Identity Preserved (HIP) system, which is used for CmiA Inside products, ensures that only CmiA-verified cotton is used in yarn and textile production and that the product may be labelled with the „Cotton made in Africa Inside”-label.
In addition to its criteria for the protection of water, soil, and biodiversity, the sustainability standard Cotton made in Africa encompasses social criteria and indicators. For example, women are explicitly promoted, human rights are granted, child labor is excluded, and smallholder producer communities are supported.
