From my hands to your wardrobe

Do you ever wonder what journey the cotton T-shirt you’re wearing right now has been on? The one you’re wearing right now?! And without whom that T-shirt would certainly not exist?

With their campaign "From my hands to your wardrobe the Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF) makes women visible, who are at the start of the cotton and cashmere production process. The timing is ideal, as 2026 marks the UN International Year of the Woman Farmer. As a long-standing partner of Cotton made in Africa, we are supporting the campaign.

Women farmers and herders make a vital contribution to agriculture and international supply chains. Yet they are often overlooked in the public eye. At the same time, women often lack equal access to resources, education and financial independence. The campaign aims to raise awareness of their work and their stories. The aim is to improve women’s livelihoods and close the gender pay gap.

"Women farmers and herders are often under-represented in the public eye, even though they make a vital contribution at the start of the supply chain. We see it as our mission to raise awareness of this within international supply chains and amongst consumers. Our campaign ‘From my hands to your wardrobe’ gives these remarkable women a platform and brings their stories to the fore."
- Tina Stridde, Managing Director Aid by Trade Foundation

One of the women whose story is told in the campaign is Kartcha Coulibaly. She is a cotton farmer and smallholder from Côte d’Ivoire. She grows cotton in accordance with the criteria of the Cotton made in Africa standard and is actively involved in her local women’s group. The community is important to her.

"Cotton made in Africa has done everything it can to bring us together. Today, here in Nawohaka, we have become as one – all the women have come together to form a single group.“
-Kartcha Coulibaly, Baumwollfarmerin aus Côte d’Ivoire

Cotton made in Africa operates in ten countries south of the Sahara. The Aid by Trade Foundation reports that more than 100 women’s groups have been established. These groups are designed to help women organise themselves, set up their own projects and tap into additional sources of income. This includes, for example, literacy programmes, easier access to loans and direct contracts with cotton companies.

Through this partnership, Tchibo supports training programmes for smallholder farmers that promote better cotton-farming methods.

Intrigued? The "From My Hands to Your Wardrobe“ campaign tells the story of the journey from fibre to finished product – and of the people whose work goes into it.