TE’s Annual Benchmark Report 2018 recognises 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 fair organic 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,” Cotonea CEO Roland Stelzer said.
The TE Report 2016 for the first time listed Cotonea as one of the top ten brands with the highest organic cotton cultivation.
The non-governmental organisation Textile Exchange, based in Texas/USA, looks to working with farmers, manufacturers/brands and retailers to promote the production and use of organic cotton. Textile Exchange focuses on sustainability and transparency throughout the entire textile value chain.
Cotonea/Elmer & Zweifel has been focusing on organic and ethical cotton and the production of home textiles and clothing since 2003. Bed and bath linen, bedding, baby clothes as well as clothing from their own organic-cotton projects are manufactured and distributed under the brand name Cotonea. The term “Cotonea inside” represents the manufacturing of organic and ethical Cotonea fabrics by manufacturers.