In 2019, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) helped fund a project to tackle water pollution caused by the apparel sector. The project brought together Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF), Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS), CDP, Solidaridad East & Central Africa, and Water Witness International.

While each organisation brought a specific area of expertise to the project, this report focuses on the collaboration between Aid by Trade Foundation and the Alliance for Water Stewardship. It examines the lessons learned from a comparison between the AWS Standard and the Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) Standard and sheds light on how the principles of water stewardship can be applied to smallholder cotton farms in Ethiopia.