Innovative, Interactive, Impact-Oriented: Aid by Trade Foundation’s e-Learning Platform
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Hamburg, 2025-1-13. Offering new training modules, innovative instructional approaches, and many opportunities for content customisation, the e-learning platform of the Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF), founded by Prof. Dr Michael Otto, pursues the goals of ensuring the reliable implementation of The Good Cashmere Standard® and of improving the situation of producers, animals, and the environment through effective knowledge transfer.
The digital training platform of the Aid by Trade Foundation provides partnering trainers, auditors, and producers with free and automatic access to a comprehensive training programme. It includes introductory courses on the core elements of The Good Cashmere Standards® (GCS) as well as training materials on various aspects of animal welfare. A knowledge library is also available, containing documents such as the standard in its entirety.
“The high volume of positive feedback from our auditors and producers, as well as the usage of training materials that can be downloaded and printed out for the herders, show how important the e-learning platform is for an impact-oriented organisation like us,” says Figo Li, the GCS representative in China, adding, “As an innovative knowledge hub, the e-learning platform enables our partners to develop valuable expertise to meet the ever-growing challenges they face. A multifaceted and dependable approach to implementation forms the basis of our success and of our reputation as a reliable and solution-oriented standards organisation.”
The e-learning platform is steadily being refined and expanded, with its modules now featuring interactive elements and quizzes in addition to videos and images. The focus is on user-friendliness and individuality, meaning that the users themselves determine which learning goal they want to achieve or which webinar they want to complete, for instance, selecting and scheduling them depending on their personal needs, level of knowledge, and time constraints.
“An important new feature of the platform is its modular system, which gives trainers the opportunity to design training courses individually, such as an animal-welfare course for herders that is tailored to local conditions and to the trainers’ needs,” says Vanessa Löwenich, the project manager for GCS training and implementation at the Aid by Trade Foundation.
Since its introduction in 2022, the e-learning platform has been growing continuously. In future, it will be used for all AbTF standards as it plays a key role in providing partners with the necessary tools and knowledge to address specific requirements within the scope of the standards. What does an Inner Mongolian model farm for cashmere goats actually look like? How can the use of sustainably produced cashmere fibres be verified? And how do goat herders in Inner Mongolia protect biodiversity in their environment? Learn more about sustainable cashmere production at the 2025 Good Cashmere Conference in Hamburg. Explore one of our model farms in Inner Mongolia through virtual reality, and hear international speakers give exclusive insights into the topics of biodiversity, animal welfare, and virtual reality as well as due diligence in the supply chain.
Yours sincerely,
Holger Diedrich
Press contact
Christina Ben Bella, e-mail: Christina.Benbella@abt-foundation.org
Holger Diedrich, e-mail: Holger.Diedrich@abt-foundation.org
Aid by Trade Foundation | Gurlittstraße 14 | 20099 Hamburg | Germany
About The Good Cashmere Standard: Through The Good Cashmere Standard® (GCS), the Aid by Trade Foundation has been setting the benchmark for the production of sustainable cashmere from Inner Mongolia since 2020. GCS criteria cover the most important aspects of cashmere production. Aiming to protect nature and to improve the welfare of cashmere goats and the living conditions of goat herders, the standard was developed with input from goat herders as well as experts in animal welfare and the industry. There are now some 9,100 farms with a total of 4.3 million goats participating in The Good Cashmere Standard®. Around 2,200 tonnes of cashmere wool are currently verified by The Good Cashmere Standard®. More than 50 international textile companies and household-name brands—including Bestseller, J.Crew, Galeries Lafayette, H&M, s.Oliver, and The White Company—use the verified cashmere wool for their products. Learn more at: www.thegoodcashmerestandard.org
About the Aid by Trade Foundation:
Founded in 2005, the Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF) is an internationally renowned non-profit organisation that works throughout the world to promote sustainable raw materials. Its activities make a decisive and measurable contribution to improving the living conditions of people and animals while protecting the environment. AbTF takes a practical approach by creating and maintaining a variety of standards to verify raw materials: Cotton made in Africa® (CmiA), Cotton made in Africa Organic® (CmiA Organic), Regenerative Cotton Standard® (RCS), and The Good Cashmere Standard® (GCS). A global alliance of textile companies and brands purchases the verified raw materials, paying a licensing fee to AbTF’s marketing company, ATAKORA Fördergesellschaft GmbH. The payment of this fee entitles partners to sell their goods under the standards’ labels. As the challenges facing textile companies and small-scale farmers grow, the standards have a major role to play in ensuring their resilience and future viability. AbTF collaborates closely with industry experts and with specialists in animal and nature protection. Learn more at: www.aidbytrade.org
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