About Cotton Egypt Association
Safeguarding the legacy of Egyptian Cotton™
Cotton Egypt Association (CEA) is a non-profit association, established in 2005. CEA exclusively manages and promotes the registered Egyptian Cotton™ logo trademark, owned by the Ministry of Trade & Industry and Alexandria Cotton Exporter’s Association. CEA is also responsible for the licensing program. Our mission is to protect and promote the value-add of the Egyptian Cotton™ identity in supply chains end-to-end. CEA's vision is to globally authenticate the legacy of Egyptian Cotton™. With an exclusive partnership with Bureau Veritas, CEA provides testing and auditing services to verify Egyptian Cotton™ at any stage of the supply chain. Our goal is to protect the Egyptian Cotton™ name & brand as well as reassure our consumers that the Egyptian Cotton™ is 100% pure with no additional blend. To rid the supply chain of falsely labeled goods, we introduced a traceability process and a revolutionary DNA testing process able to recognize the genomic fingerprint of Egyptian Cotton. CEA is supporting sustainability by collaborating with the Better Cotton Program launched in Egypt by UNIDO in 2020.
Protecting the Brand: Protecting Egyptian Cotton™
Reputation is hugely important to everyone involved with Egyptian Cotton™. We all have the same aim, from growers to manufacturers to retailers. We want consumers to truly understand the unrivaled luxury that Egyptian Cotton™ can provide. No other cotton feels as gloriously soft to the touch or holds a dye as Egyptian Cotton™.
Regrettably, people have previously sought to take advantage of the Egyptian Cotton™ reputation and used our name on their inferior products. We are now taking positive actions to curb this trend and restore consumer confidence in our high-quality product.
DNA Testing: Revolutionary Egyptian Cotton™ DNA Testing
Working in partnership with Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services (Bureau Veritas), CEA are committed to making DNA testing a fundamental part of our accreditation procedure. This new procedure can verify whether a material is truly Egyptian Cotton™ at every stage of the production process. Bureau Veritas has global reach and capability to carry out this hugely important and influential work, guaranteeing the authenticity of Egyptian Cotton™.
All testing takes place under laboratory conditions to ensure the most accurate and reliable results possible. We are also keen to conduct audits on-site at your facility. Should you unfortunately fail, we are more than willing to provide you with constructive criticism and help to introduce concrete actions that will lead to a comprehensive solution.
For retailers, we aim to conduct an audit on a quarterly basis. This involves cross-checking a retailer’s product information with our thoroughly tested database. Ultimately, this will ensure the authenticity of Egyptian Cotton™ right across the supply chain.
Accreditation: A Trademark of Confidence
All accredited manufacturers are free to use the Egyptian Cotton™ logo on their products, helping consumers to distinguish between mislabelled fakes and the real deal. Our logo will help instil faith in consumers so that they feel confident buying Egyptian Cotton™, safe in the knowledge that they are buying true luxury. Such confidence will only help to further boost the reputation of Egyptian Cotton™ worldwide.