Global standard for textiles made from organic fibres
The number of facilities getting certified to the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) increased 11 per cent to surpass the 3,000-mark in 2012, growing from 2,714 facilities in 2011 to 3,016 facilities in 2012, according to new data from the GOTS International Working Group.
GOTS is recognized as the leading processing standard for textiles made from organic fibers worldwide. The certification means consumers are purchasing items certified organic from field to finished product.
The top countries in terms of the total number of GOTS-certified facilities were India, Turkey, China, Germany, Pakistan, South Korea, Italy, Bangladesh, Japan, the UK, France, Portugal, the US, Austria, Netherlands, Greece, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Peru, Switzerland, and Denmark.
While the top three countries remained the same as in the previous year, Germany rose to the fourth place, surpassing Pakistan, and Portugal moved from the 20th to the 12th place by more than doubling the number of its certified facilities. In addition, companies became certified to GOTS in five countries with no previous GOTS-certified manufacturing (Bahrain, Colombia, Kenya, New Zealand, and Paraguay). GOTS certified facilities are now located in 62 countries around the world.
Overall, Europe led the way with a 44 per cent increase in the number of certified facilities from 2011-2012 (506-728). Countries with the greatest increase in facilities gaining GOTS certification in 2012 were, in order by rank, India, China, South Korea, Germany, Bangladesh and Portugal.
India remained the top country for the fourth year in a row, and here too a new record was set by surpassing the 1,000-mark of GOTS-certified facilities for the first time (from 955 in 2011 to 1062 in 2012). For the first time GOTS was the supporter of Biofach India in 2012. A very large number of consumers and businesses visited the GOTS booth in the fair and interacted with Mr. Sumit Gupta.
The interest in GOTS-certified organic textile products is on the rise among both consumers and industry. India also witnessed an increase of brands and stores selling GOTS-certified textiles in retail.
“Increasingly, consumers are demanding ecologically and socially responsibly-processed textiles, and companies are searching for tools to make their supply chains more sustainable. The result is a ‘pull effect’ and more companies becoming GOTS-certified,” says Herbert Ladwig, GOTS Managing Director.
There are now seven regional representatives worldwide who are driving increase in the awareness of certification to GOTS. The newest representative, Shirley Han, was appointed in 2012 to focus on growing awareness of GOTS in China. With this extensive network in place, GOTS and the Soil Association in October 2012 launched the first global organic cotton campaign, asking textile industry leaders “have you cottoned on yet?” to urge them to sign on and publicly commit to supporting organic fiber production and processing to GOTS.
Also in 2012, the GOTS operating unit changed from a limited liability corporation into a non-profit organization, the Global Standard gemeinnu¨tzige GmbH, the German legal term for a non-profit organization. While financially and organizationally GOTS has always operated as a non-profit entity, the external documentation has now been formalized.
GOTS is the stringent voluntary global standard for the entire post-harvest processing (including spinning, knitting, weaving, dyeing and manufacturing) of apparel and home textiles made with organic fiber such as organic cotton and organic wool and includes both environmental and social criteria. Key provisions include a ban on the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), highly hazardous chemicals such as azo dyes and formaldehyde, and child labor, while requiring strong social compliance management systems and strict waste water treatment practices.
GOTS was developed by leading international standard setters – the Organic Trade Association (US), Japan Organic Cotton Association (Japan), International Association Natural Textile Industry (Germany), and the Soil Association (UK) – which formed the GOTS International Working Group (IWG) to define globally-recognized requirements that ensure the organic status of textiles.