What is the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS)?

The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) is a comprehensive Standard that covers all aspects of the production of all natural fibers including processing, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, exportation, importation and distribution. The final products may include, but are not limited to fiber products, yarns, fabrics and apparel.

The original goal of the GOTS was “to define world-wide recognised requirements that ensure organic status of textiles, from harvesting of the raw materials, through environmentally and socially responsible manufacturing up to labelling in order to provide a credible assurance to the end consumer”. By creating an international, uniform Standard, the GOTS working group sought to enable organic textile manufacturers and marketers to export their goods anywhere in the world with one universally-accepted organic certification.

In order for a textile product to be labeled as “organic” or “organic – in conversion” under GOTS, it must contain at least 95% (excluding non-textile accessories) certified organic fibers OR “in conversion” fibers (GOTS defines “in conversion” fibers as “A product from an operation or portion thereof, which has completed at least 12 months under organic management and is under the supervision of a certification body.”). The remaining 5% may contain non-organic fibers, natural or synthetic (from a GOTS approved list of synthetic fibers), but may not contain any conventional fibers of the same material that is used in organic quality as the rest of the product (for example, a manufacturer may not use 95% organic cotton and 5% conventional cotton, but 95% organic cotton and 5% hemp would be acceptable).

In order for a textile product to be labeled as “made with x% organic materials” or “made with x% organic – in conversion materials” under GOTS, it must contain 70%-95% (excluding non-textile accessories) certified organic fibers OR “in conversion” fibers. Up to 10% of the remaining 30% of the fibers may be regenerated/recycled or synthetic fibers (from a GOTS approved list of synthetic fibers), but none of the 30% may be from conventional fibers of the same material that is used in organic quality as the rest of the product.

Also of note are the GOTS restrictions/prohibitions on a variety of chemicals of concern, including formaldehyde (prohibited), GMOs (prohibited), phenols like PCP and TCP (prohibited), heavy metals (prohibited with a general exception for iron and specific limits on allowable amounts of copper in dyes), and chlorine bleaches (prohibited).

Environmentally friendly (eco-friendly and nature friendly) are synonyms used to refer to goods and services considered to inflict minimal or no harm on the environment.

Who Protects the environment ?

• European Environment Agency (EEA)
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
• UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme)
• Earth System Governance Project

There are also environmental Intergovernmental Organizations that group governments at the regional and local level, as distinguishable from the national level. Examples are the network of regional governments for sustainable development , the ICLEI-Local governments for sustainability  and the Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA). These organizations use the method of open coordination to share policy best practice and provide assistance and counsel to partners on issues related to environmental development following the UN Millennium Agenda. These networks can be seen as international organisations and have observer status in the different UN environmental organizations.