Green Cotton

Photosource: Swicofil.com

Eco-friendly clothing and organic cotton are all “the buzz” these days, but what is it exactly that can we can expect from a product labeled with “organic cotton” and how do we know we are not being green-washed?

With more and more companies jumping on the organic bandwagon such as Target, Wal-Mart, and Nike, Bed Bath and Beyond and many others, it seems increasingly important for all of us to get on the same page about what we mean by “organic” and enlighten ourselves as consumers as well as producers.

Despite this obvious need for clear requirements and labeling, there is a surprising amount of confusion within industry producers about organic textile labeling and certification. The answer to this confusion that I hear over and over again is: certification. And yet, organic textile certification has been around in various forms for decades across the globe. The problem however has been lack of consistency and collective agreement on standards. Germany had one set, Japan another, USA yet another and so on. However with the textile industry being extremely global in nature, it quickly became apparent that separate standards was a problem.

We here at Green Cotton agree that globally accepted certification is very important in terms of differentiating products from one another, but also because it can be used as vehicle for increasing producer accountability and consumer awareness. After doing some research, we happily discovered that a global standard does exist:  the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and so would like to share the good news and spread the word.

First launched in late 2006, GOTS certification standards are the product of an International Working Group on Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS) http://www.global-standard.org/ This group began in 2002 with the common purpose of establishing global standards for textile certification that could then be implemented (and enforced) internationally.

The main bodies represented in the working group include:

• Organic Trade Association (OTA) from the USA
• Japan Organic Cotton Association
• Soil Association (SA) of England from England
  International Association of Natural Textile Industry (IVN), Germany

In 2006, the 4 organizations came to agreement on the global standards and released version one of the GOTS. In 2008, an international working group meeting then agreed upon a licensing system and logo (although as far as I know this logo has not yet been officially released). In May 2008, Version 2 of the GOTS was released. The GOTS is now accepted the leading set of criteria in the field of organic textile processing. With their licensing requirements and logo now complete, I would expect to see this new label on apparel in the next year or so. The logo I believe will help consumers readily identify genuinely certified garments/apparel/textiles much more easily and efficiently (hooray GOTS!).

Certification Process

Important to understand is that the GOTS International Working Group (IWG) is NOT a certifying body. They set the standards, then certification is left to approved certifying bodies. Currently there are a handful of accredited organizations/companies that are approved by IWG. Names and contact details off all approved certifiers are listed on the GOTS website . Besides the technical requirements, a certifier must be approved by the IWG for GOTS certification, must agree to cease using their own standards and must fully adopt the GOTS. As a result, the certifiers Control Union Certifications (formerly Skal International), EcoCert, ETKO and ICEA have dropped their own established standards and introduced to their clients the GOTS certification scheme.

CERTIFICATION STANDARDS

Aim

According to GOTS IWG, the aim of the standards in broad terms is to: Define requirements to ensure organic status of textiles, from harvesting of the raw materials, through environmentally and socially responsible manufacturing up to labeling in order to provide a credible assurance to the end consumer.

Scope and Structure

GOTS covers the production, processing, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, exportation, importation and distribution of all natural fibers. The final products may include, but are not limited to fiber products, yarns, fabrics and clothes. The standards focus on compulsory criteria only.

LABELING

Labeling is important because there are many different stages in textile production (from crop growing to spinning, dying, washing, finishing) and there are many products on the market that only contain a certain percentage of organic cotton. So how are all these different cases handled? Well, here is a quick overview of the GOTS labeling criteria:

Final products that are produced and manufactured in compliance with all compulsory criteria of GOTS are to be labeled “Global Organic Textile Standard”. Further the standards provide for a subdivision into two label-grades.

I. “Organic” or  “Organic ‑ In Conversion”

95% or more of the fibers must be of certified organic (or in conversion) origin. The remaining balance up to 5% may be made of non-organic fibers including defined regenerated and synthetic fibers. Blending (= mixing the same fiber in organic and conventional quality in one product) is not permitted.

II. “Made with X % Organic Materials ” OR “Made with X % Organic ‑ In Conversion Materials”

70% – 95% or more of the fibers must be of certified organic (or in conversion) origin. The remaining balance up to 30% may be made of non-organic fibers. Regenerated and synthetic fibers are limited to 10% (resp. 25% for socks, leggings and sportswear). Again blending is not permitted.

Stay tuned for our next post in this series for a closer look at the actual standards and how they include fair labor components as well. Let us know what you think about this and your questions regarding organic certification.