GOTS certifications reach five figures for first time

Posted March 4, 2021

In 2020, the number of (Global Organic Textile Standard) GOTS-certified facilities grew by 34% globally, to a new high of 10,388 from 7,765 in 2019.

Sixteen GOTS Approved Certification Bodies report that over 3 million people in over 72 countries were working in GOTS-certified facilities.

Significant increases are seen in all regions. Top 10 countries for certified facilities are India (2,994), Bangladesh (1,584), Turkey (1,107), China (961), Germany (684), Italy (585), Portugal (449), Pakistan (391), USA (167) and Sri Lanka (126).

GOTS-approved chemical inputs now number 25,913, an increase of 13% in 2020. This confirms that these inputs are increasingly used as a risk management tool by wet processors to satisfy legal and commercial residue requirements.

“The exceptional increase in this unprecedented year shows that decisionmakers value GOTS as an important tool to drive sustainable transformation in a comprehensive way – from field to fashion. Using organic fibers and processing them under strict GOTS criteria definitely provides a credible and strong base for market players to be successful in the future,” said GOTS Managing Director Claudia Kersten.

GOTS version 6.0, to be implemented from March 1, 2021, includes stricter social and environmental criteria. Certified Entities will now have to calculate the gap between wages paid to “Living Wages” and will be encouraged to work towards closing this gap. Specific references to OECD Due Diligence Guidance and Good Practice Guidance for Social Criteria and Risk Assessment as well as Ethical Business Practises have been explicitly included.

Twenty-one companies achieved GOTS certification in 2020, for a total of 177 facilities.

“I believe the high growth of home goods industries going with GOTS was driven by consumers who were homebound because of the pandemic and wanted to surround themselves with organic textiles and personal care products that are better for the environment,” said Lori Wyman, GOTS representative for North America. “These smart consumers seek out third-party validation of organic label claims.”

The USA is the country with the highest number of visitors to the GOTS website worldwide, with an average of 3,500 weekly visitors.

The new companies represent a wide variety of sectors in the supply chain including:
 

• Four cotton gins

• Four manufacturers (one apparel and three home goods)

• Thirteen importers/retailers (seven home goods and six apparel)

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 certified 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.

Source: GOTS