GOTS widens rules for organic textiles
The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) Group has launched a new version of its standard for organic (95%) or 'made with organic' (at least 70%) textiles.
GOTS' core provisions including a ban on the use of substances which use genetic engineering and nanotechnology have been maintained. There are modified rules on permissible conventional ‘additional fibre materials’: these now may consist of regenerated, respective synthetic fibres - up to 30% - provided they are environmentally-improved and certified. For regenerated fibres this means the raw material must be from certified organic production, sustainable forestry management or be certified recycled. For synthetic fibres, the raw material must be recycled and also certified according to recognised standards.
“According to current knowledge through environmental impact assessments, the previous focus on natural fibres for the permissible conventional ‘additional fibre materials’ is no longer justifiable," said GOTS technical director Marcus Bruegel.
"In the future, textile manufacturers will have a larger choice of fibre mixes if they also use the environmentally-improved variants of regenerated and synthetic fibres. A wider product selection of GOTS-certified products will be made possible which will also support the increased use of organic fibres.”
In addition, the use of virgin polyester and angora is banned. “Recycled polyester yarn is already widely available. In the case of angora, the ban is a consequence of the mostly unacceptable animal husbandry conditions of angora rabbits,” said Mr Bruegel.
In terms of textile chemicals, the list of banned substances and residue parameters was extended.
GOTS version 4.0 is the result of a revision process with multi stakeholder input which is repeated every three years. This time the participating organisations also included Greenpeace, the Clean Clothes Campaign, Fairtrade, the Fair Wear Foundation, IFOAM and Textile Exchange.
Around 85 facilities were certified to GOTS in 2013. A decrease in Asia, which was partially caused by the trend of concentrating the placement of GOTS orders with already-certified facilities, was compensated by increases in Europe.
The top 20 countries in terms of GOTS-certified facilities are (by rank): India, Turkey, Germany, China, South Korea, Italy, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Japan, Portugal, France, United Kingdom, United States, Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands, Greece, Denmark, Belgium and Sri Lanka.
