19 Apr. 2012

GOTS KEEPS GROWING

The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) turned five years in 2011 and added 80 new companies to the list of those with GOTS-certified facilities.
 
By the end of the year, 2,714 facilities in 57 countries around the world were certified to the organic apparel and textile standard.
 
The ten countries with the greatest increase in facilities gaining GOTS certification in 2011 were: Germany, India, U.S., Austria, Bangladesh, Switzerland, Greece, France, Belgium and Denmark.
 
GOTS is a voluntary global standard that covers the entire post‐harvest processing and manufacture (including spinning, knitting, weaving, dyeing and manufacturing) of apparel and home textiles made with organic fiber. The standard includes both environmental and social provisions.
 
Key provisions include a ban on the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), highly hazardous chemicals and child labor, while requiring social compliance management systems and strict waste water treatment practices.
 
GOTS has representatives in the USA, UK, Japan, Australia, Germany as well as in Scandinavia.