Worldwide awareness and demand of organic garments is increasing with time. This got confirmed with the new and increased figures of Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) which show continued significant growth. According to official information, in 2018, the number of GOTS certified facilities showed an increase of 14.6 per cent from 5,024 to 5,760 facilities. Certified facilities are now located in 64 countries around the globe. The progress is seen in both production and consuming regions.
India is leading at many fronts as far as GOTS is concerned. Besides a thriving export market, India has an emerging domestic market for organic textiles. Several new brands have started offering GOTS goods in domestic sector during year 2018 and two major brands are planning to do so this year.
GOTS certification covers the processing of certified organic fibres along the entire supply chain from field to finished product. GOTS recently had its annual meeting in Izmir (Turkey).
Countries and regions with the largest growth in percentage in 2018 in GOTS certification (in %)
| Bangladesh | North America | South Korea | Pakistan |
| 29 | 25 | 23 | 23 |
In terms of total numbers, the highest increase is reported
| India | Bangladesh | Europe |
| 315 | 155 | 98 |
Top ten countries in terms of total number of certified facilities
| India | Bangladesh | Turkey | Germany | Italy | China | Pakistan | Portugal | US | South Korea |
| 1973 | 689 | 519 | 500 | 340 | 301 | 238 | 215 | 127 | 85 |
The 18 GOTS Approved Certification Bodies reported more than 2.02 million people working in GOTS certified facilities.
“The increasing number of certified facilities aligns with the common desire to solve sustainability related problems. It confirms that GOTS is seen as part of the solution. Company leaders use GOTS as risk management tool and as market opportunity. Consumers value the verifiable certification from field to finished product.” – Claudia Kersten, MD, GOTS
“Bangladesh continued its second position and registered a growth of 29 percent in terms of GOTS certified facilities. We shall be organizing GOTS Bangladesh Seminar 2019 on 8th September in Dhaka and look forward to hosting all local stakeholders there.” – Sumit Gupta, GOTS Representative, India & Bangladesh
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 fibre (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), hazardous chemicals (such as azo dyes and formaldehyde), and child labour, while requiring strong social compliance management systems and strict waste water treatment practices.
GOTS was developed by leading international standard setters – Organic Trade Association (US), Japan Organic Cotton Association, International Association Natural Textile Industry (Germany), and Soil Association (UK) to define globally recognised requirements that ensure the organic status of textiles, from field to finished product.
