The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) : Identifying fraud in India since 2020 but receives no evidence
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16 February 2022, Mumbai:
Since identifying fraud in India in 2020 through its own investigation, the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) has stated that it has not received any evidence of fraud, whether from Textile Exchange or other partners.
In response to a New York Times investigation, GOTS stated in a press release that it is not a farm standard and hence does not certify cotton. Instead, GOTS is a strict voluntary global standard that incorporates both environmental and social standards for the full post-harvest processing of garments and home textiles made with certified organic fiber.
GOTS has so far enforced a certification ban on 11 firms (affecting 20,000 tonnes of cotton, or one-sixth of India's entire output) and canceled a contract with an authorized certification agency. "We've regularly removed questionable companies from the GOTS system and made this information public. "We are keen to see such proof, as GOTS frequently acts against such proof and imposes harsh consequences such as certification bans," the statement stated.
GOTS is an independent non-profit organization that funds itself through annual fees of 150€ per certified facility, according to the statement. It is not funded by brands. Regardless of size, each of the nearly 12,000 accredited establishments pays the same annual fee of 150€. "Consumers can trust that GOTS-certified products contain organic cotton."
"GOTS only permits fibers into the supply chain that have been certified according to the IFOAM family of standards and have undergone obligatory checks," it stated.
To prevent any farm-level fraud, GOTS takes a step further and demands that seed cotton entering the GOTS supply chain be tested for the presence of genetically modified organisms using the applicable ISO procedure, according to the company.
ALSO READ: Global Organic Cotton Standard (GOTS) ramps up oversight on product claims in ''North America''
Furthermore, GOTS-accredited Certification Bodies do additional testing (such as pesticide residue) based on their risk assessment and are fully authorized to reject material that does not fulfill GOTS requirements.
To enhance the GOTS system even more, the organization is now working on a central database that will trace the origin of organic cotton as well as other organic materials. From the early processing steps to the final goods, it will cover the complete GOTS chain.
We requested for public financing to construct the database in order to remain independent of commercial interests. Our independence is worth it, even if it hinders growth.
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*Figures mentioned in the above article have been sourced from Apparel Resources article.
