WASHINGTON — April 23, 2013 — The number of facilities becoming certified to the Global Organic
Textile Standard (GOTS) increased 11 percent to surpass the 3000 mark in 2012, growing from 2,714
facilities in 2011 to 3,016 facilities in 2012, according to new data from the GOTS International
Working Group. GOTS is recognized as the leading processing standard for textiles made from organic
fibers worldwide. GOTS certification means consumers are purchasing items certified organic from
field to finished product.
The Top Twenty countries in terms of the total number of GOTS-certified facilities were:
India, Turkey, China, Germany, Pakistan, South Korea, Italy, Bangladesh, Japan, United Kingdom,
France, Portugal, USA, Austria, Netherlands, Greece, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Peru, Switzerland, and
Denmark.
While the top three countries remained the same as the previous year, Germany rose to 4th
place, surpassing Pakistan, and Portugal moved from 20th to 12th place by more than doubling the
number of its certified facilities. In addition, companies became certified to GOTS in 5 countries
with no previous GOTS-certified manufacturing (Bahrain, Colombia, Kenya, New Zealand, and
Paraguay). GOTS certified facilities are now located in 62 countries around the world.
Overall, Europe led the way with a 44 percent increase in the number of GOTS-certified
facilities from 2011-2012 (506-728). Countries with the greatest increase in facilities gaining
GOTS certification in 2012 were (in order by rank) India, China, South Korea, Germany, Bangladesh,
and Portugal.
The U.S. ranks 13 with number of GOTS-certified facilities increasing from 40 to 44
facilities from 2011-2912. The increased adoption of GOTS is in part the result of increased
awareness of U.S. organic textile policy which requires companies claiming their organic fiber
products are “organic” to be certified either to GOTS or the U.S. National Organic Program’s
standards.
“Increasingly, consumers are demanding ecologically- and socially responsibly-processed
textiles, and companies are searching for tools to make their supply chains more sustainable. The
result is a ‘pull effect’ and more companies becoming GOTS-certified,” says Herbert Ladwig, GOTS
Managing Director.
There are now seven regional representatives worldwide who are driving increase in the
awareness of certification to GOTS. The newest representative, Shirley Han, was appointed in 2012
to focus on growing awareness of GOTS in China. With this extensive network in place, GOTS and the
Soil Association in October 2012 launched the first global organic cotton campaign, asking textile
industry leaders “Have you cottoned on yet?” to urge them to sign on and publicly commit to
supporting organic fiber production and processing to GOTS.
Also in 2012, the GOTS operating unit changed from a limited liability corporation into a
non-profit organization, the Global Standard gemeinnützige GmbH, the German legal term for a
non-profit organization. While financially and organizationally GOTS has always operated as a
non-profit, the external documentation has now been formalized.
Detailed information can be found in the GOTS Annual Report 2012, available for download at
www.global-standard.org/images/stories/gots_ar2012.pdf.
Posted on April 20, 2013
Source: GOTS
