GlobalOrganicTextileStandard，The standard was jointly formulated and published by IWG, an international working group of GOTS, which consists of International Natural Textiles Association (IVN), Japan Organic Cotton Association (JOCA), American Organic Trade Association (OTA) and British Soil Association (SA). The first version was officially promulgated and implemented in September 2006. The current valid version 4.0 was released on March 1, 2014 and officially implemented on March 1, 2015. On March 1, 2017, Germany GlobalstandardGGMBH (the predecessor of GOTS IWG) [1] released GOTS5.0 and its implementation manual, and the new version was officially implemented on March 1, 2018.

The purpose of GOTS certification is to ensure the standardization of organic textiles from harvesting, raw materials, processing and final product packaging, so as to bring reliable products to the final consumers. This new and unique certification regulation requires textile manufacturers to regulate their production of organic textiles and clothing with globally recognized standards, which is an important measure to realize the harmonization and transparency of textile labeling.

The GOTS standard covers the processing, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, trading and distribution of all textiles with organic and natural certified fiber content of not less than 70%. The final products include (but not limited to) fiber products, yarns, fabrics, clothing, textile fashion (wearing) accessories, textile toys, household textiles, mattress bedding and textile personal care products.

The standard contents include: raw materials, production process, packaging and transportation, inputs (including auxiliary materials, dyeing materials, processing AIDS, etc.), production records, social standards, environmental management, quality control (including the detection of technical quality parameters and residues) and so on.

Development history of global organic textile certification GOTS

After the meeting in 2002, many standardization organizations and experts participated in IWG's research on drafting GOTS, and most of their energy was spent on the negotiation of some clauses that the original standards or draft standards were not negotiable, but actually there were conflicts, with a view to reaching a consensus. Unfortunately, not all standardization organizations involved in the negotiation signed the final working group agreement.

In July 2004, the four standardization organizations involved in the negotiation reached an agreement on the basic framework and implementation steps of GOTS.

In May 2005, at the 2005 International Organic Cotton Conference held in Chicago, the four standardization organizations reached an agreement on version 1.0 GOTS and its implementation procedures.

On September 30th, 2006, these four organizations formally adopted GOTS. In February 2008, IWG reached a consensus on launching the Peugeot and licensing system certified by GOTS.

In May 2008, version 2.0 of GOTS was officially released.

In March 2012, the GOTS3.0 version 3.0 was revised.

In March 2014, an effective version of GOTS4.0 was released and officially implemented in March 2015.

In March 2017, GOTS5.0 version and manual were released, which was officially implemented in March 2018.

Global organic textile standard, GOTS certification. An evolving organic cotton certification.

GOTS, a global organic textile certification, has four obvious characteristics.

First, it is required to use organic fibers, including natural fibers such as cotton and hemp, which can be put into it as organic fibers.

Second, third-party testing. Third-party testing is also done by an independent certification body authorized by us, that is to say, there are no informal certification bodies in the market, and there is no such thing as paying for certificates. There are only three authorized companies in China, so they are strictly under our control.

Three, including the standards of environmental and social responsibility. Generally speaking, some of the standards we mentioned now only cover environmental standards, such as water pollution, some additives and so on. In addition, we also include social responsibility here, that is, whether these workers working in the factory have been treated fairly, their working hours, etc., and also pay attention to some of their rights and interests.

4. Global organic standards cover the whole supply chain. Speaking of the whole processing supply chain, GOTS factory inspection is the most polluted printing and dyeing link in the whole textile chain, starting from cotton beating, starting from the treatment of cotton fibers, to the yarn stage. Finally, the garment manufacturing, warehousing and logistics links, and even the retailers and traders who sell products have to undergo strict examination.

Steps of global organic textile certification GOTS

Application: fill in and submit the application form provided by the organization, including information such as certification location.

2. Agreement: After confirming the application form, the certification body will sign an agreement with the customer and provide a quotation.

3. Review: After signing the agreement and paying the certification fee, the certification begins to evaluate the GOTS documents (for example, the material flow chart of each location, including risk points, GOTS system plan (checklist sent by the organization) and procedure manual). At the same time, the auditor began to prepare for the on-site audit.

IV. Review and conclusion: After the on-site audit is completed, we need to ensure that all corrective measures are solved. After that, the institution issues a certificate.

5. Time: Generally, the basic certification takes 5-10 working weeks, which can be completed in advance according to your preparation.

Basic conditions of global organic textile standard certification GOTS

-The processing process must meet the following requirements:

1. Ensure the separation of organic textiles and conventional textiles in the whole processing process.

2. All chemical inputs must be evaluated (such as fuel, additives and process chemicals) before they can be used, and they must meet the basic requirements in terms of independence and biodegradability.

3, prohibit the use of toxic heavy metals, formaldehyde and genetically modified substances and other inputs.

4. Strictly restrict the use of packaging materials. If PVC, nickel or chromium are not allowed, plastic cannot be used for decals or inlays.

5. All produced sewage must be treated by a special sewage treatment unit.

Basic conditions of global organic textile standard certification GOTS

-The processing process must meet the following requirements:

1. Ensure the separation of organic textiles and conventional textiles in the whole processing process.

2. All chemical inputs must be evaluated (such as fuel, additives and process chemicals) before they can be used, and they must meet the basic requirements in terms of independence and biodegradability.

3, prohibit the use of toxic heavy metals, formaldehyde and genetically modified substances and other inputs.

4. Strictly restrict the use of packaging materials. If PVC, nickel or chromium are not allowed, plastic cannot be used for decals or inlays.

5. All produced sewage must be treated by a special sewage treatment unit.

6, the welfare of all production personnel should meet the requirements of the minimum social standards (according to the requirements of the International Labour Organization).

7. During spinning, only paraffin and paraffin oil obtained from natural raw materials are allowed to be added.

8. Starch, starch derivatives, other natural substances and carboxymethyl cellulose (less than 25% combined natural substances of polyenol or polyaluminum chloride) are allowed to be used in rubber compound and textile/knitting process.

9. Non-woven fabric: mechanical compaction, weaving and winding (hydraulic winding)

Second, establish a complete quality control system:

On-site audit: 1. Certification of the whole production chain; 2. Operators must conduct on-site inspection once a year from receipt to finished garments (including exporters and importers); 3. Certification bodies need to comply with the requirements of ISO65, including the scope of textile certification and approval, and be approved by IWG.

Residue detection: 1. The value of residue specified in the standard 2. According to the risk assessment of pollutants, the operator needs to carry out residue detection.

Audit scope of global organic textile certification GOTS

1. Product quality system 2. Minimum social responsibility system audit 3. Environmental management system audit

GOTS certification audit results:

1, the qualification certificate is valid for one year, supervision and audit every year.

2. The sales certificate is the organic cotton certificate of each batch of products.

For GOTS 4.0, the updates of GOTS 5.0 include:

1. It is clear that the organic fiber certified by China organic standard (GB/T19630) and Indian NPOP standard can be used as the raw material source of GOTS (note: GOTS certification is still needed for ginning, hemp, wool washing and cocoon cooking);

2. Adjusted the proportion requirements of regenerated cellulose fiber in GOTS products;

3. The description of non-slip layer was added to the auxiliary material requirements;

4. Further clarify the requirements for the use of pesticides/fungicides during storage;

5. Further clarify the invoice and document requirements when receiving raw material TC and identifying GOTS products;

6. Revise the requirements of some technical quality parameters, for example, adjust the grade of saliva color fastness from "Fast" to "5".

7. The test method of some residue limit values was updated, and some indicators were revised according to REACH regulations.

8. The application of OEKO-Tex100 certification to the evidence of auxiliary materials has been added in the standard manual.

9. The requirements of Socialcriteria have been updated, and the content of EthicalBusinessBehaviour has been added; Added the minimum multiple of overtime payment.

10. The definition of "infant textiles" has been added.

11. The applicability of ZDHC (zero discharge of hazardous chemicals) has been increased.

12. It is clear that repackaging of bulk goods is not a repackaging activity.

GlobalOrganicTextileStandard，The standard was jointly formulated and published by IWG, an international working group of GOTS, which consists of International Natural Textiles Association (IVN), Japan Organic Cotton Association (JOCA), American Organic Trade Association (OTA) and British Soil Association (SA). The first version was officially promulgated and implemented in September 2006. The current valid version 4.0 was released on March 1, 2014 and officially implemented on March 1, 2015. On March 1, 2017, Germany GlobalstandardGGMBH (the predecessor of GOTS IWG) [1] released GOTS5.0 and its implementation manual, and the new version was officially implemented on March 1, 2018.

The purpose of GOTS certification is to ensure the standardization of organic textiles from harvesting, raw materials, processing and final product packaging, so as to bring reliable products to the final consumers. This new and unique certification regulation requires textile manufacturers to regulate their production of organic textiles and clothing with globally recognized standards, which is an important measure to realize the harmonization and transparency of textile labeling.

The GOTS standard covers the processing, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, trading and distribution of all textiles with organic and natural certified fiber content of not less than 70%. The final products include (but not limited to) fiber products, yarns, fabrics, clothing, textile fashion (wearing) accessories, textile toys, household textiles, mattress bedding and textile personal care products.

The standard contents include: raw materials, production process, packaging and transportation, inputs (including auxiliary materials, dyeing materials, processing AIDS, etc.), production records, social standards, environmental management, quality control (including the detection of technical quality parameters and residues) and so on.

Development history of global organic textile certification GOTS

After the meeting in 2002, many standardization organizations and experts participated in IWG's research on drafting GOTS, and most of their energy was spent on the negotiation of some clauses that the original standards or draft standards were not negotiable, but actually there were conflicts, with a view to reaching a consensus. Unfortunately, not all standardization organizations involved in the negotiation signed the final working group agreement.

In July 2004, the four standardization organizations involved in the negotiation reached an agreement on the basic framework and implementation steps of GOTS.

In May 2005, at the 2005 International Organic Cotton Conference held in Chicago, the four standardization organizations reached an agreement on version 1.0 GOTS and its implementation procedures.

On September 30th, 2006, these four organizations formally adopted GOTS. In February 2008, IWG reached a consensus on launching the Peugeot and licensing system certified by GOTS.

In May 2008, version 2.0 of GOTS was officially released.

In March 2012, the GOTS3.0 version 3.0 was revised.

In March 2014, an effective version of GOTS4.0 was released and officially implemented in March 2015.

In March 2017, GOTS5.0 version and manual were released, which was officially implemented in March 2018.

Global organic textile standard, GOTS certification. An evolving organic cotton certification.

GOTS, a global organic textile certification, has four obvious characteristics.

First, it is required to use organic fibers, including natural fibers such as cotton and hemp, which can be put into it as organic fibers.

Second, third-party testing. Third-party testing is also done by an independent certification body authorized by us, that is to say, there are no informal certification bodies in the market, and there is no such thing as paying for certificates. There are only three authorized companies in China, so they are strictly under our control.

Three, including the standards of environmental and social responsibility. Generally speaking, some of the standards we mentioned now only cover environmental standards, such as water pollution, some additives and so on. In addition, we also include social responsibility here, that is, whether these workers working in the factory have been treated fairly, their working hours, etc., and also pay attention to some of their rights and interests.

4. Global organic standards cover the whole supply chain. Speaking of the whole processing supply chain, GOTS factory inspection is the most polluted printing and dyeing link in the whole textile chain, starting from cotton beating, starting from the treatment of cotton fibers, to the yarn stage. Finally, the garment manufacturing, warehousing and logistics links, and even the retailers and traders who sell products have to undergo strict examination.

Steps of global organic textile certification GOTS

Application: fill in and submit the application form provided by the organization, including information such as certification location.

2. Agreement: After confirming the application form, the certification body will sign an agreement with the customer and provide a quotation.

3. Review: After signing the agreement and paying the certification fee, the certification begins to evaluate the GOTS documents (for example, the material flow chart of each location, including risk points, GOTS system plan (checklist sent by the organization) and procedure manual). At the same time, the auditor began to prepare for the on-site audit.

IV. Review and conclusion: After the on-site audit is completed, we need to ensure that all corrective measures are solved. After that, the institution issues a certificate.

5. Time: Generally, the basic certification takes 5-10 working weeks, which can be completed in advance according to your preparation.

Basic conditions of global organic textile standard certification GOTS

-The processing process must meet the following requirements:

1. Ensure the separation of organic textiles and conventional textiles in the whole processing process.

2. All chemical inputs must be evaluated (such as fuel, additives and process chemicals) before they can be used, and they must meet the basic requirements in terms of independence and biodegradability.

3, prohibit the use of toxic heavy metals, formaldehyde and genetically modified substances and other inputs.

4. Strictly restrict the use of packaging materials. If PVC, nickel or chromium are not allowed, plastic cannot be used for decals or inlays.

5. All produced sewage must be treated by a special sewage treatment unit.

Basic conditions of global organic textile standard certification GOTS

-The processing process must meet the following requirements:

1. Ensure the separation of organic textiles and conventional textiles in the whole processing process.

2. All chemical inputs must be evaluated (such as fuel, additives and process chemicals) before they can be used, and they must meet the basic requirements in terms of independence and biodegradability.

3, prohibit the use of toxic heavy metals, formaldehyde and genetically modified substances and other inputs.

4. Strictly restrict the use of packaging materials. If PVC, nickel or chromium are not allowed, plastic cannot be used for decals or inlays.

5. All produced sewage must be treated by a special sewage treatment unit.

6, the welfare of all production personnel should meet the requirements of the minimum social standards (according to the requirements of the International Labour Organization).

7. During spinning, only paraffin and paraffin oil obtained from natural raw materials are allowed to be added.

8. Starch, starch derivatives, other natural substances and carboxymethyl cellulose (less than 25% combined natural substances of polyenol or polyaluminum chloride) are allowed to be used in rubber compound and textile/knitting process.

9. Non-woven fabric: mechanical compaction, weaving and winding (hydraulic winding)

Second, establish a complete quality control system:

On-site audit: 1. Certification of the whole production chain; 2. Operators must conduct on-site inspection once a year from receipt to finished garments (including exporters and importers); 3. Certification bodies need to comply with the requirements of ISO65, including the scope of textile certification and approval, and be approved by IWG.

Residue detection: 1. The value of residue specified in the standard 2. According to the risk assessment of pollutants, the operator needs to carry out residue detection.

Audit scope of global organic textile certification GOTS

1. Product quality system 2. Minimum social responsibility system audit 3. Environmental management system audit

GOTS certification audit results:

1, the qualification certificate is valid for one year, supervision and audit every year.

2. The sales certificate is the organic cotton certificate of each batch of products.

For GOTS 4.0, the updates of GOTS 5.0 include:

1. It is clear that the organic fiber certified by China organic standard (GB/T19630) and Indian NPOP standard can be used as the raw material source of GOTS (note: GOTS certification is still needed for ginning, hemp, wool washing and cocoon cooking);

2. Adjusted the proportion requirements of regenerated cellulose fiber in GOTS products;

3. The description of non-slip layer was added to the auxiliary material requirements;

4. Further clarify the requirements for the use of pesticides/fungicides during storage;

5. Further clarify the invoice and document requirements when receiving raw material TC and identifying GOTS products;

6. Revise the requirements of some technical quality parameters, for example, adjust the grade of saliva color fastness from "Fast" to "5".

7. The test method of some residue limit values was updated, and some indicators were revised according to REACH regulations.

8. The application of OEKO-Tex100 certification to the evidence of auxiliary materials has been added in the standard manual.

9. The requirements of Socialcriteria have been updated, and the content of EthicalBusinessBehaviour has been added; Added the minimum multiple of overtime payment.

10. The definition of "infant textiles" has been added.

11. The applicability of ZDHC (zero discharge of hazardous chemicals) has been increased.

12. It is clear that repackaging of bulk goods is not a repackaging activity.