The world of certifications can be confusing, but we are here to guide you through. Certifications are a way to prove the claims you make as a company. We work with multiple certifications, including the Global Organic Textile Standard, or GOTS. If you check your care label, you can see if you spot the GOTS logo on your Kuyichi item. But what is GOTS, how did they come about, what does the label stand for, and why do we like to work with GOTS?

What is GOTS?

Global Standard is an independent non-profit organisation that set up the leading textile standard called Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). They focus on certifying organic textile products that must meet human rights-, social and environmental criteria. The goal is for the final product, like your Kuyichi jeans, to contain organic fibres and be produced under the standards set by GOTS, which ensures compliance through third-party certification across all stages of the supply chain. When you see a GOTS label on the product you can be sure of the following: every company in the supply chain involved in its production is GOTS-certified! After the farmer produces organic cotton, linen, hemp or wool, every entity must be GOTS-certified, from the spinner to the brand.

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How did GOTS come about?

GOTS was developed in 2002 by four organisations. All four had developed separate organic textile standards, but they shared the ambition to harmonise these standards into one global label. The mission for this new standard was to support the highest level of social and environmental impact in textile value chains through a voluntary sustainability standard. The standard meets the consumer’s desire for transparency and the need for the textile industry to have one global standard. Even though GOTS sets high standards, it has proven to be a success, with an increasing number of factories and companies becoming certified.

What does GOTS stand for?

GOTS certification mainly focuses on organic fibre use and its impact on the environmental supply chain. But there is more to GOTS than that. Here are the main criteria and requirements summed up:

Organic fibres: The product must contain at least 70% certified organic fibres. Certified organic fibres are grown without synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The remaining non-organic 30% of the fibres are also restricted. For instance, a maximum of 10% of virgin synthetic fibres may be used in the product.
Human rights and social criteria: The social standards in GOTS require Certified Entities to meet internationally recognised human rights criteria, including the International Bill of Human Rights and numerous ILO Conventions. These requirements include well-being, safety and fairness for all workers. Companies also need to prove they do their due diligence.
Environmental criteria:The standard includes requirements for organic fibre production, environmental management and conservation, chemical inputs, and quality.
Traceability: GOTS works with a chain of custody, which means that every company in the chain needs to be certified and follow the standard. A transaction certificate proves every transaction from one company to the next to trace the raw materials to finished products. This is called a chain of custody.

"Even though GOTS sets high standards, it has proven to be a success, with an increasing number of factories and companies becoming certified. "

Why do we work with GOTS?

GOTS is a certification that meets one of the highest standards in the industry. Not only does it have a traceability system throughout the whole value chain, it goes beyond organic fibres, reducing social, environmental and chemical risks in our supply chain. If a company is part of a GOTS production chain, it must follow the certification rules for water treatment, chemical restrictions, and labour rights.

The end products are completely free of pesticides, insecticides and hazardous chemicals. They are made in safe factories and contain organic, natural and minimal synthetic materials. GOTS takes a lot of extra effort and can get stuck on many levels. But hey, we like a challenge!

Image Source: Global Organic Textile Standard