International Working Group on Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS IWG) Recognition of Organic Fabrics
The International Working Group on Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS IWG) have released a new version, version 3, for the recognition of organic fabrics on March 1, 2011 in Germany. All companies wishing to receive GOTS-certification must fully comply with Version 3.0 by March 1 next year.
GOTS IWG is comprised of four reputed member organizations, namely OTA of USA, IVN of Germany, Soil Association of UK and JOCA of Japan, together with further international stakeholder organizations and experts.
The revised version, changes of which must be incorporated by 2014, prohibits the use of garment finishing methods such as denim sand blasting and stipulates that polyesters in a GOTS-certified product must be made of post-consumer recycled material. It also allows the use of polypropylene as an ‘additional fibre material’, and other material options for accessories.
Key GOTS IWG provisions already in place include a ban on genetically modified products, highly hazardous chemicals such as Azo Dye and Formaldehyde, child labour, whilst at the same time requiring a fair wage and strict waste water treatment. GOTS IWG plans to certify 95% of all fibres as ‘organic’ and 70% certified as ‘made from organic’.
Under the new rules, manufacturers of specialized fabrics should use laser and automatic machines. Consumers are becoming increasingly aware and many buyers are no longer accepting manual sandblasting, for example, as it harmful to health, can cause bronchitis and even cancer.
Bangladesh ranks in the top twenty countries with GOTS-certified facilities after India, Turkey, China, Pakistan, South Korea, Japan, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom. However, there is a need to increase the number of facilities in order to increase orders as consumers become increasingly aware and as buyers begin to demand certification. Other countries in the top twenty ranking with a smaller number of GOTs-certified facilities than Bangladesh are France, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Peru, USA, Netherlands, Sri Lanka, Portugal, Greece and Belgium.
