Green Button Taps GOTS for Sustainable Manufacturing and Wet Processes
The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) has been recognized by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) for meeting the requirements of production processes of Green Button 2.0, the Germany-based organization charged with verifying textile products from responsible companies whose products meet a slate of sustainability requirements.
Under Green Button 2.0, GOTS can now grant about 60 other Green Button companies use of the certification schemes to address meta-label requirements. It guarantees that consumers get reliable information on a variety of certification labels on the textile market in three areas, including fiber and material use, wet processes and manufacturing. Previously, companies were subjected to the requirements for due diligence within a formal Green Button review.
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BMZ’s certification remains in place until Green Button is revised again.
Last year, many other certification companies were recognized for their sustainable manufacturing and production efforts. Some of them include Oeko-Tex Made in Green, Cotton Made in Africa (CmiA), Oeko-Tex Organic Cotton, and Global Recycled Standard.
GOTS is a body that keeps evolving. In November, it broadened its access criteria to open it up to small-scale operators while in October it released its Due Diligence Handbook for Certified Entities in collaboration with the UpRights Foundation, a Hague-based human rights organization.
The watchdog group is the stringent voluntary global standard for the entire post-harvest processing. That includes spinning, knitting, weaving, dyeing and manufacturing of apparel and home textiles made with such certified organic fiber as organic cotton and wool, and includes environmental and social criteria. Key provisions include a ban on the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), highly hazardous chemicals such as azo dyes and formaldehyde, and child labor, while requiring strong social compliance management systems and strict wastewater treatment practices.
GOTS was developed by the Organic Trade Association (U.S.), Japan Organic Cotton Association, International Association Natural Textile Industry (Germany) and Soil Association (UK) to define globally recognized requirements that ensure the organic status of textiles, from field to finished product. GOTS is a non-profit, self-financed organization.
