Organic Fibres
In the face of today's pressing sustainability challenges, the fashion and textile industry must embrace a paradigm shift in production and consumption. Organic fibres have emerged as a vital component, enabling an industry that proactively reduces its negative environmental impact and prioritises human well-being over short-term gains.
At the forefront of this movement is the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), ensuring transparency and accountability. To carry the ‘made with organic’ label grade, a textile product must contain a minimum of 70% certified organic fibres, while the 'organic' label grade requires a minimum of 95% certified organic fibres. The remaining portion of fibres must meet strict criteria per GOTS requirements.
What are organic fibres?
- Sustainable: Organic fibres are derived from organic agriculture, a regulated and certified method for sustainable land management. Organic is the only legislated standard for environmentally friendly agriculture, and it is a proven method to contribute to sustainability goals.
- Plant or Animal based: Organic fibres can be plant-based, such as cotton, linen, or hemp, or animal-based, such as wool, silk or cashmere.
- Free of toxic chemicals: Organic fibre production prohibits the use of harmful pesticides, herbicides, and synthetic fertilisers, all of which have been proven to negatively impact ecosystems and/or human health.
- Non-GMO: The use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) is prohibited in organic agriculture. This is due to potential and demonstrated adverse effects on human and ecosystem health associated with GMOs. Organic fibres are thus derived from agricultural systems that promote biodiversity and support ecosystem functions.
What are the benefits of organic fibres?
- Promote Biodiversity: By eliminating toxic chemicals and synthetic fertilisers, organic fibre production promotes healthier ecosystems, reduces water pollution, and conserves biodiversity.
- Improved human health: The absence of harmful substances in organic fibre cultivation minimises the risk of health issues that can be caused by exposure to chemical residues, both for the farmers and the end user.
- Enhanced sustainability: Organic fibre production supports sustainable farming practises that promote soil fertility, water conservation, and long-term ecological resilience.
- Enhanced farmer autonomy and resilience: Organic farmers, utilising botanical extracts and natural soil amendments, have less reliance on external inputs (e.g. pesticides and fertilisers). Additionally, necessary crop rotation ensures economic resiliency, and organic fibres are part of organic food systems that promote food security and healthy communities.
Why does certification matter?
- Authenticity and Trust: Certification serves as a powerful tool to establish the authenticity of organic fibres, instilling confidence in consumers and businesses alike. It provides a reliable guarantee that the products they purchase or work with are genuinely organic, backed by rigorous requirements and independent verification. Unlike self-claims, which lack external validation, certification offers a tangible proof of integrity and builds trust in the organic supply chain.
- Traceability: Certified organic fibres offer traceability, allowing for the tracking of the fibre's journey from the finished product back to the farm it originated from. This traceability provides transparency and accountability, ensuring that the organic claims can be verified and validated. It enables consumers and businesses to have confidence in the authenticity of the fibres.
- Compliance: Organic fibre certification ensures compliance with regulations and standards related to organic labelling and sustainability claims. By obtaining certification, companies can demonstrate their commitment to responsible practises and avoid potential legal issues or accusations of greenwashing.
- Transparency: Certification promotes transparency by providing clear information about the origin and production methods of the fibres, empowering consumers to make informed choices aligned with their values.
There is a common misconception that GOTS certifies raw fibres. Organic fibre production is not directly covered by the GOTS certification system, as GOTS itself does not set standards for organic fibre cultivation. Instead, the cultivation of organic fibres is under the scope of organic farming standards, many of them defined by national governments.
For organic fibre production, a certification to one of the IFOAM Family of Standards for the relevant scope of production is required. IFOAM has its own accreditation system, and the standards approved under the IFOAM family of standards are officially endorsed as organic and include both private and government regulations. Click on image to see the current IFOAM Family of Standards.
Why relying on organic fibres alone is not enough?
While organic fibres are an essential component of sustainable practises in the textile industry, relying solely on them is insufficient to achieve comprehensive sustainability goals. Here are key reasons why organic fibres are not enough:
- Processing and Chemical Use: Even if a textile product is made from 100% organic fibres, the subsequent industrial processing stages can involve harmful chemicals and questionable practises. Common processing methods still utilise toxic substances and contribute to pollution, negating the sustainability benefits of using organic fibres even if the final product is free from residues and thus safe for the end consumer, there is no guarantee that toxic chemicals (sadly often released into the environment and handled by the workers) were not used in the production process. This is why GOTS starts with organic fibres, requires non-toxic processing, and results in clean products.
- Working Conditions: The focus on organic fibres does not automatically address the working conditions of labourers involved in textile production. Ensuring ethical treatment, fair wages, and safe working environments for workers requires a comprehensive approach that goes beyond the organic fibre aspect.
- Packaging: Packaging materials used in the textile industry can significantly impact the overall sustainability of products. Relying solely on organic fibres neglects the importance of eco-friendly packaging.
- Product technical quality: technical qualities of textile fibres have an indirect impact on the environment as they directly affect the lifetime of a product, thereby affecting resource consumption and waste generation. The sole use of organic fibre does not guarantee quality.
GOTS is an all-inclusive, comprehensive standard which addresses this issue by setting strict environmental, human-rights and social criteria throughout the entire value chain. Find out about all GOTS key features:
Compliance support+
All Processing Stages
Due Diligence
Human-Rights and Social Criteria
Environmental Criteria
Traceability
Third-Party Certification
Organic Fibres
Any natural fibre types that can be certified to one of the IFOAM Family of Standards can be used in a GOTS certified product. Examples include cotton, hemp, flax/linen, jute, coir, kapok, or wool, silk, alpaca, cashmere, and mohair.
GOTS offers two label grades that textile products can carry:
- “organic” signifying a minimum content of 95% organic fibres, and
- “made with organic”, indicating a minimum content of 70% organic fibres, respectively.
- Both label grades are available for in-conversion status as “organic in-conversion” and “made with organic in-conversion” when using fibres derived from organic producers that are in conversion (at least 12 months after starting).
The remaining balance of the product may consist of certain "additional fibres" allowed by GOTS. These additional fibres used in combination with the certified organic or organic in-conversion fibres must adhere to strict criteria defined by GOTS.
Allowed additional fibres in GOTS Version 7.0
Individually or in combination up to 30% for:
- Non-organic certified plant or animal fibres that comes from non-GMO sources
- Cellulose based regenerated fibres such as Lyocell from sustainable sources (e.g. FSC), viscose, modal. All from non-GMO sources.
- Protein based regenerated fibres such as casein, from non-GMO sources
- Certain recycled synthetic fibres, such as recycled polyester
- Certain virgin fibres such as elastane
- PLA fibre from non-GMO biomass sources
These additional fibres are allowed to be used at certain percentages only. Please refer to GOTS 7.0 Section 3.2.3 to find out corresponding restrictions.
Prohibited additional fibres
Certain fibre categories are explicitly prohibited by GOTS:
- Conventionally grown cotton
- Virgin polyester
- Conventional angora hair
- Acrylic
- Wool that comes from farms where mulesing is practised
- Asbestos, Carbon and Silver Fibres
- Organic-in-conversion refers to a transitional period in the organic farming process.
- It represents the phase when farmers are in the process of converting their farming practises to comply with organic principles and certification requirements.
- During this period, farmers follow organic farming practises but have not yet completed the required transition period to achieve full organic certification.
- The organic-in-conversion period usually takes 3 years, which sometimes can be adjusted based on the retroactive recognition of organic management practises. This means that if certain practises were being followed on the farm before the official transition period began, and these practises align with organic standards, the conversion period could be reduced. In other words, if the farm had been using organic practises unknowingly, this effort might be taken into account and the conversion period might be adjusted.
- Products labelled as organic-in-conversion indicate that they are made with fibres from farms that are at least 12 months into the process of converting to certified organic agriculture.
- Organic-in-conversion fibres still undergo inspections and meet specific requirements to ensure adherence to organic standards.
- Consumers can support farmers in the transition to organic agriculture by purchasing and promoting organic-in-conversion products.
- Choosing organic-in-conversion products contributes to the growth of organic agriculture and encourages the adoption of sustainable farming practises. The label grade 'organic in conversion' is allowed in GOTS only where the production standard on which the fibre production is based permits it (e.g., not in USA, per USDA NOP regulations).
- The GOTS certification process starts at the processing level (e.g., ginning mills for cotton). “Organic in-conversion" fibres and textile products need to be stored and processed separately from both non-organic and organic products in all stages of the value chain.
- No separate audit is required, but the label grade 'organic in conversion' will be visible on the GOTS Scope Certificate Products Appendix (see Scope Certificate Template).
The use of 'organic in-conversion' and “made with organic in-conversion” are permitted where the certifying organic production standard permits it. GOTS requires that fibres are certified to one of the IFOAM Family of Standards, which encompasses private and national standards.
In the USA, this is not possible, because the USDA NOP only allows the term “organic” to be applied to goods that have been sourced from NOP certified farms and only after they have completed the conversion period.
Moving away from 'conventional' agricultural practises to an organic management system requires a transition period referred to as 'in-conversion' (IC). This transition period typically takes 3 years. It however, depends on the organic certification standard, the scope of production, and the history of the site. During that time, farmers learn to comply with organic certification requirements, including documentation, implementing organic agricultural methods, regenerating soil health, and replace prohibited inputs with natural and botanical alternatives. Farmers are audited by Certification Bodies as per the requirements of the organic production standards.
Search for 'organic in-conversion' in the free text field of the GOTS Certified Suppliers Database.
Yes! Read our GOTS organic in-conversion stories.
Global Standard, together with OCA (Organic Cotton Accelerator) and Textile Exchange (TE) work on a proficiency testing programme for laboratories that can test samples for GMO presence in organic cotton by the ISO IWA 32:2019 protocol.
Read more on the ISO IWA 32:2019 proficiency test initiative to screen for the potential presence of GM cotton.