Guide to GOTS - Organic September

BIDBI & ORGANIC SEPTEMBER 

As a GOTS certified company, BIDBI will be participating in this year's Soil’s Association Organic September campaign to raise awareness about the importance of purchasing organic products.

GOTS is the Global Organic Textile Standard. What does it mean to you as a customer and how did we achieve it? This blog will answer both those questions and help you understand the importance of the GOTS certification.

INTRO TO GOTS

GOTS is the worldwide leading textile processing standard for what is the minimum expected to truly call a textile product organic. This includes; using at least 70% organic fibres, ensuring that all chemicals used, like dyes, must meet their low toxicology criteria and water treatment plants must be put in place, amongst other social criteria that must also be met.

Unlike Food, textile products can be called organic without actually having been certified. So, by purchasing GOTS certified organic cotton you can be sure that the entire supply chain has been independently verified.

WHY CHOOSE ORGANIC?

The growing of organic cotton uses materials and methods that have a low impact on the environment. Organic cotton is grown without using pesticides and synthetic fertilizers which are usually washed into nearby watercourses and are responsible for poisoning wildlife and rivers.

There are also no genetically modified elements allowed in the growing of organic cotton eliminating the risk to humans and wildlife and stopping the unnecessary financial expense to farmers.

Organic Cotton doesn’t just mean it’s grown organically, the whole supply chain needs to be processed in such a way that it is considered suitable. The GOTS standard ensures that the chemicals used in processing the textiles meet strict guidelines on toxicity and biodegradability.

Factory conditions, both in the UK and abroad, need to meet strict standards as unfortunately poor working conditions in the textile industry overseas are commonplace. GOTS processors must meet the social criteria listed on the International Labour Organisations conventions which include minimum wages, working hours, condemnation of child labour and harsh or inhumane treatment.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

BIDBI is one of the only GOTS organic home textiles printing companies in the UK. For you as a customer, having the GOTS certification means that BIDBI can assure you that the bags and other cotton items that have the label, have been processed from crop to completion in a way that is completely organic.

This accreditation will also show your customers your ethical standpoint and will act as proof that the products you sell have real sustainable and environmentally friendly provenance.

WHAT DID BIDBI HAVE TO DO?

BIDBI has had to go through a rigorous auditing process where all elements of the supply chain were, step by step, independently verified and checked that they met GOTS standards. Where they didn’t, we’ve worked quickly to rectify this. Our products are not only now GOTS approved organic, but they are using 100% Organic and Fairtrade cotton. We’ve now launched our first coloured organic range that spans across a range of bags and homewares as well as introducing an Organic Mesh range to be used for grocery shopping.

ORGANIC SEPTEMBER 

#GoOrganic this September by joining our #OrganicSeptember campaign on Instagram and Facebook. Let's all make more organic purchasing choices and do our bit for the environment.   

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