The Global Organic Textile Standard, or GOTS for short, is an internationally recognized certification with the vision of organic textiles becoming an essential part of everyday life, improving people's lives and benefiting the environment. NIKIN has also been GOTS-certified since 2019, but what exactly is GOTS?
NIKIN's goal is to bring sustainable and fair products to people at affordable prices. Of course, this wasn't possible from day one (at the end of 2016) – because fair and sustainable production simply costs more to produce than a cheap product made in Asia. Continuous improvement and becoming even more sustainable and fair has been important to us from the very beginning.
We now produce almost exclusively in Europe – our textiles come from European Türkiye. Our producer is GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certified – which ensures fair and sustainable production.
In January, we also had ourselves audited by GOTS – after a very thorough inspection, we successfully received our certification and received much praise. We have been GOTS certified since 2019, which makes us very proud and brings us even closer to our goals.
So we are now GOTS certified, but what is GOTS?
The abbreviation GOTS stands for the Global Organic Textile Standard. This internationally recognized standard guarantees ecologically produced fabrics and was introduced in 2006. The standard has since gained a global reputation and is increasingly becoming a quality benchmark in trade and industry, as well as among consumers. GOTS certification covers the sowing and harvesting of raw materials as well as environmentally friendly production. This includes not only processing and manufacturing, but also the packaging, labeling, trade, and distribution of textiles containing natural fibers – and these fibers must be 70% organically certified or certifiable. This applies not only to garments, but also to yarns, fabrics, and home textiles. In addition to environmental compatibility, ethically and socially responsible production and processing are an important component of GOTS certification.
What does GOTS stand for?
GOTS was created to make the ecological, health, and social quality of natural textiles measurable and is an internationally recognized standard. What makes GOTS special is that the entire production chain is included in this certification. Since every phase of production is audited, the standards are high. This is the only way to ensure that production is completely sustainable and meets the specifications.
Furthermore, the demands are raised by the high social standards. The prohibition of child labor, decent wages that secure a living, and protective measures in the workplace are also reviewed.
What are the requirements for certification?
Certification according to the GOTS standard starts practically from scratch. Let's take cotton as an example – cotton is the raw material for half of all clothing worldwide. GOTS certification begins with the ginning of the cotton. Organic farming according to agricultural standards, such as the EU Organic Regulation, is required for acceptable certification. An on-site inspection includes the review of the entire processing and supply chain – all, absolutely all, companies involved in the production process up to the final customer are audited annually and on-site to ensure they can receive and retain the GOTS seal.
Why is it worth getting certified?
The advantage for retailers: Once they have received the GOTS seal, they can advertise it, but strictly limited to products that truly deserve this label. Other items may also be offered, but the distinction from GOTS-certified products must be clear and obvious.
For retailers, certification is a sign of quality. Customers gain the assurance that they are purchasing sustainably produced products with a quality seal. This makes producers and retailers who choose this step the first point of contact for customers who value verifiable sustainability in their products.
The standard, in turn, provides customers with a selection criterion when purchasing. Certified companies can be viewed in the publicly accessible GOTS database.
Sustainability at NIKIN
So now we also have the white shirt on a green background – and with that we have made another step forward in our efforts to make the world a little bit better through sustainable products.
In addition, with every item purchased from NIKIN, our customers sponsor a tree – planted by our partner organization OneTreePlanted!
