The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) has noted an 8.2 per cent increase in the number of facilities certified under its ambit from 4,642 facilities in 2016 to 5,024 facilities in 2017. These certified facilities are located in 62 countries across the world.
The world’s second-largest apparel exporter, Bangladesh (40 per cent) reported the highest increase in the number of GOTS-certified facilities followed by North America (+39%), Portugal (+39%) and Europe (+29%).
India, Bangladesh, Germany, Turkey, Italy, China, Pakistan, Portugal, USA and South Korea remained the top ten countries in terms of hosting the highest number of GOTS-certified production units.
India, touted as the largest exporter of organic textiles, has a total of 1,658 GOTS-approved manufacturing facilities. Markedly, India has maintained its top position since 2008 while Bangladesh with 534 GOTS-certified units stands at the second position.
“The textile industry in Bangladesh has increased focus on sustainability now and many companies are now becoming eligible to become GOTS certified,” said Sumit Gupta, GOTS Representative in India & Bangladesh.
He added that the certification body is now planning to focus on the increasing domestic consumption of certified organic clothing in India this year.
Further, the report states that more than 1.74 million people were working in 19-GOTS accredited independent Certification Bodies in the year 2017.
A 14 per cent increase was also reported in the number of chemicals on the GOTS Positive List to more than 17,900 from 720 manufacturers. The GOTS Positive List contains trade names of approved chemicals that must be used by all textile manufacturers for their GOTS-certified sustainable production of textiles.
“The rising number of GOTS-certified textile companies corroborates that the body is taken as a solution for managing risks, reputation and market differentiation,” GOTS Director Claudia Kersten was quoted as saying.
Notably, GOTS aims to safeguard the organic status of textiles through a sustainable production process.
Bharat Tex Special Report 2026 
