GOTS and OEKO-TEX 100 certification

In this day and age, sustainability and ethical treatment of our planet and a company's employees, shouldn't be a surprise anymore. Really, it should simply be the expected standard. Unfortunately this isn't always the case, and for the concerning consumer it's even harder to select the right product to fit their values.

This is where two independent certification labels come in. "Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and OEKO-TEX 100 are the pinnacle of responsible textile creation.

 

GOTS - Global Organic Textile Standard

The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) is the world's leading textile processing standard when it comes to organic fibres. It defines high-level environmental criteria along the entire organic textiles supply chain and requires compliance with social criteria. 

In order to be certified, textiles must contain a minimum of 70% certified organic natural fibres. All chemical inputs such as dyes and auxiliaries used must meet a set of environmental and toxicological criteria along with waste water management treatment plan for any wet processing involved. The choice of accessories is limited in accordance with ecological aspects.

A textile product that is carrying the GOTS label "organic" must contain a minimum of 95% certified organic fibre where a product carrying the GOTS label "made with organic" must contain a minimum of 70% certified organic fibre.

All T-Owl products carrying the GOTS label are made with well over 95% organic fibre and therefore have the Organic Product GOTS label.

GOTS certification covers the whole textile process include fair labour practices (no child labour!) and the assurance that there are no known toxic substances used as part of the manufacturing process and is therefore safe for humans.

 

OEKO-TEX - Standard 100 by OEKO-TEX 

The STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® is a worldwide consistent, independent testing and certification system for raw, semi-finished, and finished textile products at all processing levels, as well as accessory materials used.

To obtain a OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certification, the textile needs to be free from more than 100 substances known to be harmful to human health. The standard takes into account the following:

• Legal regulations, such as banned AZO colourants, formaldehyde, pentachlorophenol, cadmium, nickel etc
• Other harmful chemicals that are not yet legally regulated
• Requirements of Annexes XVII and XIV of the European Chemicals Regulation REACH as well as the ECHA SVHC Candidate List
• Requirements from the US Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) regarding lead.
• Numerous environmentally relevant substance classes

 

Why have both?

GOTS is a global, independent certification which only covers "organic" textiles while OEKO-TEX is a global independent certification that covers "both organic and non organic" textiles. Both have extremely strict testing standards in place. If a product holds a GOTS or OEKO-TEX certification you can be confident that the product has gone through testing and is as safe as it can be for humans. As you might have guessed, there is a lot of overlap between the two but each has their own focus. Our approach when it comes to organic & ethical textiles is, the more certifications the better! 

 

Hand loomed
We love for all our products to be hand loomed by local craftsmen and women. We go out of our way to be able to offer the best possible quality hands can weave. Where possible we source traditionally loomed textiles and we value the effort that goes into artisan created works.

T-Owl's philosophy

We fully embrace the ideals of both the GOTS and OEKO-TEX certifications and strive to live by them and, where possible, exceed those expectations.
We know our customers care for this as well and therefore all our products have either a GOTS or OEKO-TEX certification, some even have both!

Beyond accredited certifications, we endeavour to offer handmade products wherever possible. 

We have listed the certifications and the looming method applicable to the products in their descriptions to make it as easy as possible for you to find your perfect match. Just look for the logos in the descriptions!

We care about this as much as you do and you can feel confident any purchase from our shop aligns with your personal values.