GOTS vs OEKO-TEX: which one means organic

GOTS stands for Global Organic Textile Standard. Its owner describes it as a certification for textiles made with organic fibers that combines environmental and human rights requirements with independent certification across the entire textile processing supply chain.

The standard picks up where the farm leaves off. In its own words, GOTS starts where organic farming ends, and it covers every step of production from fiber processing and spinning to wet processing, manufacturing and trading. The fiber itself must already be certified organic to a farming standard in the IFOAM Family of Standards before it enters a GOTS supply chain.

Two numbers matter. A product carrying the GOTS label must contain a minimum of 70 percent certified organic fibers. The label grade "organic" requires at least 95 percent. Products between 70 and 94 percent are graded "made with" organic materials, and GOTS says the consumer-facing label must state the exact percentage.

Processing rules come with it. GOTS lists environmental and chemical criteria for every processing stage, including chemical input restrictions, wastewater treatment and product safety. It also sets social criteria, among them safe and hygienic working conditions and a prohibition on child labor and forced labor.

Every company that handles the product has to be certified, not only the brand. GOTS says each company involved in processing must be certified by an approved independent certification body, and that certified facilities get annual on-site audits. Our GOTS label page has the full breakdown.

OEKO-TEX Standard 100 is, in the words of the association that runs it, a label for textiles tested for harmful substances. Every item bearing the label is certified as having passed safety tests for the presence of harmful substances.

The test is thorough about components. OEKO-TEX says every thread, button and accessory has been tested against a list of over 1,000 harmful substances. It reviews its limit values at least once a year, and a certificate is issued for one year.

How strict the limits are depends on how the item is used. OEKO-TEX sorts products into four classes and applies stricter requirements the more intensive the skin contact. Product Class 1 covers products for babies and children up to 3 years and has the strictest requirements and limit values. Class 2 covers products with direct skin contact, such as bed linens. Class 3 covers products without direct skin contact, and Class 4 covers home textiles such as curtains.

What the Standard 100 description does not include is any requirement about organic fiber. It is a test of what is in the finished article. A polyester fleece and a conventional cotton towel can both carry it. See the OEKO-TEX Standard 100 label page for more.

GOTS. In the United States that has regulatory weight. A USDA National Organic Program policy memo says textile products produced in accordance with GOTS may be sold as organic in the U.S., although they may not display the USDA Organic seal or refer to National Organic Program certification. The wider picture is in our guide to what organic means.

OEKO-TEX Standard 100 is not an organic claim, and OEKO-TEX does not present it as one. The association has a separate label for that, OEKO-TEX ORGANIC COTTON, which it describes as verification from farm to product. Products with that label are tested for genetically modified cotton as well as pesticides and other harmful substances. It comes in two versions: one for products made of 100 percent organic cotton, and a "Blended" version for products containing at least 70 percent.

So the brand name OEKO-TEX on a tag does not settle the question by itself. Read which OEKO-TEX label it is. Standard 100 is about tested substances. ORGANIC COTTON is about organic content plus testing.

Yes, and plenty do. The two labels overlap less than you might expect, because they check different things in different ways. GOTS audits the process and restricts what may be used along the way. Standard 100 tests the finished article in a laboratory.

For most shoppers looking for organic bedding or clothing, GOTS is the label that answers the question they are asking. That is why GOTS is the standard for picks such as organic sheets, organic towels and organic cotton underwear, with OEKO-TEX Standard 100 noted where a product also carries it.

Standard 100 is most useful where GOTS cannot apply: a blend with too much synthetic fiber, a waterproof layer, a zipper, a filling. For baby items, check whether the certificate is for Product Class 1. On organic baby bodysuits, for example, a GOTS label covers the fabric and its processing, and a Class 1 Standard 100 certificate tells you the snaps and thread were tested too.