GOLS: what the Global Organic Latex Standard means

GOLS was developed by Control Union, the certification company that still owns it. The current standard is Version 3.0, dated May 2016, with an amendment for rubber toys added in January 2021.

The central rule is about content. The product must contain a minimum of 95 percent certified natural rubber latex, measured against the total weight of its polymer content. Processing chemicals and filler together may make up no more than 5 percent. Synthetic latex is not allowed at all, and the split has to be confirmed by a content analysis test.

The rubber itself has to be of organic origin, certified at the plantation under a recognized organic standard such as the USDA National Organic Program for goods sold in the United States. Rubber from plantations still in conversion to organic may not be used, and genetically modified material is excluded.

The standard also sets permissible limits for harmful substances and requires an emission test on the latex, and it adds environmental and social requirements for the whole facility where certified products are made.

GOLS has one label grade. The product name is paired with the phrase "Made with ≥95% Certified Organic", a reference to the Global Organic Latex Standard and the client number. Two product types have their own lower thresholds, shown below, and must be labeled component by component.

Every link in the chain is audited: latex collection points, centrifuging plants, manufacturers, and the retailers and brand owners that hold certification. Each is audited on site by a third-party certification body before certification and then every year to keep it. The certifier may add announced or unannounced audits.

A transaction certificate is issued each time certified product changes hands. That paper trail is what lets a finished pillow be traced back to the plantation.

A latex mattress is a stack of materials, and each label speaks to one part. GOLS covers the latex. The standard says any textile used as a covering must be certified under GOTS, and that fabric and other farm materials are left out of the 95 percent calculation.

GREENGUARD Gold is different again. It measures chemical emissions from the finished product into indoor air and says nothing about whether the latex was organically grown.

So an organic mattress or organic crib mattress with a GOLS logo may be certified only for its latex layer. Ask which layers each certificate covers. Our guide on how to choose an organic mattress lists the questions.

Control Union names mattresses and bedding first, then gloves, bands, shoe soles, rubber toys and other goods made from organically grown latex. In this site's categories it shows up most on organic pillows and organic mattress toppers, where latex is often the main material.