Organic cotton

Products from Tailor Store labelled "organic cotton" or described as produced according to GOTS quality specifications always contain at least 95% organic cotton.

Organic cultivation is, as opposed to the traditional way of growing cotton, free from intense chemical usage. Right now, organic cotton represents a very small part, less than 1%, of the total production in the world. Organic cultivation can best be described as cultivation without chemical pesticides and fertilizers.

This means that the organic farmer puts focus to the natural cycle by:

• Using natural resouces in an economical way to minimize impact on the environment
• Preserving soil fertility in the long term
• Recycling soil nutrients as extensively as possible

The cultivation must be based on local, renewable resources. Practically, this means that the farmer rotates crops. Instead of only growing cotton, he also cultivates other crops. Corn can be grown between the cotton harvests and even between the cotton rows. This way the soil keeps its fertility better and it also somewhat prevents insect attacks. Fertilization is done with organic fertilizers such as chicken or cow manure.

Pest control might still be necessary, however, this is done with biological pesticides and manual methods. One method is to use insect traps. Organic cultivation is often more labor intensive and yield less, but more and more farmers find it economical through less cost for chemicals and a higher price for the product. As a bonus, they do not have to handle poisonous pesticides.

Organic cotton differs from poisonous conventional cotton in many ways. Differences start already in the fibers. To certify cotton as organic, the whole supply and production chain must operate according to strict guidlines covering both environmental and social responsibility.

GOTS - Global Organic Textile Standards

GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standards) is an international standard for production of textiles with organically grown fibers and covers both environmental as well as social standards. It is verified by independent certification of the entire chain of production, from farmer to finished garment.

Aim

The standard's aim is to define world wide requirements guaranteeing that

• a garment is made from organically grown fibers, from harvesting the crop and throughout the production process
• the producers takes responsibility for respecting environmental, social and workplace requirements
• that the information on for example labels is credible and correcty displayed for the end consumer

With the help of these requirements, customers can easily choose textile products where the producers have taken full environmental and social responsibility in the entire production process.

In what way does your decision to buy clothes made from organic cotton contribute to a better environment and health?

• You contribute to a better environment and sustainability in the countries growning the cotton and producing the clothes
• You contribute to better health for people working in the textile production
• You contribute to an improvement of the global environment

Tailor Store International (pvt) Ltd, producer of our garments and subsidiary of Tailor Store Sweden AB, has been certified according to GOTS since June 2010 by Control Unions Certifications with address P.O. Box 161, 8000 AD Zwolle, The Netherlands. The license number is CU 814918.

Products from Tailor Store labelled "organic cotton" or said to be produced according to GOTS quality specifications always contain at least 95% organically grown cotton.

More detailed information about Global Organic Textile Standards can be found on the official website:

http://www.global-standard.org

You can download our GOTS certification papers as a PDF file.