In today’s fashion industry, the standard for sustainable materials can vary widely, especially when it comes to cotton. Most clothing on the market is largely made up of synthetic fibers, and it has become increasingly challenging for both designers and consumers to find fabrics that blend comfort, durability, and sustainability.
It's 2024: the technologies and opportunities to produce non-toxic and environmentally conscious clothing are out there. Nonetheless, with the influx of greenwashed products and services, “organic” and “sustainable” can have a broad range of meanings. To ensure our customers always receive the high quality that they deserve, Sailaal sources cotton with specific certifications that require stringent criteria.
For our first collection, Sailaal proudly sourced GOTS certified organic cotton—our original top cotton choice. We later discovered C2C and Oeko-Tex certified Supima cotton, which is taking our future pieces to new heights.
Don’t know what these certifications mean, or why this is important? Read on! As an apparel company that focuses on natural fibers and steers clear of synthetic textiles, we care deeply about the nuances of our materials and their certifications.
GOTS Certified Organic Cotton
The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) is the leading standard for organic cotton materials, from clothing to personal hygiene products. The International Association of Natural Textile Industry in Germany, the Japan Organic Cotton Association, the Organic Trade Association in the United States, and the Soil Association in the United Kingdom joined forces in 2002 to develop the GOTS organization. GOTS certification of a textile can be broken down into two main label grades: made with organic materials, which requires at least 70% of organic fibers, and organic, which requires at least 95% of organic fibers.
Truly organic fabrics can be difficult for manufacturers to process. To become GOTS certified, a material must meet specific and rigid environmental and social (working) criteria. Some environmental criteria include wastewater management, use of GOTS-approved colorants, and prohibition of environmentally hazardous substances. Some social criteria include freely chosen employment, Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) compliance, and prohibition of child labor, discrimination, harassment, and violence.
Why is it necessary?
In the modern age of manufacturing processes, the fashion industry is one of the biggest contributors to our current climate crisis, accountable for 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions and 20% of global clean water pollution. Furthermore, waste from most apparel manufacturing leads to soil pollution, land degradation, and harm to wildlife.
GOTS certification guarantees use of organically produced raw materials and strict evaluation throughout the supply chain, from processing to trade. The GOTS certification is only applied to a finished product if specific criteria are met in the following six stages:
- First processing stages: includes removing seeds from cotton, and ensures that organic and conventional fibers are kept separate to prevent contamination.
- Spinning: converts fibers into yarns.
- Weaving and knitting: converts yarns into fabric.
- Wet processing: treats textiles with different chemical inputs, and includes sizing, de-sizing, dyeing, pretreating, printing, finishing, and laundering. Also includes wastewater treatment. This stage requires very strict criteria since it uses chemicals and water, having the highest risk levels.
- Manufacturing: includes fabric cutting, marking, assembling, stitching, ironing, sorting, filling/stuffing, labeling, and final packaging.
- Trading: involves Business to Business (B2B) traders who buy and sell GOTS Goods without altering the product or labeling in any way.
Other Common, Less-Stringent Cotton Certifications
Two other well-known certifications are the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) and USDA Organic. While both certifications promote sustainable practices in cotton production, their standards slightly differ.
BCI focuses on 3 sustainability pillars: environmental, social, and economic. This includes enhancing and protecting soil health, reducing pesticides by managing pests, using water sustainably, conserving natural biodiversity, promoting gender equality and good working conditions for farmers, and establishing rules around fiber quality. USDA Organic ensures that cotton is grown organically, free from any synthetic chemicals, fertilizers, pesticides, or GMO’s, while also fostering eco-friendly measures throughout production.
Although these credentials offer a substantial amount of reliability for materials, they are not as all-inclusive as GOTS. This is not always ideal for companies aiming to supply customers with optimally eco-friendly and organic clothing.
Our New Favorite: Supima Cotton with C2C and Oeko-Tex Certification
Upon exploring materials for our newest collection, Sailaal sourced a type of Supima cotton with two certifications that align perfectly with our values.
The Supima organization was established in 1954 in El Paso, Texas. The majority (93%) of Supima cotton is grown in California, while the rest is grown in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Supima makes up less than one percent of cotton grown throughout the world. While Pima is a generic term for “better” cotton, it isn’t necessarily made with extra-long staple (ELS) cotton fibers. On the other hand, Supima – whose name is derived from “Superior” and “Pima”– is a registered trademark that guarantees it is 100% ELS cotton and grown in the United States.
ELS fibers deliver advanced properties compared to regular cotton fiber. ELS makes Supima twice as strong, enhancing its durability and resilience to tearing. It also produces smoother and cleaner yarns, making Supima softer and luxurious. Furthermore, its finer fibers absorb dye better, enhancing color retention.
Supima promises transparency. With its unique origin fingerprint, Supima cotton is completely traceable and verifiable all the way back to the source, ensuring that it is never substituted or blended with cotton from a different origin. It also employs sustainable operations, such as water use efficiency, soil conservation, and promoting zero waste by using every piece of the plant at harvest time.
On top of its baseline superior features, we’re proud to source Supima cotton that meets both Cradle to Cradle and Oeko-Tex Standard 100, two leading certifications that create more sustainable and non-toxic materials. Although Supima is not certified organic cotton, adding these certifications make our Supima cotton arguably as good as GOTS certified cotton. To illustrate the stringent standards of these certifications, let's examine both labels and their missions to improve conservation in the fashion industry.
Cradle to Cradle (C2C) Certification
C2C is a circular economy approach that builds upon the linear Cradle to Grave model with regards to a product’s lifecycle. While Cradle to Grave focuses on minimizing environmental impact from a product's creation to disposal, C2C takes it a step further by treating waste as a resource. Instead of discarding products at the end of their life, C2C focuses on regeneration and material reuse.
Headquartered in both San Francisco and Amsterdam, the institute was founded in 2012. The certification evaluates across five different categories:
- Material Health: evaluates the toxicity of materials used in the product and their potential impact on human health and the environment.
- Product Circularity: assesses the ability of materials to be reused or recycled at the end of the product's life, promoting a circular economy.
- Clean Air & Climate Protection: evaluates manufacturing processes to protect air quality, renewable energy, and climate change.
- Water & Soil Stewardship: evaluates the product's impact on water and soil, protecting these shared resources and keeping them clean and healthy for people and organisms.
- Social Fairness: assesses the product's impact on social factors such as labor practices, worker safety, and fair business practices.
Oeko-Tex Certification
Oeko-Tex, with headquarters in Zurich and offices in 70 different countries, consists of independent research and development institutes across Europe and Japan. Founded in 1992, Oeko-Tex developed some of the leading standards to keep consumers safe by testing for harmful substances to human health.
While there are several Oeko-Tex certification labels, the two common ones are the “Standard 100” and “Made in Green.” Oeko-Tex Standard 100 is the guiding principle for clean and safe materials, testing for more than one thousand harmful substances. Similarly, Oeko-Tex Made in Green tests for harmful substances, but it builds on the Standard 100 by promoting environmentally responsible practices, ethical labor, and supply chain traceability.
The Bottom Line
Whether we are sourcing GOTS certified organic cotton or C2C and Oeko-Tex certified Supima cotton, Sailaal is always committed to finding and securing the highest-quality textiles that align with our values. When you put on Sailaal cotton, you can rest easy, knowing that each piece is made with both your and the planet’s health in mind.
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