GOTS vs OEKO-TEX: Which Certification Does Your Programme Actually Need?

These two labels appear on the same hangtags so often that buyers assume they are alternative versions of the same thing. They are not. One certifies how a fibre was grown and processed; the other certifies that a finished article is safe to wear. Most professional programmes need one of them, and many need both.

What OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 certifies

OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 is a product test, not a supply-chain standard. The finished article — fabric, thread, prints, buttons, elastic — is laboratory tested against a list of harmful substances with annually tightened limit values: azo dyes, formaldehyde, heavy metals, pesticide residues, chlorinated phenols, phthalates and PFAS among them.

It is graded into four product classes. Class I covers articles for babies and toddlers up to 36 months and has the strictest limits, including a pH band and specific saliva-fastness testing. Class II is next to skin, class III is not next to skin, and class IV is furnishing materials. Certificates are valid for one year and must be re-issued annually.

What GOTS certifies

The Global Organic Textile Standard is a process standard covering the entire chain: organic fibre production, ginning, spinning, knitting or weaving, dyeing, sewing and trading. It requires a minimum of 70 percent organic fibre for the "organic" label and 95 percent for "100% organic", prohibits a long list of inputs including toxic heavy metals, aromatic solvents and GMO-derived materials, and — critically — includes social criteria based on International Labour Organisation core conventions.

GOTS verification works through two documents. A scope certificate confirms a company is certified to perform named operations. A transaction certificate, or TC, is issued for every individual shipment of GOTS goods and states the exact quantity and product description. Without a TC, the goods cannot be sold as GOTS in the EU.

Side by side

• Object of certification: OEKO-TEX tests a finished article; GOTS certifies a supply chain and its operators.
• Organic claim: only GOTS allows an organic fibre claim; OEKO-TEX says nothing about how the cotton was farmed.
• Social criteria: GOTS includes them; OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 does not, though STeP and Made in Green cover process and social separately.
• Shipment documentation: GOTS requires a transaction certificate per shipment; OEKO-TEX relies on the certificate number and label authorisation.
• Recognition: OEKO-TEX is widely accepted as the baseline safety proof by EU and US retailers; GOTS is the accepted proof for organic claims.

Choosing for your programme

If you make no organic marketing claim, OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 class I or II is the pragmatic baseline and costs far less. If your hangtag, product page or retailer listing says organic, you need GOTS scope certificates at every stage plus a TC for the shipment — and you need your garment factory to hold a GOTS scope certificate, not just the fabric mill. This is the most common compliance failure we see: a brand buys GOTS fabric from a certified mill and has it sewn at a factory with no scope certificate, which invalidates the claim.

For baby and childrenswear sold in both markets, the usual combination is GOTS for the fibre claim plus OEKO-TEX class I for the chemical safety evidence, since several large EU retailers require both on the same style.