GOTS certification covers the processing of organic natural fibres along the supply chain – from the field to the finished product. Growth is being witnessed across all segments, both in production and consumer regions.

The following countries and regions recorded the highest percentage growth in GOTS certification in 2018 (in descending order): Bangladesch (+ 29 percent), North America (+ 25 percent), Pakistan (+ 23 percent) and South Korea (+ 23 percent). In relation to the total number of GOTS-certified enterprises, the biggest climbs were seen in India (+315), followed by Bangladesh (+155) and Europe (+98). The 18 authorised independent GOTS-certification centres have revealed that more than 2.02 million people now work for GOTS-certified companies. At the same time, the number of authorised chemicals on the GOTS Positive List has climbed 13 percent to 20,231. The GOTS Positive List contains registered trade names of authorised chemicals that have to be used by textile processing companies in the manufacture of GOTS-certified products.

Germany, Austria and Switzerland remain the largest certification markets. This is reflected in the total number of GOTS-certified companies which has climbed to 576. Moreover, growing interest in stocking GOTS-certified products has been witnessed among major retailers.