Part 2 – Prohibited Materials

In Part 1 of our GOTS series, we gave you a breakdown of the Standard’s requirements for social responsibility. We explained how workers must be treated and environmental standards that must be met for a manufacturer to receive the GOTS certification. In Part 2, we will give you a summary of prohibited materials.

A Friendly Reminder

In case you need a refresher of what GOTS is and why it matters . . .

The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) is the world's leading textile processing standard for organic fibers, including ecological and social criteria. GOTS studies businesses’ practices for manufacturing, packaging, labeling, trading, and distributing textiles. From growing and harvesting raw materials through environmentally and socially responsible manufacturing to labeling products accurately, the Global Organic Textile Standard aims to define globally recognized requirements that ensure the organic status of textiles. Because GOTS is the highest standard certification for organic fiber and textile manufacturing, it’s no surprise that they are very particular about what can and cannot be used in products.

So What is Prohibited?

The following chemicals and organisms are explicitly banned from all processing stages of GOTS goods:

- Aromatic and halogenated solvents
- Flame retardants
- Chlorinated benzenes
- Chlorophenols
- Complexing agents and surfactants
- Endocrine disruptors
- Formaldehyde
- Genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
- Heavy metals
- Inputs releasing carcinogenic arylamine compounds
- Organotin compounds
- Plasticizers (PAH, phthalates, Bisphenol A)
- Per- and polyfluorinated compounds
- Quaternary ammonium compounds (DTDMAC, DSDMAC, DHTDMAC)
- Short-chained chlorinated paraffins

But it Doesn’t Stop with Chemicals . . .

These treatments are also prohibited from the manufacturing process of GOTS certified goods:

- Ammonia treatment
- Bleaches
- Boiling and washing (washing detergents must not contain phosphates)
- Chlorination of wools
- Desizing (GMO-free enzymatic desizing is allowed)

If you’d like to know more about the GOTS certification process and standards, feel free to look through the latest version of the GOTS guidelines. Also, be sure to check out the GOTS product database to perform a quick and easy search of our mattresses and other GOTS certified products.

Don’t forget to check back with us as we continue to share important information about the GOTS process in Part 3. And in case you missed it, read the GOTS to be Organic Blog - Part 1 to see how seriously we take social responsibility.