The Certification Process Must Be Fool-Proof, Follow Standard Global Guidelines

In April, Oeko-Tex launched its Organic Cotton standard. How has it been received so far by industry? Could you share some numbers? How does the fully verified chain of custody work? What's unique about it?  
Vinod Kumar: The Oeko-Tex Organic Cotton Certificate has created a strong interest in market by the textile industry and global brands and retailers. We could see that textile industry, brands and consumers were in search of a highly trusted and reliable certification system having proven credibility of decades which only Oeko-Tex has.

The entry of Oeko-Tex Organic Cotton Certificate Certification system occurs at ginning stage and follows chain of custody process (COC). It focuses on two aspects — chain of custody (COC) coverage and change of ownership.

Chain of custody means that from the applicant like a garmenter, every preceding stakeholder in the supply chain (e.g. weaver, spinner, ginner), etc must obtain their own Oeko-Tex Organic Cotton Certificate for the applicant to get a certification. This way, the traceability is taken care of. Wherever there is a change of ownership occurring (e.g. a ginner selling to a different spinning organisation), Transaction Certificate (TC) must be obtained by seller within six weeks after the batch is sold. The TC accounts for the Mass Balance of the concerned batch/lot. This ensures transparency. As an additional informative note, the entry of the Oeko-Tex Organic Cotton certification occurs at ginning level in the textile supply chain. From farm to ginning, the IFOAM standards hold good.

To understand the concept of chain of custody with an example let’s say a weaver applies for this certificate. Considering the simplest supply chain, a ginner supplies ginned cotton to spinner who in turn supplies yarn to weaver. Hence, in order for weaver to have this certificate the ginner and spinner both need to have their own Oeko-Tex Organic Cotton certificates. Only then can the process for weaver be executed. This is called fully verified chain of custody.

Furthermore, ginner after selling the batch of ginned cotton to spinner, must apply for a Transaction Certificate (TC) with a testing service provider like Hohenstein. The same applies for spinner after selling yarn to weaver. The TC takes care of traceability and mass balance.

The certificate was launched in April 2023. The unique facts about Oeko-Tex Organic Cotton Certificate are that:

• GMO is tested by “quantitative method” in addition to screening.
• The transaction certificates (TC’s) are centralised in Europe to have more and stricter controls.
• The COC Audits are done by own company auditors and no external auditors are subcontracted.
• In addition to GMO testing, testing of all hazardous chemicals are carried out in a logical and scientific manner.

A relevant question related to India. The organic cotton ecosystem in India has been under a cloud for more than a year now. What do you think has gone wrong in this country? And, of course, what do you think should be done to fix the problems?
Vinod Kumar: This is true that we saw the organic cotton eco-system facing serious problems over the years and that is one of the reasons of the evolution of Oeko-Tex Organic Cotton Certificate. Globally we have observed in recent times that global brands have been facing problem with organic certified cotton due to some issues at production sites. There are various reasons which could be responsible in varying magnitudes for such problems.

First, the certification process must be fool-proof following the standard global guidelines. Second, the GMO testing must have credentials of being up to the requirement with legitimacy. Third, local auditing factors need controlling like sub-contracted auditors. Last but not least, the organic credentials of the farm where the cotton is cultivated should be verified and validated correctly. By virtue of Oeko-Tex Organic Cotton Certificate, we have attempted to address all these concerns.

Oeko-Tex has been testing and certifying organic cotton since the launch of Oeko-Tex Standard 100 over 30 years ago. What have been the most important changes since then? And yes, where does scope for improvement lie?
Vinod Kumar: Oeko-Tex Standard 100 Organic only validated qualitative (screened) testing of GMO for organic materials. The major breakthrough came with Oeko-Tex Organic Cotton Certificate where we evolved with Quantitative GMO testing (with exact % of GMO materials in cotton).

With Oeko-Tex Organic Cotton, not only GMO testing innovation happened but also better control on cotton supply chain by trained auditors and centralised system of TC (Transaction Certificate) started. With time we are working on further evaluation of our standard with learning from industry

Oeko-tex offers ‘Organic Cotton’ certificates and also ‘Organic cotton Blended' certificates. The distinction is clear. But how do these taken together change things on the ground? 
Vinod Kumar: First and foremost, since there is ‘Quantitative Method’ involved with GMO testing, it changed the fundamental perception of textile fraternity about organic certification. At present this certificate only focuses on 100% organic farming. The testing is done at European laboratories of Oeko-tex Standard like Hohenstein Germany. This makes the system fool-proof with authentic data, expertise of European technology and confidentiality.

Additionally, the check mechanisms from Oeko-tex like control tests by Oeko-tex association are very effective. As an additional checkpoint, the Oeko-tex Organic Cotton certificate is issued after the site audit is completed and verified. The site audit ensures the implementation of the certification system as the ground level matches the requirement of the standard.

Furthermore, additional 48 pesticides are covered in the testing programme along with RSL testing scheme of Oeko-tex Standard 100 is followed. Hence there is a robust testing & auditing programme available. All these factors have generated huge confidence in the textile industry.

In May, Oeko-tex and ZDHC announced an agreement to enhance the industry’s environmental performance. Chemicals are a problem area for industry. How will this collaboration help clean up the industry? Especially given that the link between Eco Passport and ZDHC MRSL V3.1 was already there?
Vinod Kumar: Chemicals (Dyes, Auxiliaries) are input to the textile industry and the concerned Oeko-tex certification is Oeko-tex Eco Passport. This collaboration between ZDHC and Oeko-tex will help the industry in connecting the MRSL (input chemistry) to RSL (output) by virtue of the CtZ Progressive level. ZDHC and Oeko-tex will work together on development of chemicals data base that would lead to future sustainable chemistry.

Therefore, in addition to the latest ZDHC MRSL V3.1, Oeko-tex Eco Passport provides now the CtZ-P (Chemical to Zero Progressive) status to the ZDHC Level 3 certificate holders.

Furthermore, the limit values prescribed by Oeko-tex Eco Passport are in synchronisation with Annex 6 Class I of the Oeko-tex Standard 100. This further corroborates the connection of MRSL and RSL. And both being one of the most stringent MRSL (Oeko-tex Eco Passport) and RSL (Oeko-tex Standard 100) globally available, conformance to these eventually ensures conformance to most of other global RSLs and MRSLs.

We are slowly seeing a crackdown on greenwashing. And greenwashing, to a considerable extent, has been about the misuse and abuse of labels. What is Oeko-tex doing on this count? How are you communicating this to clients?
Vinod Kumar: This is indeed a very important question. To deal with the same effectively, Oeko-tex has established a portal named Label Check. Every Oeko-tex label has a unique identification number. Using this, every certification can be verified by using the Label Check portal. This portal is easy to use, free to access without any username and password credentials.

Furthermore, to ensure clarity, credibility and consistency, Oeko-tex provides the Labelling Guide to educate customers for its correct usage. This way, Oeko-tex caters to this utmost important aspect.

Potential misuse of a label can be reported via the contact form at Oeko-tex. If such a report is received, it is immediately checked and, if necessary, the company is contacted or consequences are initiated.