The term ‘organic’ is being thrown around by many brands these days, but none are more trustworthy than those that have been certified by a third-party company. And one of the best certifiers in the textile industry is the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). With a clearly defined set of criteria, GOTS audits brands to ensure their products are genuinely organic and socially responsible enough to merit their certification.

However, GOTS certification can be achieved for both individual products and the business as a whole. As buyers, it’s important to understand the difference. With the former, a retailer can display GOTS certification on the labels of individual accredited products. This means that some products have been made according to the GOTS criteria, but the rest of the business doesn’t need to adhere to the same standards. With the latter, however, the entire company will be compliant with the GOTS criteria. Naturally, an entire business that’s GOTS certified is much more sustainable and ethical than one that just sells some certified products.

To be as ethical and sustainable as possible, we at Loop Home are GOTS accredited (CU1133274) as a business and are committed to running our entire company accordingly. To name a few of our policies, all of our products contain >95% organic fibres from certified organic cotton farms in Türkiye. If any products are non-compliant with GOTS criteria, they’re returned to the manufacturing facility and discrepancies are corrected. The only plastic used throughout our supply chain is biodegradable and compliant with GOTS, and any carbon produced is offset through Greenfleet to ensure we’re carbon neutral. We have a strict no discrimination policy and on the off chance that any unethical behaviour was to occur, we have established an anonymous whistle-blower mechanism so staff can raise any concerns in a safe environment.

But how can you trust that we maintain these standards? Yearly audits review all past orders and company policies to ensure everything we do at Loop Home is compliant. These audits take a full day (we've recently completed ours and trust us, they're detailed) and can be completed virtually by an approved certification body. To ensure we remain compliant until our next audit, our Policies and Procedures provide clear guidance on all business activities and are strictly followed.

As ideas of ethics and sustainability are brought to the forefront of people’s minds, more and more businesses are implementing procedures similar to ours. But the industry as a whole is still far behind and it’s difficult to survive without the support of equally passionate consumers. So next time you need some new bedding or a t-shirt, get out there and support the retailers who are committed to GOTS. The more we’re supported, the more the entire fashion and textiles industry will be driven to improve.