GOTS vs OEKO-TEX: Which Your Clothing Needs, and When to Ask for It

GOTS and OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 prove different things. GOTS certifies the processing of textiles made with certified organic fibre, covering every business that processes and trades them, and a labelled product needs at least 70% certified organic fibre. STANDARD 100 certifies that an article, whatever its fibre, passed laboratory tests for harmful substances. Choose by the claim you need to make, and choose before fabric is ordered.

Below are plain definitions of both systems and of OEKO-TEX's other labels, a side-by-side table, which label fits which garment, how elastane blends are treated under GOTS 7.0 and 8.1, what each system lets you print, how to check any supplier's certificate, and what to ask for at each stage of an order. We are a knitwear factory, not a certification body, so every rule here is taken from the GOTS and OEKO-TEX documents linked at the end. It is not legal advice. Last verified: 23 September 2026.

The definitions, in plain terms

• GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard). Administered by the non-profit Global Standards gGmbH, it certifies each business in the supply chain and the goods it handles, rather than testing one article: the first processor of the raw fibre (for cotton, the gin), then spinners, knitters, dyehouses, garment makers and traders. GOTS 8.1 states that it does not certify organic fibre production. The fibre must already be certified organic under a standard in the IFOAM family, such as the EU organic regulation or the USDA National Organic Program.
• OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100. A label for textiles tested for harmful substances, available at any stage from yarn to finished product. Every thread, button and accessory on a certified article is tested against a list of more than 1,000 harmful substances, the limits tighten as skin contact increases, and there is no fibre-content requirement, so organic, conventional and synthetic items can all qualify.
• OEKO-TEX MADE IN GREEN. A traceable product label built on a product certificate. The article must hold STANDARD 100, ORGANIC COTTON or LEATHER STANDARD, the facilities that made it up must hold STeP, and a product ID or QR code on the label shows where it was made.
• OEKO-TEX STeP. A certificate for production facilities, from fibre manufacturing and spinning through to finishing and making-up, assessed in six modules: chemical management, environmental performance, environmental management, social responsibility, quality management, and health and safety.
• OEKO-TEX ECO PASSPORT. A certificate for the chemicals, colourants and auxiliaries used to make textiles, designed for the companies that manufacture and distribute them. It is a question for your dyehouse or print shop, not a label for your garment.
• OEKO-TEX ORGANIC COTTON. OEKO-TEX's own organic label: 100% organic cotton, or at least 70% in its Blended version, with farm-level organic certification under IFOAM-family standards and testing for genetically modified cotton, pesticides and other harmful substances.

GOTS and OEKO-TEX side by side

Read across the rows and most of the confusion goes away. STANDARD 100 answers one question: was this article tested for harmful substances? GOTS answers another: was this made with certified organic fibre, by certified businesses, under set environmental and social rules? MADE IN GREEN sits between them, adding certified facilities and traceability to a product test without asking for organic fibre. None is simply a stricter version of another, and GOTS's own claims guidance asks for robust, verifiable evidence before anyone suggests a product is better because of the scheme it carries.

Which one fits which product

Start from the fibre, because GOTS decides eligibility by fibre content and STANDARD 100 does not. These examples apply the published rules to common knit garments; the final decision on any product belongs to the certification body or the testing institute.

For babywear the two labels can work together, because they answer different questions: GOTS for the organic content, STANDARD 100 Class 1 for harmful substances. Neither replaces the legal safety rules for children's clothing, such as those on cords and small parts, and GOTS itself says it does not replace any country's legal requirements; see children's clothing safety rules by market.

Where the two standards meet: trims and accessories

GOTS sets its label grades on the fibre content of a product excluding accessories. Elastic bands, sewing thread, labels, buttons, press-studs and zips are assessed separately, and they must still meet GOTS limits for chemical residues. The Manual for the Implementation of GOTS accepts OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 Class 2 certificates, or an equivalent, as adequate proof of that for the additional fibres and accessories in most GOTS goods, and Class 1 certificates for textiles for babies and textile personal care products. The 8.1 manual keeps the rule, and GOTS's explanation of how the system works says accessories certified to STANDARD 100 are acceptable. So a trim supplier's STANDARD 100 certificate can be the evidence behind the buttons, thread and elastic on a GOTS garment.

The rule does not run the other way. A STANDARD 100 certificate on a fabric or a trim does not make the finished garment certified, and neither system lets a certified part stand in for a certified product. The labelling section below shows where each one draws that line.

Elastane and other added fibres under GOTS 7.0 and 8.1

Yes, within limits. GOTS calls the non-organic share of a product's fibre “additional fibre materials” and sets two ceilings by label grade: up to 5% in a product labelled “organic”, and up to 30% in one labelled “made with x% organic materials”. Within those ceilings, GOTS 7.0 puts virgin elastane in a group capped at 10% of the product, counted together with virgin polyamide, polypropylene and elastomultiester, regenerated fibres such as viscose and modal, and stainless steel or mineral fibres. Recycled elastane from pre- or post-consumer waste sits with recycled polyester and polyamide in a separate group capped at 20%. Virgin polyester, acrylic and conventional cotton are prohibited in any amount.

GOTS 8.1, which governs every audit from 1 March 2027, keeps a 10% cap for virgin synthetics, now listing elastolefin alongside elastane, and gives viscose and modal a row of their own, also at 10%, with conditions on where the raw material comes from. Recycled synthetics stay at 20%, and GOTS's changelog records a new allowance of up to 30% for socks and for textile-to-textile recycled fibre. Version 8.1 also states that virgin and recycled fibres of the same type cannot be mixed in one product, so from that date the elastane in a garment is either all virgin or all recycled. Version 8.0 was released in March 2026 and 8.1, with minor corrections, on 22 June 2026, and companies may adopt it early. The same arithmetic applies to leggings, stretch rib and stretch jersey.

On the OEKO-TEX side, elastane is no obstacle: STANDARD 100 has no fibre-content requirement and tests each component. Fibre rules only arrive with ORGANIC COTTON, whose Blended version needs at least 70% organic cotton and allows no more than 5% conventional cotton. For the two GOTS label grades and the rest of what GOTS covers, see our GOTS guide.

MADE IN GREEN or GOTS?

These two are the closest comparison, because both look past the product to the places that made it. MADE IN GREEN requires three things. The article must be certified to STANDARD 100, ORGANIC COTTON or LEATHER STANDARD. Every making-up facility must be certified to STeP, and so must any wet or chemical processing facility supplying a single component of 5% or more of the product's weight. And for a finished product, the making-up facility plus at least three components must be defined and confirmed on OEKO-TEX's platform, so that the product ID on the label shows which facilities made the article and in which countries.

The dividing line is fibre. MADE IN GREEN has no organic requirement, so it can go on a recycled polyester or conventional cotton range where you want certified facilities and a visible supply chain, which GOTS cannot. GOTS starts from certified organic fibre and requires every processing stage, from ginning onwards, to be certified. If you want an organic claim inside the OEKO-TEX system, the route is a MADE IN GREEN label on an article certified to ORGANIC COTTON. The practical questions are which label your retailers already ask for, and whether the spinner, knitter and dyehouse in your chain already hold the certificates that route needs.

What each label lets you say

Both systems publish approved wording, and both tie a claim to a labelled product rather than to a brand. In September 2026 GOTS released practical guidance for reviewing GOTS/GRTS-related claims, written with the EU's Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive in mind. Its closed list of pre-approved claims includes “This product is GOTS-certified.”, “This product is made with x% organic / organic-in-conversion materials.” and, for a shop, “We carry GOTS-certified items - look for the GOTS label on the product listing.” GOTS's labelling page adds that every consumer-facing use of the “made with” grade should state the exact percentage of certified organic fibre alongside the required certification details.

The same guidance names wording to avoid:

• Treating the fibre as the certified thing. GOTS says it is not an organic cotton standard: it certifies the processing of textiles made with organic fibre, and the raw fibre needs its own organic certification before it enters the GOTS chain. Word the claim about the product, not the cotton.
• Presenting a component as the product. “Made with GOTS-certified fabric”, or yarn, is not allowed on a garment that is not certified: once certified fabric is sewn in an uncertified facility, the chain of custody is broken.
• Referencing GOTS without the full label. Under GOTS's Conditions for the Use of Signs, in force since 1 August 2026, a retailer can reference GOTS in a product-level claim only when the product displays complete GOTS labelling: the logo, the label grade, the certification body and the certification number. Online, the logo is shown with the certified products themselves, together with those details, and never in a site header or footer.
• Vague, absolute or comparative words. The guidance flags generic terms such as green, sustainable or eco, absolute ones such as harmless or chemical-free, claims that stretch to a whole collection when only part of it is certified, and any implied advantage over other schemes that robust evidence cannot back.

A retailer without its own GOTS certificate can still sell labelled goods made in a certified chain. To use the GOTS logo on its website or in publicity, away from the product, it must first sign and send GOTS's Retailer's Declaration to Global Standards. The questions below set out when a retailer needs a certificate of its own.

OEKO-TEX's labelling guide works on the same principle. Claims are open to holders of a valid certificate or label and to distributors or retailers carrying at least one product that has one, and the prerequisite for any claim is a correctly labelled product. A product advertised as STANDARD 100 certified must physically carry the valid label, which must show its label number and the testing institute. Where a design leaves no room for the label, text beside the product can stand in, giving the full OEKO-TEX product brand name, the certificate number and the institute. Pre-approved statements are published for each standard, and one consumer-facing line reads: “Each component of this OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 certified item has been tested for substances that could harm your health.”

OEKO-TEX's recommendation on Directive (EU) 2024/825 warns that deviating or self-formulated statements risk being classed as impermissible generic environmental claims, and wording outside the pre-approved list needs OEKO-TEX's approval first, which it says takes about a week.

Both systems draw the same line on partial certification. OEKO-TEX never allows ingredient labelling, meaning a reference to certified components when the whole product does not qualify, just as GOTS will not let certified fabric stand in for a certified garment. A certified fabric inside an uncertified garment is a supplier document to keep on file, not a claim to print.

How to check an OEKO-TEX certificate, and what to ask a GOTS supplier for

Ask for the document, then check it with the body that stands behind it rather than trusting a PDF, a screenshot or a logo on a website.

For GOTS:

• Read the Scope Certificate. It names the certified business and its certification body, and lists the product categories, product details and processing activities it covers, along with any subcontractors that process GOTS goods for it. Every step your garment goes through, including dyeing or printing done elsewhere, must sit with a certified business.
• Confirm the certificate is live. Our GOTS guide explains how to verify a GOTS certificate. GOTS notes that certification bodies are still moving their data into a new repository, so if an entry is missing, confirm the certificate with the certification body named on it.
• Ask for a Transaction Certificate for your goods. The certification body issues it as certified goods move along the chain. It describes the products and their quantities, and volumes are reconciled by weight.
• Check the label artwork. It should carry the GOTS logo, the label grade, the certification body and the certification number, approved by the certification body before use.

For OEKO-TEX:

• Enter the number in Label Check. Type the certificate or label number exactly, because label numbers are case sensitive, or scan the QR code. For MADE IN GREEN, use the product ID. If nothing comes up, OEKO-TEX asks you to contact it, and the same page lists withdrawn certificates and labels.
• Match the record to the article. Confirm it covers the finished article you are buying, not only a fabric or trim inside it. The label may only be shown with the product whose certificate number it bears.
• Check the product class. Class 1 covers babies and children up to 3 years and has the strictest limits; Class 2 covers products with direct skin contact; Class 3 products without it, such as jackets; Class 4 decoration materials.
• Check the dates. STANDARD 100 certificates are issued for one year, so confirm the certificate runs past your shipment date.
• Watch for Commission Business certificates. They certify a process rather than a product, and their holders cannot put the label on goods.
• Use the Buying Guide to find suppliers, not to prove a product. It is a directory of certified products, manufacturers and brands; the evidence for one article is its own certificate in Label Check.

What to ask for, and when

Timing matters more for GOTS than for OEKO-TEX. A product can be labelled or referenced as GOTS-certified only if its entire processing chain is certified, so the claim has to be settled before sourcing starts; fabric processed outside a certified chain cannot join it later. STANDARD 100 can be applied for at any stage of processing, which leaves more room, although OEKO-TEX waives the finished-article testing cost only when every component is already certified.

We make cut-and-sew knitwear from 100 pieces per style, per colour, so the organic cotton knit is the part of this guide closest to our work. Our organic cotton clothing and GOTS certified manufacturing pages cover organic orders with us.

Sources

Last verified: 23 September 2026. Every rule, limit, date and quoted wording on this page was checked against the documents below on that day. GOTS moves from version 7.0 to 8.1 for all audits on 1 March 2027, and OEKO-TEX reviews its limit values at least once a year, so check the current text before you settle a label.

• Global Standards — Global Organic Textile Standard, version 7.0, effective 1 March 2024 (PDF)
• Global Standards — Global Organic Textile Standard, version 8.1, June 2026 (PDF)
• Global Standards — Practical guidance for reviewing GOTS/GRTS-related claims and communications, September 2026 (PDF)
• Global Standards — Conditions for the Use of Signs, GOTS version 4.0 (PDF)
• Global Standards — GOTS: how the system works
• Global Standards — Certified Suppliers Database
• OEKO-TEX — STANDARD 100
• OEKO-TEX — MADE IN GREEN
• OEKO-TEX Labelling Guide — STANDARD 100, general information
• OEKO-TEX — Label Check

The full list, including both GOTS implementation manuals, the GOTS 8.0 changelog, the STANDARD 100 standard document, the STeP, ECO PASSPORT and ORGANIC COTTON pages and OEKO-TEX's claims rules, is at the foot of this page.