The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) has urged the responsible Indian authorities to reconsider the December 18, 2014 implementation deadline set for National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) certification for organic textile exports in order to allow the Indian export industry to adapt to the new legal requirements in a realistic timeframe.
 
GOTS has suggested that the implementation deadline for NPOP certification be extended by twelve months, so that current exports are not hampered and Indian exporters can continue their organic textile business without interruption.
 
The Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, had issued a notification (as released on 18th November 2014 and amended on 1st December 2014) outlining that any product exported as an “organic product” will be required to be certified to the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) by the 18th December, 2014 implementation deadline.
 
NPOP certification was already required for food and raw fibre products (cotton) in the past, but it will now also cover finished organic textile products (yarn and fabric). In this context, the Indian Standard for Organic Textiles (ISOT) was released as an integral part of NPOP, and all organic textile products exported from India will require certification to ISOT.
 
As per procedures established by India’s Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), a provisional transaction certificate (TC) is required before export (for customs) and a final TC is issued after exports. The buyer receives only the final TC.
 
Post-implementation, organic textile manufacturers will have to obtain ISOT certification as a legal requirement, while GOTS certification will be required (as usual) as a buyers’ requirement in order to allow corresponding organic labelling in the sales markets, GOTS said in a statement.
 
To make the task easier for Indian organic textile exporters, GOTS has encouraged its certifiers operating in India to seek accreditation for ISOT in order to be able to offer combined certification - GOTS and ISOT - to the Indian organic textile industry in the future. Three GOTS certifiers, Control Union Inspections and Certifications India Pvt Ltd., ECOCERT and OneCert have been audited for ISOT accreditation so far and are waiting for their accreditation letters, according to the statement.
 
At present, ISOT is restricted to cotton and silk only. GOTS has requested the Indian Government to extend this certification to products made with other organic fibres such s wool, linen, coir, etc.
 
Concurring with GOTS view, RK Dalmia, chairman, The Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council, said the process of registration with APEDA and attempts to convince importers to accept the NPOP/ISOT certification issued by the government body will require at least one more year. (RKS)