India takes the lead in national standards for organic textiles

New Delhi: India has become the first country in the world to introduce national standards for organic textiles. This follows the Commerce, Industry and Textiles Minister, Mr Anand Sharma, on Monday launching the “Indian Standards for Organic Textiles” (ISOT). The standards will be introduced in the National Standards for Organic Production (NPOP) and will be administered by the Commerce and Industry Ministry as part of the Foreign Trade Policy, an official statement said. There are over 1,000 branded organic products produced in India and each one is backed up with certification and traceability. Last year, India supplied certified organic products worth Rs 1,866 crore to Europe, Asia and the US, Mr Sharma said. “The NPOP includes norms for organic production and processing of agriculture crops and certification standards. Certification standards for organic textiles were not a part of it earlier. By introducing ISOT, India took over the long-standing position of the Global Organic Textiles standards (GOTS), a private standards prevailing in the organic textiles industry,” said the Commerce Secretary, Mr S.R. Rao.