GOTS-certified organic cotton contains gene-manipulated organisms (GMO)

GOTS-certified organic cotton contains gene-manipulated organisms (GMO). The guidelines prohibit this. However, GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) does not pursue these accusations, but rather contests the testing process.

Not only we have been warning for a long time: at some point, there will be neither GMO-free cotton, nor clean seed in India, as manipulated genes reach non-manipulated plants of the same species through pollination and thus become part of the seed. Especially India, where GMO cotton was first cultivated in 2002 and where the percentage has in the meantime reached more than 90%, now has a greater problem. GMO contamination has now been found in GOTS-certified cotton thread from India.

The suspicion that certified organic cotton contains GMO was voiced by the state-run Indian export organisation Apeda in April 2009. During his time with the organisation, director Sanjay Dave spoke about a case of fraud of “gigantic proportions”. It was written in an article of the Financial Times Germany, that dozens of villages had introduced large amounts of genetically-manipulated cotton to the market together with Western certification companies. Back then it was assumed that the organic textile industry would not bite the hand that feeds it, and that the industry would start to monitor the production process more closely. However, this sadly did not happen.

Now, the Swiss magazine Saldo (similar to the German Ökotest-Magazin) has conducted research in India and has had GOTS-certified organic cotton thread tested. The result: the German laboratory has detected high amounts of GMO contamination. When confronted with the results, a GOTS spokeswoman opposed the results, saying “GMO can only be detected in the raw cotton, not in cotton thread”. This statement is true as long as only cheap, fast tests are conducted. If one really wants to get to the bottom of the matter and if more money is spent on reliable tests, this statement is false.

read more: http://www.cotonea.com/toxid-curl/press-release-gmo/

Since the cotton weaving mill Elmer & Zweifel was founded in 1855, the natural fibre cotton accompanies the enterprise. Until 2003 they produced almost excluding cotton articles for medical purposes as well as technical fabrics for the automobile industry.

In addition to technical textiles, the enterprise today concentrates on biologically cultivated cotton and the production of home and house textiles as well as clothing. Since 2006 organic cotton bedclothes and bath laundry, bed goods and baby clothes as well as clothing for adults are produced and distributed under the brand Cotonea. The organic cotton comes from own orcanic cotton projects in Uganda and Kyrgyzstan.

Cotonea - Gebr. Elmer & Zweifel GmbH & Co KG
Roland Stelzer
Auf dem Brühl 1-9
D-72658 Bempflingen
roland.stelzer@elmertex.de

press contact:
indivisio
Hannelore Ohle
Hohnerstr. 25
D-70460 Stuttgart
++49 711 75881374
hannelore.ohle@indivisio-pr.de

This release was published on openPR.