Stuttgart, Germany, 14 September 2026 Today marks the public laurich of the Global Responsible Textile Standard (GRTS), a new standard for the processing of textiles made from fibres certified to third-party standards recognised by GRTS arid covering a broad range of plant, animal, synthetic, man-made cellulosic and recycled fibres.
GRTS has been developed based on decades of experience from the established Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). Until now, products outside GOTS’ organic fibre eligibility criteria had no equivalent certification route within the Global Standards system. GRTS meets a growing industry demand for a textile processing standard that defines environmental and human rights criteria for the processing and physical traceability of a broader range of fibres
Claudia Kersten, Managing Director of Global Standards, said: “Following our mission as a non-profit Voluntary Sustainability Standard setter, we aim to ensure the highest level of social and environmental impact in textile value chains. GRTS is a strategic and exciting step for us. By offering a standard that cover fibres beyond organic and building it on the same system as GOTS, we support the inry’s business case for sustainability and enable more positive impact together.”
Independent third-party certification and physical traceability
GRTS sets defined environmental, chemical, human rights, business conduct, due diligence and traceability requirements. For fibres to enter the GRTS system, they must be certified to third-party fibre standards recognised by GRTS and meet social, ecological and traceability criteria, including the prohibition of highly hazardous chemicals and GMOs, chain of custody with identity preservation and the inclusion of social norms in fibre production, among others.
Certification is carried out by accredited independent third-party bodies and is required at every stage of processing and trading. Chain-of-custody requirements, transaction certificates and volume reconciliation support the verification of certified fibre content throughout the supply chain.
To qualify for GRTS certification, goods must contain at least 90% fibres certified to fibre standards recognised by GRTS. For companies already certified to GOTS, existing systems and procedures may make it easy for them to apply for and receive certification to GRTS
First GRTS certifications
27 independent certification bodies are accredited to provide GRTS certification. This gives companies seeking certification access to an established network of certification bodies operating independently from Global Standards. A number of companies in South Asia are among the first to have completed GRTS certification. The certificates were Issued independently by their respective certification bodies:
Esstee Exports India Private Limited (CE), GCL INTL (CB)
Sulochana Cotton Spinning Mills Pvt. Ltd (CE), Control Union (CB)
Armstrong Spinning Mills Pvt Ltd (CE); Control Union (CB)
Maral Overseas Limited (CE); Control Union (CB)
Knit Gallery India Private Limited (CE), Control Union (CB)
Arvind Limited (CE), Control Union (CB)
Daks India Industries Pvt. Ltd (CE); Eurofins Assurance (CB)
These first certifications mark the beginning of implementation of GRTS in the market and recognise both the companies completing the certification process and the independent certification bodies responsible for their assessment Several of the first GRTS-certified companies shared their perspectives on the certification process and what certification means for their businesses.
R Rameshkumar, Manager-HR/ESG & Sustainability at Esstee Exports comments: “The GRTS certification process has provided a valuable opportunity for us to review, strengthen and continuously improve our systems and practices related to responsible and sustainable textile production. We believe that this certification will not only strengthen the confiderice of our customers and business partners but also prepare our company for the changing expectations and requirements of the global textile industry.
Tarun Bhati, General Manager HR Admin & Compliance at Daks India comments: “GRTS certification will support our sust inability objectives by improving the traceability and responsible use of recycled materials, icing environmental impact and strengthening our sustainable manufacturing practices. From a business perspective, it will help us meet the growing sustainability-expectations of international customers, build customer confidence. access new global markets and create long-term business growth opportunities
Rameshwar Jha, Senior Manager-Compliance at Maral Overseas Limited comments: “Ultimately, our expectation is that GRTS should not be viewed merely as another certification for Maral, but as a practical framework to further integrate responsible sourcing, traceability, environmental performance, social responsibility and product integrity into our sustainable product development strategy
We believe this approach is well aligned with the broader abjective of GRTS to proviste credible assurance that textiles made with responsible fibres are processed in an environmentally and socially responsible manner through the relevant value chain.”
