Japan imports all its raw cotton, and JOCA has always highlighted the importance of ensuring that the organic cotton is certified properly at the countries of origin. At the same time, JOCA has always checked the manufacturing process from spinning through weaving or knitting through to end-use in Japan.

However there have been several changes in recent years including JOCA’s agreement with GOTS, for which it has been a certifier for several years, and changes in the global activities of certification activities and certification bodies.

“As the improving internationalization of organic certification in the field of agriculture in the decade of 2000, the view of the world for certification standards, certification activities and certification bodies was also becoming stricter in the field of textiles,” explained Mr. Kazuhiko Mori, advisor to JOCA and a member of GOTS IWG Technical Committee. “At times, JOCA was conducting certification activity using their own standard at the same time, this was not recognised as third-party certification.

“Also, JOCA granted certification with only reviewing documents submitted from JOCA member companies which composed supply-chain, with no on-site inspection, this was not adequate certification.”

Effective immediately, the GOTS label has now been adopted as JOCA’s standard with the organisation also acting as the official certifier for GOTS in Japan.

JOCA will also supply its family tag to JOCA member companies, promote and advocate organic cotton and its products to the Japanese market and train and support organisations looking to become GOTS certified.