The Agricultural and Processed Foods Export Development Authority (APEDA) will launch certification standards for organic textiles next week.

The National Organic Textiles Standards (NOTS) have been recently included under the National Programme for Organic Productions (NPOP). These standards have been finalised as part of the certification process under NPOP, a legal regime administered by Department of Commerce as part of the foreign trade policy.

NOTS will be launched on July 27 and a fashion show of organic fabrics is being organised in Delhi.

“India took over the long-standing position of the Global Organic Textiles standards (GOTS), a private standard prevailing in the organic textiles industry, by introducing NOTS. India has also the distinction of being the only country in the World to have introduced organic textile standards at the national level” said Mr Asit Tripathy, Chairman, APEDA in a statement.

“The European Commission, Switzerland and the US recognise NPOP Standards and the conformity assessment procedures of India (ISO -17011) to be equivalent to their country standards, resulting great acceptance for Indian organic products in their markets. India is negotiating with Japan and Canada for the equivalence,” Mr Tripathy said.

India’s organic products have been growing at an average of 30 per cent over the past five years. “There are more than 1,000 branded organic products produced in India and each one is backed up with certification and traceability,” he added.

In fiscal 2011-12, India’s export of organic products grew 167 per cent to Rs 1,866 crore. The volume growth of organic food, cotton and textile products stood at 111.63 per cent.

Related Topics