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GOTS vs OEKO-TEX vs OCS: What Cotton Certifications Actually Mean

GOTS, OEKO-TEX and OCS answer three different questions. Here's what each one checks, what it doesn't, how much non-cotton it allows, and how to verify a claim in two minutes.

By Peter Martin · Published

Pick up an organic cotton sheet set and you’ll often find two or three logos on the packaging. They look like they’re saying the same thing. They aren’t. One is about how the cotton was grown and the whole factory process behind it, one is a lab test for harmful chemicals, and one simply tracks organic fiber from farm to shelf.

None of them, on its own, promises that a product is 100% cotton in every part. That’s the question this site cares about most, so this guide covers what each label checks, what it leaves out, and how to confirm a claim is real.

The short answer

GOTS OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 OEKO-TEX ORGANIC COTTON OCS
What it’s for Organic fiber and how the textile is made Testing the finished item for harmful substances Organic cotton, tested for GMOs and pesticides Tracking organic material through the supply chain
Requires organic fiber? Yes: 95%+ for “organic,” 70%+ for “made with organic” No Yes: 100% or, for “Blended,” 70%+ Yes: 5% or more
Limits chemicals in processing? Yes Tests the end product Tests for pesticides and harmful substances No
Social / labor criteria? Yes No Not covered here No
Proves 100% cotton? No No Only the 100% grade, and only for fiber content Not even OCS 100
Where to verify GOTS database OEKO-TEX Label Check OEKO-TEX Label Check Textile Exchange database

Sources for each row are in the sections below.

GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard)

GOTS is the most demanding of the three, and the one we most like to see on cotton bedding and baby items.

What it covers. GOTS requires certification of every processing stage, from organic fiber processing through to the finished product, and “every company involved must comply with the same criteria.”1 On top of the organic fiber requirement, it sets environmental and chemical criteria, including wastewater treatment and restrictions on chemical inputs, and human-rights and social criteria that include bans on child and forced labor and freedom of association.1 Certified companies are audited on site by accredited certification bodies, and shipments move with Transaction Certificates that document the chain.1

How much organic fiber. GOTS has two label grades:2

  • “Organic” means at least 95% certified organic fiber.
  • “Made with (x%) organic materials” means at least 70%.

Those percentages are calculated excluding accessories, a point that matters for cotton purists (more on that below). The organic fiber itself has to be certified under a recognized organic farming standard. GOTS says that means production “without synthetic pesticides, herbicides or GMOs.”1

What else can be in there. The rest of the fiber isn’t a free-for-all. Under GOTS Version 8.0, an “organic”-grade product can contain up to 5% approved additional fibers, and a “made with” product up to 30%.2 The list of approved additional fibers includes elastane (spandex), polyamide (nylon) and recycled polyester, within limits. Virgin polyester, acrylic and conventional cotton are prohibited.2 So a GOTS “organic” T-shirt can contain a little spandex and still be fully certified.

Accessories are counted separately. GOTS’s accessories table lists sewing threads, elastic bands and yarns, labels, buttons, zippers and trims, among others.2 They’re excluded from the fiber percentage. The accessories rules ban certain materials outright, such as PVC and other chlorinated plastics, nickel, and non-biodegradable plastic glitter.2 But the table also covers regenerated and synthetic accessory materials, so a GOTS product isn’t promised to be cotton thread, cotton elastic and cotton labels.

Version note. GOTS Version 8.0 was released on March 2, 2026. It becomes mandatory for certified companies on March 1, 2027, after a one-year transition period.2 Until then, some products are still certified under version 7.x, whose fiber limits differ in places. The 70% and 95% label grades are the same in both.

What a real GOTS label shows. A GOTS label must include the GOTS logo, the label grade, a reference to the certification body, and the certified company’s license number.2 GOTS also says a retail product can only carry a GOTS claim if the final product is certified.2 “Made with GOTS-certified fabric” on an uncertified finished product is a red flag.

OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100

OEKO-TEX is a Swiss-based association, and STANDARD 100 is its best-known label. It’s widely used and very useful, but it’s often misunderstood.

What it covers. STANDARD 100 is “a label for textiles tested for harmful substances.” OEKO-TEX says “every thread, button and accessory” of a certified article has been tested against a list of over 1,000 harmful substances.3 The limits depend on how the product is used, across four product classes:3

  1. Class 1: items for babies and children up to 3 years (the strictest limits).
  2. Class 2: items with direct skin contact, such as bed linen.
  3. Class 3: items without direct skin contact, such as jackets.
  4. Class 4: home textiles and decoration materials, such as curtains.

Certificates are issued for one year.3

What it doesn’t cover. STANDARD 100 doesn’t require organic fiber or any particular fiber at all. A 100% polyester sheet can pass. It doesn’t cover farming, factory working conditions or wastewater, either. It’s a product safety test, not an organic or sustainability label.

That actually makes it a good companion to GOTS. For a crib sheet, the ideal is a GOTS “organic” label plus an OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 Class 1 certificate. One covers how it was made; the other covers what’s left in the finished product, accessories included.

OEKO-TEX ORGANIC COTTON

OEKO-TEX also runs a separate organic label, which is easy to confuse with STANDARD 100. OEKO-TEX ORGANIC COTTON is for “materials and products made of 100% organic cotton.” OEKO-TEX ORGANIC COTTON Blended is for products with at least 70% organic cotton.4

Products are tested for GMO cotton and for pesticides and other harmful substances, including PFAS and lead. OEKO-TEX says its quantitative GMO test “differentiates deliberate mixing from contamination with conventional cotton.”4 It also uses the same four product classes as STANDARD 100.4

If you see “OEKO-TEX” on an organic cotton product, check which label it is. They mean very different things.

OCS (Organic Content Standard)

OCS is run by Textile Exchange, a nonprofit. It’s the narrowest of the three.

What it covers. Textile Exchange describes OCS as “a chain of custody standard to track organic raw materials… through the supply chain.” In its own words, it “does not address the use of chemicals or any social or environmental aspects of production beyond the integrity of the organic material.”5

How much organic content. OCS applies to products with at least 5% organic material, calculated excluding accessories and trims.6 There are two logos:

  • OCS 100 is for products with 95% or more organic material.7 The product can’t mix certified and non-certified material of the same type.6 In other words, organic cotton can’t be blended with conventional cotton under the OCS 100 logo.
  • OCS Blended is for products with 5% to 94% certified organic material, and that can include organic cotton blended with conventional cotton. Textile Exchange’s own example is a T-shirt with 5% organic cotton and 95% conventional cotton.7

That second point is worth noticing. An OCS Blended product could be 100% cotton and only a small fraction organic, and still carry an organic-content logo. The logo isn’t misleading if you know the rules. It just answers a narrower question than most shoppers assume.

What’s next. Textile Exchange is moving several of its standards into a new framework called Materials Matter. Its transition policy says OCS will remain outside the scope of the Materials Matter Standard and continue to operate in parallel under its existing framework.8

Where USDA Organic fits in

You’ll rarely see the USDA Organic seal on sheets or clothing, and there’s a reason. The USDA’s National Organic Program covers raw fibers like cotton, but it has no specific processing or manufacturing standards for textiles. A 2011 USDA policy memo says textiles produced to GOTS “may be sold as organic in the U.S. but may not refer to NOP certification or display the USDA organic seal.” Only a product produced in full compliance with the NOP regulations can carry the seal.9 The same memo says a product labeled organic can’t combine organic and non-organic sources of a single fiber that’s identified as organic.9

How to verify a certification in two minutes

A logo is easy to print. A real certificate can be looked up.

  1. GOTS. Find the license number on the label, then search it, or the company name, in the GOTS Certified Suppliers database.10 Check that the company is listed and that the certificate is current.
  2. OEKO-TEX (either label). Enter the label number in the OEKO-TEX Label Check. OEKO-TEX notes that label numbers are case-sensitive.11 Check that the certified article matches what you’re buying. A certificate for a yarn or a fabric isn’t the same as one for the finished product.
  3. OCS. Search the company in Textile Exchange’s Find a Certified Company tool.12

If a brand shows a logo but won’t give you a number, or the number doesn’t come up, treat the claim as unverified.

Red flags

  • A logo with no number. GOTS labels are required to show a license number.2
  • “Made with GOTS-certified fabric,” “GOTS-certified cotton” or “OEKO-TEX fabric” on a product that isn’t itself certified. That’s a claim about an ingredient, not the thing you’re buying.
  • “Organic” with no percentage and no certifier. Under GOTS, anything below the 95% grade has to say “made with (x%) organic materials.”2
  • OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 used to imply “organic” or “natural.” It’s a harmful-substance test, not an organic or fiber claim.3
  • An expired certificate. OEKO-TEX certificates last one year, so an old screenshot on a product page proves little.3

So which one should you look for?

It depends on what you’re worried about:

  • “Was this grown organically, and made responsibly?” Look for GOTS, ideally the “organic” grade.
  • “Is there anything harmful left in the finished product?” Look for OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100, in the right product class (Class 1 for baby items).
  • “Is the cotton organic and free of GMO cotton?” Look for OEKO-TEX ORGANIC COTTON (the 100% version) or GOTS “organic”.
  • “Is there at least some tracked organic fiber in here?” That’s all OCS promises. OCS 100 is much stronger than OCS Blended.

And none of them answers “Is it 100% cotton?”

This is where Must Be Cotton is stricter than any certification. All three standards calculate their percentages excluding accessories, and accessories include the sewing thread and elastic.26 GOTS also allows small amounts of elastane, nylon and other approved fibers even in its “organic” grade.2

So when we consider a product, a certification is a plus, never a pass. We still read the fiber label for “100% cotton.” We still confirm with the brand that the sewing thread is cotton: polyester and polyester-core (“corespun”) thread are disqualifying. And we still confirm that there’s no elastic, or that it’s entirely cotton. Spandex, nylon, rubber and “plant-based” elastic all rule a product out. Natural coconut-shell or nut buttons are fine, and we list them on every product card. Our full process is on the About page. For more on the label side, see How to Tell if Sheets Are Really 100% Cotton.

Frequently asked questions

Is GOTS better than OEKO-TEX?

They measure different things. GOTS certifies organic fiber content plus environmental, chemical and social criteria across every processing stage. OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 tests the finished product for harmful substances. Neither replaces the other; the strongest combination for baby items and bedding is a GOTS organic label together with an OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 certificate in the right product class.

Does OEKO-TEX mean organic?

OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 does not. It is a harmful-substance test and synthetic products can be certified. OEKO-TEX ORGANIC COTTON is a different label that requires 100% organic cotton (or at least 70% for the Blended version) and includes GMO and pesticide testing.

Does GOTS organic mean 100% organic cotton?

Not necessarily. The GOTS "organic" grade requires at least 95% certified organic fiber, calculated excluding accessories, and allows up to 5% approved additional fibers. Accessories such as sewing thread and elastic are counted separately, so check the fiber label and ask about thread and elastic.

What is the difference between OCS 100 and OCS Blended?

OCS 100 is for products with 95% or more organic material, with no mixing of certified and non-certified material of the same type. OCS Blended covers products with 5% to 94% organic material and can include organic cotton blended with conventional cotton.

Why don't organic sheets carry the USDA Organic seal?

The USDA National Organic Program has no specific processing standards for textiles. A 2011 USDA policy memo says GOTS-certified textiles may be sold as organic in the US but may not display the USDA organic seal unless they are produced in full compliance with NOP regulations.

How do I check if a GOTS or OEKO-TEX label is real?

Search the license number or company name in the GOTS Certified Suppliers database, and enter OEKO-TEX label numbers (case-sensitive) in the OEKO-TEX Label Check. If there is no number or it does not come up, treat the claim as unverified.

Sources

Footnotes

  1. Global Organic Textile Standard, Key features of GOTS. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  2. Global Standard gGmbH, Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) Version 8.0 (released March 2, 2026; mandatory from March 1, 2027). Sections 2.7.5–2.7.9 (labelling and label grades), 3.2.3–3.2.10 (additional fibres) and 3.3.2 (accessories). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12

  3. OEKO-TEX, OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  4. OEKO-TEX, OEKO-TEX ORGANIC COTTON. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  5. Textile Exchange, What is the Organic Content Standard (OCS)? ↩

  6. Textile Exchange, Organic Content Standard 3.0, sections B1.4 and B2.1.1. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  7. Textile Exchange, OCS User Manual v3.1. ↩ ↩2

  8. Textile Exchange, Materials Matter Transition Policy (2026); see also Materials Matter Standards Transition. ↩

  9. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, NOP Policy Memo 11-14: Labeling of Textiles That Contain Organic Ingredients (2011). ↩ ↩2

  10. GOTS, Certified Suppliers database. ↩

  11. OEKO-TEX, Label Check. ↩

  12. Textile Exchange, Find a Certified Company. ↩

Facts in this article were last checked on October 20, 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us; we correct errors and note the change.

More in Learn

How to Tell if Sheets Are Really 100% Cotton

A legal “100% cotton” label can still leave out the thread, the elastic and the trim. Here’s how to read sheet labels, decode the marketing, and check the parts the label skips.

Updated October 20, 2026