- A collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA), the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), and Marple (an AI startup) attempts to track cotton certification in India.
- The research identifies and classifies cotton crops in India using satellite pictures and artificial intelligence.
What exactly is GOTS?
- The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) is a worldwide recognised standard for organic textile processing and manufacture.
- It is a leading certification for organic fibres, including cotton, across the whole supply chain, from raw material harvesting to final product labelling.
- GOTS assures that organic textiles meet stringent environmental and social criteria, giving buyers with solid confidence.
Among the most important characteristics of GOTS are:
- Organic Fibre Criteria: According to GOTS, at least 95% of the fibres in a textile product must be organic. It bans the use of some synthetic chemicals and outlaws the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
- Environmental Criteria: GOTS establishes stringent environmental criteria for organic textile processing and manufacture. It includes recommendations for wastewater treatment, chemical inputs, and energy use, all with the goal of improving sustainability and minimising environmental effect.
- Social Criteria: GOTS also includes social criteria, which ensure that employees across the supply chain have fair and safe working conditions. It contains rules for worker rights, the prohibition of forced labour, and adherence to International Labour Organisation (ILO) standards.
- Traceability of the Supply Chain: GOTS mandates full traceability of the supply chain, from the source of the organic fibres to the end product. This maintains transparency and integrity throughout the manufacturing process.
- Labelling and Certification: GOTS-certified items are branded appropriately, allowing consumers to confidently identify and select organic fabrics. Independent third-party organisations that assess compliance with GOTS requirements perform certification.
What exactly is the new programme about?
- The ESA effort will train artificial intelligence algorithms to analyse ESA satellite data and identify cotton farms in India.
- The initiative will assist GOTS in producing reliable estimates of organic cotton yields as well as including standardised yield measures.
- The effort is to identify cotton farms that match preset standards and to facilitate a smooth transition to organic agriculture.
- Traditional and environmentally friendly farming practises will be promoted.
Source: https://global-standard.org/