GOTS is the leading worldwide textile processing standard that is needed to truly call a textile product organic. This includes using at least 70% organic fibres and ensuring that all chemicals used, like dyes, meet its low toxicology criteria. Water treatment plants must also be put in place, amongst other social criteria that must be met.
Unlike Food, textile products can be called organic without actually having been certified. Some companies may still claim a product is organic even if they modify, process, or customise the product in a non-organic way.
For BIDBI to receive GOTS accreditation meant having to follow rigorous criteria. In doing so the firm had to assure its whole supply chain, from the cotton farming, material dying and weaving, right up to the water processing, inks, and cleaning supplies in BIDBI’s Sheffield factory were organic.
Every aspect of the supply chain – toxicology, water treatment and social criteria – are met the whole way through. With this accreditation clients can be assured that all BIDBI bags carrying the GOTS organic label are also Fairtrade certified, something the company believes customers truly appreciate.
New products
Achieving GOTS accreditation meant BIDBI could introduce new product collections which are made from certified Fairtrade and GOTS organic cotton. The development of new bag styles and materials will give museums a fresh product selection they can offer to customers.
BIDBI’s Contrast collection incorporates stylish bags with black accents in a range of different styles, offering a way to expand product range and offer customers something eye catching.
The products in this collection include BIDBI’s most popular styles with the addition of black trims and black handles. The colour of the black contrasts with the light natural colour of the cotton for a chic and modern range of cotton tote bags, shopper bags, zip purses and jute bags. Perfect to add a new lease of life to well-loved gift shop classics.
The SDN collection – named Serge de Nîmes after denim’s birthplace – is ethically sourced, durable, and always in fashion. The entire collection comes in the classic indigo colour. Available in six shapes including the bestselling Tote Bag, Shopper Bag, and Pencil Case, which have all been given a denim transformation. Newer available styles include the Backpack Shopper, Bucket Bag, and Luxury Shopper.
BIDBI’s Provenance Collection provides a touch of luxury and class. The high-quality cotton and premium finishings combined with heavyweight cotton canvas results in a sturdy bag with a luxury high-end feel to the material. The Provenance collection will command a higher RRP and always proves popular with visitors.
The designs, exclusive to BIDBI, have been developed in-house with the culture sector market in mind, enabling retailers to offer customers something completely different whilst still guaranteeing the bags have genuine ethical provenance.
