"Practices are in place to ensure full compliance with Current Organic Fiber Processing Standards."

Organic Processing

Organic Fiber Processing Practices and Fiber-to-Fabric Traceability

Natural Origins has put in place specific operating procedures at our fabrics & garments production facilities. The following mill practices ensure full compliance with current Organic Fiber Processing Standards:

		Cornstarch is used for sizing.
		Softeners and surfactants containing prohibited materials, such as alkyl-phenol compounds, are not used in scouring and de-sizing.
		Hydrogen Peroxide bleaching process is practiced.
		Azo and Sulfa dyes are not used.
		Low Impact reactive and vat dyes used meet ETAD and Oeko-Tex 100 Standards.
		Recovery and recycling of chemicals (permitted under Organic Standards) used are maximized.
		A complete effluent treatment plant, including aeration, chemical and biological treatment stages, ensures waste water meets strict municipal standards.

The complete recording of the movement of fiber through the fabric production process enables our mills to track finished fabric lots back to the certified organic fiber bale lots.

		Storage and pre-cleaning of the organic fiber are in a separated section.
		Organic fiber processing steps, such as opening, cleaning, drawing, etc., are done in batch mode with thorough pre-cleaning of all processing equipment involved.
		Carding and combing are carried out in dedicated equipment.
		Organic yarns are produced in an isolated ring spinning section, with a physical barrier to prevent cross contamination.
		Dedicated looms and knitters are assigned for 100% organic fabric production.
		All organic fiber & yarn handling and transportation equipment are segregated by color-coding.
		Greige fabric doffed from the loom or knitter is marked for the date of production, machine number, piece length, yarn batch and other relevant technical data needed for complete tracking.

Organic Fiber Sources

Our mills currently source organic cotton fiber from domestic Indian cooperatives as well as from Turkey, Uganda, Kenya and Texas. All the organic fiber we use is inspected and certified by TDA or IFOAM accredited agencies, such as Skal, IMO and Agreco. All of our organic fabrics are produced from Certified Organic cotton.