GMO Free – Turkish Cotton

What is GMO?
A GMO, or genetically modified organism, is a plant, animal, microorganism or other organism whose genetic makeup has been modified in a laboratory using genetic engineering or transgenic technology. This creates combinations of plant, animal, bacterial and virus genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods.

Genetic modification affects many of the products we consume on a daily basis. As the number of GMOs available for commercial use grows every year, the Non-GMO Project works diligently to provide the most accurate, up-to-date standards for non-GMO verification.

In order for a product to be Non-GMO Project Verified, its inputs must be evaluated for compliance with our standard, which categorizes inputs into four risk levels:
High-Risk – The input is derived from, contains derivatives of, or is produced through a process involving organisms that are known to be genetically modified and commercially available.
Low-Risk – The input is not derived from, does not contain derivatives of, or is not produced through a process involving organisms that are presently known to be genetically modified and commercially available.
Non-Risk – The input is not derived from biological organisms and not, therefore, susceptible to genetic modification.
Monitored Risk – The Non-GMO Project carefully monitors the development of new genetically engineered products; we are currently tracking close to 100 products. Of those, we have included the following in our surveillance program, either because they will likely soon be widespread or because of known instances of contamination from GMOs.

As a result of the studies started in 2010, it was possible to write the phrase “GMO FREE” as a label on all textile apparel products made of cotton, starting with cotton bales.
In the following process, it has been understood that the realization of an official registration process by applying to the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office as a “Warranty Trademark” by the Izmir Commodity Exchange and the National Cotton Council will contribute to the institutionalization of the project and the branding of the non-GMO cottons produced in our country and the textile and apparel products produced from these cottons. .
In all industrial processes where cotton main and by-products are processed, a standard has been set and modern, new logos have been designed to monitor the purchase, processing and use of non-GMO cotton original and by-products, and to determine and document producer criteria. As a result of the studies carried out, the phrase “GMO FREE TURKISH COTTON” has been approved by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office, effective as of 15 August 2018.
Within the scope of warranty trademark registration, two types of logos were prepared, as a label on cotton bales and as a label on manufactured products produced from cotton with GMO FREE label. All of our companies in the cotton, textile and apparel process that want to use these labels will be audited by authorized certification companies, just like in organic certification.
In order for the project to cover all sector stakeholders and to promote it more effectively in international markets, the transfer of “GMO FREE TURKISH COTTON” GARANTI ( guarantee ) to the Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association on equal rights with the Izmir Commodity Exchange and the National Cotton Council was carried out.
In order to organize the operation of the “GMO FREE TURKISH COTTON” brand and the promotion activities in national and international markets, it is planned to establish an Executive Board consisting of representatives of the relevant sector, primarily 3 companies that own the brand.
Lastly, this executive board was appointed as “GDO SUZ PAMUK A.Ş.” Established his company and started its activities.
We sincerely believe that our GARANTI ( guarantee ) brand will accelerate our country’s cotton production and textile and apparel industry as a result of comprehensive studies to be carried out for all sector representatives. We wish our project to be beneficial to the whole sector and our country.