Nudie Jeans goes GOTS

A good pair of jeans tells a story. But so should the label inside them.

At Nudie Jeans, responsibility has always started with the fiber. We started working with organic cotton early on, and since 2012, all denim has been made with 100% certified organic cotton. Not because it was trendy (to be fair, this was anything but a trend at the time), but because it was the right thing to do. But certified organic cotton alone isn’t enough. To really take responsibility, we also need to be transparent about how our products are made, and by whom. That’s where certifications come in.

Over the years, we’ve worked with organic cotton, certified in accordance with the strictest and most well-known standards for organic agriculture. In January 2024, we took it further: becoming fully GOTS-certified as a brand, together with our entire value chain. For us, it’s never been about half measures. If we’re going to make jeans, they should be made the right way—and proven the right way.

For Nudie Jeans, certification wasn’t about reinventing the way we work. It was about putting more structure around it—turning long-standing practices into a transparent, traceable system that stands up to the highest benchmark.

The process meant tightening our routines: stricter chemical testing, sharper risk assessments, closer traceability of product flows, improved document handling, and updated quality controls. It also meant letting someone else hold the magnifying glass—an independent audit of our organization that led to a Scope Certificate. That certificate is what allows us to put the GOTS label on products.

And that’s the key: the label only appears if the entire value chain is certified. From cotton fields to sewing floors to distribution—every single step has to meet the standard before a pair of jeans earns it.

What changed?

The biggest difference has been upstream. More of our suppliers are now certified, which means they not only have the knowledge but also the permission to produce GOTS garments using approved chemicals and processes.

Today, our denim manufacturing partners in Italy and Tunisia, along with many of their subsuppliers, are fully GOTS-certified. The same goes for denim fabric suppliers in Turkey, Italy, and Japan. On the tops side, our major partners in India, Turkey, and Portugal are certified, along with many of their mills.

This means we can now launch GOTS-labeled products, proof that they meet the world’s leading standard for organic fibers, responsible production, and social criteria. From cotton farm to finished jeans, every step is independently certified.

Why GOTS matters

GOTS is the leading textile standard for organic fibers, combining ecological and social criteria with independent certification across the entire supply chain. It covers everything: at least 70% organic content, strict rules on chemicals, wastewater treatment in wet processes, approved trims, and fair social standards.

In short, it ensures that clothes live up to the values they claim.

Behind the Seams

To make GOTS more than just a label, we’ve joined their campaign Behind the Seams. It’s about lifting the curtain on what certification really means. Showing the people, processes, and principles behind every garment that carries the GOTS mark. It’s also a way to keep the conversation open and transparent: certification is important, but understanding why it matters is even more so.

Beyond certification

Becoming GOTS-certified is a milestone. But for us, responsibility has never been about ticking boxes or collecting labels. It’s about taking care of the jeans and the people who wear them for as long as possible.

That’s why every pair of Nudie Jeans still comes with free repairs for life. Why every garment can be traded in for Re-use. And why, when it’s truly worn to the bone, we recycle it.

Not every Nudie piece will carry the GOTS label straight away, we can’t retro-certify existing styles. Certification will roll out with new drops, and season by season, the number of labeled garments will grow. So if your jeans don’t have the label yet, don’t worry. They will.

Because while certification is proof, transparency has always been our foundation. Label or no label, we make sure every step of our production and supply chain lives up to the expectations we set from the very beginning.

And for us, it’s not just about meeting today’s standards, it’s about creating tomorrow’s vintage.