The New York Times issued a report saying that, while the organic cotton industry is booming, you might think you are buying organic cotton when, in fact, it is not.

Nearly half of the world’s cotton comes from India, and there has been a huge surge in demand for, and supply of, organic cotton from that country.

Turns out though, the cotton coming from India might not be organic.

At the heart of the problem is an opaque certification system that is rife with opportunities for fraud. Consumers are assured of “organic” material by brands, which rely on stamps of approval from external organizations. Those in turn rely on reports from opaque local inspection agencies that base their conclusions on a single planned yearly inspection (in the case of the facilities) or a few random visits (for farms).

In recent months, the credibility of these inspection agencies has been destroyed.

A small consulting firm that helps brands source organic cotton has spent the past year hunting down organic cotton, only to see suppliers disappear when they start asking for proof of authenticity. They estimate that between one half and four-fifths of what is being sold as organic cotton from India is not genuine.

Read more about the sobering report here.