Certification - GOTS - Global Organic Textile Standard

How to become a certification body

Moratorium on new CB applications

The GOTS Management has taken a decision to impose a moratorium on new CB applications at this time. To know more, please read the following statement:
Moratorium on new Certification Bodies

Conditions for Certification Bodies

GOTS has developed its own accreditation system for this approval process, as well as for continuous monitoring of the approved certification bodies, as outlined in the document 'Approval Procedure for Certification Bodies version 3.0'.

The GOTS accreditation system is based upon the principles of ISO/IEC Guide 17065: 2012 “Conformity assessment - Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services". It specifically references the International Requirements for Organic Certification Bodies (IROCB), as released by the International Task Force on Harmonization and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture (ITF, follow up project GOMA) convened by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Since certification according to GOTS has certain features which differ from the certification of products and services covered by ISO/IEC Guide 17065 (e.g. an assessment of management systems such as environmental management and social criteria) and IROCB (which was mainly developed for organic food products), it also includes sector- and GOTS-specific requirements.

Any national or international Accreditation Body that includes the approval and monitoring procedure and the requirements specified in the GOTS accreditation document can provide GOTS Accreditation for certification bodies, while the International Organic Accreditation Services (IOAS), is our main partner in this process.

As a prerequisite, certification bodies applying for approval as a GOTS certifier must already hold a valid accreditation to perform certification in accordance with ISO/IEC Guide 17065.

Accreditation can be applied according to one, a combination, or all of the following GOTS scopes:

Certification of mechanical textile processing and manufacturing operations and their products (scope 1)
Certification of wet processing and finishing operations and their products (scope 2)
Certification of trading operations and related products (scope 3)
Issue Letters of Approval for auxiliary chemical inputs (scope 4)

GOTS approved Certification Bodies are required to cooperate with all the other approved certifiers in the Certifiers‘ Council, in order to ensure worldwide equal application of the Global Standard and of inspection and certification procedures. They must pay an Annual Fee per facility inspected and/or certified and need to collect licence fees from their certified entities and registration fees from chemical suppliers in accordance with the provisions of the 'Conditions for the Use of GOTS Signs' as amended.

The qualification, competence and all further requirements for application and approval under the GOTS Accreditation System are defined in the document “Approval Procedure and Requirements for Certification Bodies”. Certification Bodies that wish to apply must ensure that they have studied, understood and are willing to follow the terms and conditions set out in this document prior to submitting their application. An application can be submitted using the form below.

Before approval, applicants must sign a Certifier Contract which further specifies their obligations.

Approval Procedure and Requirements for Certification Bodies

Application for GOTS Accreditation

Certificate Templates

In a joint initiative, the GOTS organisation and Textile Exchange (TE) have developed harmonised policies and templates for Transaction and Scope Certificates. The templates merge the layout, format and text of both certificate types for the different certifiers and standards. This will help all users to easily compare, handle and verify the information provided with scope and transaction certificates issued with reference to either GOTS or any Textile Exchange standards.

The templates are to be used by GOTS/TE approved certifiers for any scope and transaction certificates that they issue.

Scope Certificates (SC)

Processors, manufacturers, traders and retailers who have demonstrated their ability to comply with the relevant GOTS criteria in the relevant certification procedure, done through an approved certifier, receive a GOTS Scope Certificate (i.e Certificate of Compliance) confirming that the holder is able to, in the referenced facility, produce in conformity with the Standard textile goods of the kind listed in the Certificate.

Such companies are considered as GOTS certified suppliers (=certified entities) and are listed in the GOTS Certified Suppliers Database. The facilities and subcontractors that have been inspected and assessed for the certification are listed in the annex of a scope certificate, although their names are not disclosed in the Certified Suppliers Database.

The following documents were released in December 2019:

Scope Certificate Policy
Template for Scope Certificates
Transaction Certificates (TC)

Scope Certificates confirm that the certified entity (=certified supplier) is able to process the listed products/product categories under GOTS certification, but are not proof that specific shipments from this company are GOTS certified.

In order to assure that a specific shipment of products received is GOTS certified, the buyer can ask the supplier to provide a Transaction Certificate (TC). This certificate is issued by the GOTS certifier of the supplier and lists the specific products and shipment details, including the buyer‘s name, as well as address and confirms the GOTS certification status of the shipped goods.

A specific challenge for the practicability of the TC system is that many suppliers generate huge numbers of shipments, which may significantly increase the administrative burden and cost, if a separate TC needs to be issued for each single shipment. In order to address this issue, the policy for issuing TCs has been amended by regulations that cover issuing TCs for multiple shipments.

The following documents were released in December 2019:

Transaction Certificate Policy
Template for Transaction Certificates

Virtual Audits: COVID-19

The GOTS organisation developed guidelines for GOTS Approved Certification Bodies who require to replace on-site audits by Virtual Audits (VAs) due to travel and meeting restrictions imposed by health authorities because the threat of infection and spread of COVID-19.

The latest version of the Guidelines Document that was developed after inputs from Approved Certifiers is available here. These guidelines will continue to be developed with new inputs from Certifiers so the latest version should be referred to in all cases.

The decision to conduct a Virtual Audit (VA) or not will remain with the Certifiers.

For more information contact .

Explanatory Note:

GOTS also prescribes Remote Audits under certain circumstances. These are desktop audits based on review documentation and do not require a meeting of the auditor and auditee, in person or virtually. VAs however will require live interaction between the two parties, in addition to documentation review.

Previous and further documents:

GOTS Guidelines for Virtual Audits in the times of COVID-19 Version 5 (05 January 2022)

GOTS Guidelines for Virtual Audits in the times of COVID-19 Version 4 (27 April 2021)

GOTS Guidelines for Virtual Audits in the times of COVID-19 Version 3 (5 March 2021)

Changelog to GOTS Guidelines for Virtual Audits - Revision Version 2.0 to 3.0 (5 March 2021)

GOTS Guidelines for Virtual Audits in the times of COVID-19 Version 2 (23 June 2020)

Changelog to GOTS Guidelines for Virtual Audits - Revision Version 1.0 to 2.0 (23 June 2020)

GOTS Guidelines for Virtual Audits in the times of COVID-19 Version 1 (7 April 2020)

GOTS Measures related to COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak (Extension of Scope Certificates, "Virtual Audits") (Update as of 17 April 2020)

GOTS Measures related to COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak (Extension of Scope Certificates, "Virtual Audits") (19 March 2020)

How to get additives approved

Chemical inputs used for wet-processing of GOTS Goods and Accessories used for functional and/or fashionable reasons are collectively called GOTS Additives. Both categories have different technical requirements in line with their production and usage.

Chemical Inputs

Colourants and/or textile auxiliaries, which are used for wet-processing of organic textiles, are collectively referred to as Chemical Inputs in GOTS terminology. This includes dyestuffs, pigments, inks, enzymes, sizing agents and other auxiliaries used in textile wet processing operations. Under the GOTS system, only those inputs can be used, which have been assessed and approved according to the Standard by a Scope 4 GOTS Approved Certifier.

The demand for GOTS certified textiles is growing, which – in turn – leads to an ever-increasing demand for GOTS approved inputs. Since GOTS approved inputs come with an assurance of being free from hazardous substances, meeting environmental criteria, as well as low toxicity and high biodegradability, wet-processing facilities prefer to use GOTS approved inputs even for non-GOTS orders. This also helps them to ensure lower effluent load and cleaner wastewater.

Collectively, this leads to higher interest from suppliers of inputs to obtain GOTS approval for their products. GOTS approved inputs, offered and advertised by the textile chemical industry, are widely recognised and used in the industry. As of June 2020, more than 24.000 trade names of inputs from 700+ suppliers are approved.

Suppliers of chemical inputs must hold a prepared and available Safety Data Sheet (SDS), at all times. The SDS must come in a form according to one of the following norms/directives, which contain appropriate information with regard to GOTS criteria, in order to be used as an accepted basic tool for evaluation:

• ANSI Z400.1-2004
• ISO 11014-1
• EC 1907/2006 (REACH)
• GHS (Global Harmonised System)
• EC 2015/830
• JIS Z 7253:2012

Not all GOTS criteria can be assessed solely based on the SDS, as some GOTS criteria are not required to be declared there. Occasionally, an SDS may contain insufficient, contradictory, or even false information. Therefore, the certifiers need to consider additional sources of information, such as independent lab tests, traceability checks of ingredients, etc. to determine or reconfirm the components of a chemical input and its environmental and toxicological parameters.

Manufacturers and suppliers of chemical inputs that wish to have their products approved under GOTS criteria should contact a relevant GOTS Approved Certification Body. The revisions of the Standard may entail changes or amendments to the requirements for chemical inputs. The colourants and auxiliaries approved in the previous version will, therefore, need to be reassessed and relisted according to the new GOTS Version. The certifiers accredited for chemical input assessment collect a GOTS registration fee of 25 Euros per approved and listed trade name of a chemical input. This fee is not an annual one but is payable on registration in each general new version of the Standard (which is scheduled every 3 years).

With the implementation of GOTS Version 7.0, chemical formulators are required to implement product stewardship practices and undergo an on-site audit for environmental management systems, as well as occupational health and safety.

Find Certification Bodies approved for assessment of Chemical Inputs

Letters of Approval for Colourants and Textile Auxiliaries

The GOTS organisation developed a policy and related templates to unify the layout, format and text among different certifiers, in order to enable an easy and practical handing, as well as verification for all users of Letters of Approval. The Version 2.0 of policy and the corresponding templates to be used for any Letters of Approval issued for inputs (colourants and textile auxiliaries) and accessories was implemented on 1st December 2020 and applies all subsequent versions of the Standard.

Policy for Issuing Letters of Approval for Colourants and Textile Auxiliaries
Template Letter of Approval for Inputs (Colourants and Textile Auxiliaries)
Template Letter of Approval for Accessories

Accessories

Items that are added to supplement GOTS Goods for required functional or for fashionable reasons are called accessories.

There are two sets of criteria for accessories under GOTS. The first set concerns permitted fibres and materials, and is more lenient compared to the stringent criteria for the main textile materials in GOTS Goods. For example, sewing thread made from virgin polyester or laces made from conventional cotton are permitted in accessories. Still, there are restrictions on specififc other fibres or materials, such as carbon fibres, silver fibres, asbestos etc., which are not permitted. Additionally, chlorinated plastics, chromium, nickel, etc. cannot be used.

The second set of criteria for accessories requests the avoidance of residues of hazardous substances in accessories. It is also referred to as Restricted Substance List (RSL). As indicated in the Implementation Manual 6.0, Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex is an acceptable alternative for the RSL part.

In line with Policy for Approval of GOTS Additives, the assessment is done based on material composition and test reports. An on-site audit for suppliers of accessories is not required.

Template Letter of Approval for Accessories Read more on the requirements for accessories in GOTS Goods in Standard Version 7.0.