Certification
From Field to Fashion: The GOTS quality assurance system is based on on-site inspection and certification of the entire textile supply chain (processing and trade). Certification is performed by independent, approved 3rd party Certification Bodies, which is a requirement of an ISO 14024 Type 1 environmental labelling programme.
Operators from post-harvest handling up to garment making, as well as wholesalers (including exporters and importers), have to undergo an on-site annual inspection cycle and must hold a valid certification in order for the final products to be labelled as GOTS certified.
Information on how to get certified under Approved Certification Bodies
Any claim to be compliant to GOTS as the worldwide leading textile processing standard is invalid until an independent Certification Body has checked – through a set of inspection methods – and attested – through formally issued certification documents – that a product and its processor, manufacturer or trader is, indeed, GOTS compliant.
There are two types of such certification documents:
Scope Certificates (SCs) which prove that a supplier meets all criteria to be allowed to process GOTS goods and
Transaction Certificates (TCs) which prove that the goods themselves meet all GOTS product criteria.
- Products carrying GOTS logos contain the credible assurance of organic origin of the product, as well as environmentally and socially responsible processing.
- The entire organic supply chain is covered, from harvesting to manufacturing and trading, delivering credible assurance to end consumers.
- Verification through independent third-party certification.
- Risk management tool for buyers.
- Protection of health, safety and rights of employees. Social Criteria and Ethical Business Behaviour are essential prerequisites and assure responsible business practices, irrespective of organic orders at hand.
- Cost-effectiveness through sustainability – Certified Entities have access to the GOTS Monitor (Water/Energy) to collect data on water and energy consumption (per kg of textile output). Environmental management and wastewater treatment are highly important when it comes to sustainability.
- Only low impact GOTS Approved Chemical Inputs free from hazardous substances are allowed to be used for the processing of GOTS Goods, following the Manufacturing Restricted Substance List (MRSL).
- Accessories are scanned for residues of hazardous substances, following the Restricted Substances List (RSL).
- GOTS Goods meet technical quality parameters like colourfastness, shrinkage, etc.
- A variety of products can be certified to GOTS, such as garments, home textiles, mattresses, combined products (like furniture, baby bassinets, etc.), personal hygiene products (like diapers, female hygiene, earbuds) and food contact textiles.
See the GOTS Fact Sheets to find out:
- Why GOTS - Control of Chemicals in GOTS Goods
- Why GOTS - How Official Bodies, Organisations and Institutions support the Global Organic Textile Standard
- Why GOTS - How Companies Benefit with GOTS Certification
- Why GOTS - How Consumers Benefit from GOTS
- Why GOTS - How GOTS Meets Legal Requirements and Demands of NGOs
Generally, a company participating in the GOTS certification scheme needs to work in compliance with all the criteria of the standard. The assigned certifier makes use of appropriate inspection methods.
- Review of bookkeeping in order to verify the flow of GOTS Goods (input/output reconciliation, mass balance calculation and trace back lots and shipments). This is a key aspect of the inspection of any operation that sells/trades GOTS Goods.
- Assessment of the processing and storage system through visits to the applicable facilities.
- Assessment of the separation and identification system and identification of any areas of risk to organic integrity.
- Inspection of the chemical inputs (dyes and auxiliaries) and accessories used and assessment of their compliance with the applicable criteria of the GOTS.
- Inspection of the wastewater (pre-)treatment system of wet-processors and assessment of its performance.
- Check on social criteria (possible sources of information include interviews with management, confidential interviews with workers, personnel documents, physical on-site inspection, unions/stakeholders).
- Verification of the operator's policy on risk assessment of contamination and residue testing, which includes residue testing of random samples (optional) and testing of samples drawn in case of suspicion or manifest non-compliance (compulsory).
On-site inspection and certification of processors, manufacturers and traders performed by independent specially accredited bodies is the basis of the GOTS monitoring system in order to provide a credible assurance for the integrity of GOTS certified textiles. Entities that wish to become certified should contact a GOTS approved certification body.
Certification bodies are entrusted with implementation of the GOTS quality assurance system and are able to inform you about the necessary procedures and timeline from the initial request through to inspection and certification. They will be able to provide an individual cost estimation for the certification based on the operator’s location, size, fields of operation and other relevant factors.
All GOTS approved certification bodies are entitled to offer related inspection and certification services worldwide and each applicant may freely choose their certification body. Some certification bodies operate local offices or work with local representatives in various countries, whereas others coordinate all services through their head offices. There are limitations regarding the scope for which each certification body is accredited to offer GOTS certification. Certification bodies of textile supply chain operators may be accredited to cover the following 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).
- Approval of textile auxiliary agents (chemical inputs) on positive lists (scope 4).
List Approved Certification Bodies
Change of Certification Body
Certified Entities may have to change their certification body for reasons, such as
- Change due to business reasons
- Certification body is closing operations
- Certification body loses accreditation or approval is withdrawn.
The GOTS organisation has defined a Policy for Change or Migration of Certification Body, currently entailed in version 1.1 and available for download.
Scope Certificates
Processors, manufacturers, traders and retailers, which have demonstrated their ability to comply with the relevant GOTS criteria in the relevant certification procedure, done through an approved Certification Body, receive a GOTS Scope Certificate confirming that the holder is able to produce textile goods of the kinds listed on the Products Appendix of the Scope Certificate in conformity with the Standard.
Such companies are considered as GOTS certified suppliers (=certified entities). They 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 Facility Appendix of the Scope Certificate, although their names are not disclosed in the Certified Suppliers Database.
Scope Certificate Policy
Template for Scope Certificate (see below explanation under 'Certificate Templates')
Transaction Certificates
Whereas Scope Certificates declare that the certified entity is able to process the listed product categories under GOTS certification, they give no proof that specific shipments from this company contain GOTS certified products.
In order to attest that a specific shipment of products sold by a certified entity is GOTS certified, the Certification Body of the supplier issues a Transaction Certificate. This document lists the individual (batches of) products and relevant shipment details, including the buyer’s name and address, and declares that all goods listed under the shipment are GOTS compliant.
The buyer of the goods is entitled to receive the Transaction Certificate from the seller. The buyer uses those TCs as proof to their own Certification Body that GOTS certified products were used as an input to further processing or trading. Only with such proof can their Certification Body attest that the resulting products are GOTS compliant – provided that the buyer itself has a valid Scope Certificate and actually applies GOTS compliant processing/trading methods.
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 is issued for each shipment. To adequately address this issue, the policy for issuing TCs allows to cover multiple shipments on a single TC.
Transaction Certificate Policy
Template for Transaction Certificate (see below explanation under 'Certificate Templates')
Certificate Templates
In a joint initiative the GOTS organisation and Textile Exchange (TE) developed harmonised policies and templates for transaction and scope certificates. The templates unify layout, format and text of both certificate types among the different certification bodies and standards. This will help all users, especially commercial buyers such as brands and retailers, which purchase goods certified to different standards from various suppliers, issued by different certification bodies to easily compare, handle and verify information provided with scope and transaction certificates issued to GOTS and any Textile Exchange standard.
The templates are to be used by the GOTS / TE approved certification bodies for any Scope and Transaction Certificates.
Template for Scope Certificate
Template for Transaction Certificate
The GOTS organisation formulated a policy covering approval of formal consultancy services to prospective or existing GOTS certified entities. Approved Consultants can offer consultancy services to the textile industry to achieve certification to GOTS.
Contact a GOTS Approved Consultant or find out how to become approved as a consultant to offer your services to prospective or existing GOTS certified entities.
Download the application form to become a GOTS Approved Consultant