Global Standard Glossary

The Advisory Council is the decisive committee for relevant organisational, structural and operational issues of the Global Standard gGmbH, the operating body of the Global Organic Textile Standard. It is set up by way of organisational statutes by the founding Organisations of GOTS.

Items that are added to supplement GOTS Goods for required functional or for fashionable reasons. Most commonly used Accessories are listed in Section 3.3. Accessories also include trims, and in certain cases the two terms are used interchangeably depending on the specific component. The processing of those Accessories is not under the direct scope of the GOTS on-site certification system. GOTS criteria that applies to Accessories are listed in Sections 3.3 and 5.2.8.

Consists of three elements in the specified order: label grade,  reference to the Approved Certification Body, and the license number of the Certified Entity. 

An authoritative body or organisation which evaluates and confirms that a conformity assessment body, e.g., a Certification Body, is deemed capable of carrying out certain assessment tasks, e.g., certification, inspection, or testing, regarding a particular formally defined standard. This attestation relies primarily on a formal demonstration of its task-specific competence by the conformity assessment body, evaluated via professional and objective audits by the Accreditation Body, typically by way of ISO/IEC 17065 : "Conformity assessment — Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services".

The Advisory Council is the decisive committee for relevant organisational, structural and operational issues of the Global Standard gGmbH, the operating body of the Global Organic Textile Standard. It is set up by way of organisational statutes by the founding Organisations of GOTS.

An Approved Certification Body or Approved Certifier is a certification body that has been duly accredited by an Accreditation Body. By signing a con tract with Global Standard gGmbH, they are permitted to implement the Global Organic Textile Standard within a designated geographical area and for specific scopes of the Standard. An updated list of Approved Certifiers and their scopes is available on the GOTS Website.

An Approved Certification Body or Approved Certifier is a certification body that has been duly accredited by an Accreditation Body. By signing a con tract with Global Standard gGmbH, they are permitted to implement the Global Organic Textile Standard within a designated geographical area and for specific scopes of the Standard. An updated list of Approved Certifiers and their scopes is available on the GOTS Website.

A systematic, independent and documented process for obtaining evidence and evaluating it objectively to determine the extent to which the Standard's requirements (including environmental and social criteria) are fulfilled by a Certified Entity or applicant for the status of Certified Entity. Audits are conducted by Approved Certification Bodies (see "Approved Certification Body").