- Acronym: GOTS
- Date first offered: 2009
Scheme owner:
The Global Organic Textile Standard Accreditation programme (GOTS) is a voluntary accreditation programme governed solely by Global Standard gGmbH. Providing a set of norms in the field of organic textile processing, its logo appears widely on organic textile products around the world. The standard requires all raw materials to be certified organic to a recognised international or national standard but the GOTS standard itself deals only with post production requirements.
The GOTS standard must be applied by GOTS operators and verified by the certification body. The standard covers processing practices, inputs and requirements on environmental management, social justice and safety.
Certification bodies are assessed against the Approval Procedure and Requirements for Certification Bodies and requirements of the Global Organic Textile Standard & its Implementation Manual, the GOTS Licensing and Labelling Guide, GOTS Policies on Scope Certificates and transaction Certificates, related templates, Policy on Change or Migration of Certifier, and any other policies, guidance documents or interpretations issued by the scheme owner.
Further information can be found on the GOTS website.
Certification bodies may choose amongst four scope categories as follows:
- Certification of mechanical textile processing and manufacturing operations and their products;
- Certification of wet processing and finishing operations and their products;
- Certification of trading operations and related products;
- Approval of textile auxiliary agents (chemical inputs) on positive lists.
The IOAS is the main cooperating partner with GOTS which recognises our specialisation in organic accreditation and worldwide experience.
Scheme requirements:
Applicant certification bodies must already hold an accreditation against ISO/IEC 17065 for any standard before they may apply.
For guidance on various aspects of the standard and requirements for certification, please visit https://global-standard.org/certification-and-labelling/how-to-become-a-certification-body . In additiona https://global-standard.org/certification-and-labelling/labelling sets out requirements for product labelling and use of the GOTS logo and license fees payable to GOTS.
Application:
First steps in accreditation are as follows:
An application form available to download from https://global-standard.org/certification-and-labelling/how-to-become-a-certification-body must be sent to the Global Standard Technical Director. Only after acceptance by GOTS may the certification body apply to the IOAS.
- Complete the standard IOAS application form
The IOAS Global Organic Textile Standard Operating Manual provides full guidance on implementation of this scheme.
Please note current COVID 19 specific guidance documents are available on the GOTS website:
https://global-standard.org/certification-and-labelling/virtual-audits-covid-19
