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For any information about abuses of the GOTS logo or quality assurance system, please fill out the complaint form.

• GOTS is a voluntary processing standard for textiles made with certified organic fibres. It sets environmental, human-rights, social, business-conduct, traceability and labelling requirements for applicable certified post-harvest stages. Organic fibre cultivation must be certified under an accepted external organic production standard.
• GRTS is a voluntary textile standard covering eligible fibre materials and specified environmental, chemical, human-rights, social, business-conduct, traceability and labelling requirements at applicable certified stages.
• Global Standards operates as an independent non-profit organisation and sustains itself through annual fees of €180 per GOTS certified facility and 450€ per GRTS certified facility.
• Our programme includes rules, procedures, and measures to maintain and uphold integrity, which are revised regularly.

• GOTS applies to certified post-harvest processing, manufacturing and trading stages. The organic fibres entering the GOTS system must be certified to an accepted organic production standard.
• Independent, third-party inspection audit and certification of companies. It is done through accredited Certification Bodies (CBs). These are experts in their field, and Global Standards relies on their proven competence, knowledge and experience. All certification decisions are within the responsibility and purview of the CBs. Global Standards does not interfere with the decisions of the independent CBs.
• Independent accreditation of CBs. Global Standards has developed its own accreditation system for the approval of CBs, as well as for continuous monitoring of the approved CBs. As a prerequisite, CBs applying for approval as a GOTS/GRTS certifier must already hold a valid accreditation to perform certification in accordance with ISO/IEC Guides 17011 and 17065.
• The Global Standards Quality Assurance Unit (QA) oversees and implements rigorous quality control procedures.

• All participants in the Global Standards programme are required to comply with the applicable mandatory requirements. The programme’s control measures are designed to identify and address fraud risks within the certified chain.
• Global Standards has a robust complaint system where any individual or organisation is able to register a complaint about perceived violations of GOTS/GRTS requirements. This ensures a formalised, timely and effective means of handling and resolving any complaints raised.
• Global Standards reviews all complaints rigorously and works closely with relevant partners (e.g. CBs, ABs) to conduct comprehensive, thorough investigations.
• Where evidence of non-compliance arises, Global Standards investigates under its applicable procedures and may take action against implicated parties. GOTS and GRTS labels may be used only in accordance with the applicable certification and labelling requirements.

The following measures are designed to support verification of organic-fibre authenticity within the certified GOTS chain, with some controls specifically applicable to cotton:

• Fibres entering the GOTS value chain must be certified organic according to a production standard recognised by the IFOAM Family of Standards.
• Farmers/ICS groups must register in the Farm-Gin registry before their fibre are permitted to enter the GOTS system. Currently implemented in India, this requirement will soon be in effect globally.
• All incoming raw material has to be reported to GOTS along with traceability to the respective farm group, including region, state and province of origin. Wherever the production standard provides for it, the TCs are required to be additionally submitted.
• Raw cotton may not travel more than 500 km from the farm to the certified gin. This shorter trade chain protects vulnerable points and optimises the process for buyers.
• GOTS approved CBs must verify the Farmers/ICS groups in the farm-gin registry before issuing lint TCs.
• CBs must verify the Farm Scope and Transaction Certificates (SCs and TCs) of all materials entering the GOTS value chain.
• CBs must validate relevant traceability and transport documentation.
• CBs conduct mandatory testing of all seed cotton for genetically modified organisms using ISO IWA 32 protocol, performed by qualified testing laboratories (e.g., ISO 17025), and further tests (such as pesticide residue testing as per section 5.2.7 of standard version 7.0), either randomly or in case of suspicion of contamination or non-compliance, based on the risk assessment by the CBs.
• Before issuing any TCs, CBs under GOTS must conduct a rigorous assessment including a mandatory plausibility check (volume reconciliation). First processing stage TCs are only issued by CBs after additional validity checks, such as first processing site capacities, stock positions, full traceability evidence back to the farm as well as verified financial transactions between concerned parties.
• To strengthen integrity and traceability, GOTS also requires that the Farm TC number appears on the first GOTS TC at the ginning stage. The TC must state the origin for raw material, including region, state, and province. This effectively traces material back to the field and adds another layer of accountability to GOTS-certified fibre.
• CBs perform unannounced audits of gins where there is a high perception of risk.

The GOTS Quality Assurance Unit (QA) additionally performs the following tasks to maintain integrity and transparency:

• QA performs a comprehensive review of ginner applications in the GOTS database.
• QA ensures that certified gins are located within a 500-kilometer radius of the farm groups or farms supplying the raw fibres.
• QA organises, annually, residual chemical testing of certified products that have been randomly picked up from retail stores across the globe to confirm compliance with GOTS criteria.
• QA periodically sample lint cotton from ginners to assess GMO presence.
• QA regularly shares a list of potential high-risk entities with all CBs.
• QA performs random checks of SCs, TCs, and Letters of Approval issued by CBs.

Bans

• If an investigation uncovers evidence of fraud, the company will be excluded from the GOTS/GRTS programme, in strict accordance with the established complaint procedure. Additionally, the findings will be publicly disclosed on the official Global Standards website.

Withdrawal of TCs

• Transaction Certificates (TCs) linked to fraud will be revoked by the relevant CBs, and any finished products will be prohibited from carrying the GOTS label.

Upholding Integrity Through Collaboration with Stakeholders

• Global Standards cultivates a robust and continuous dialogue with both fellow certification scheme owners and key stakeholders within the organic industry, nurturing collaboration across a spectrum of important issues.
• Global Standards has an ongoing collaboration with Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA) and Textile Exchange to provide the textile sector with an overview of global laboratories that can reliably conduct GMO testing as per the ISO IWA 32:2019 protocol – a common language among laboratories worldwide to screen for the potential presence of genetically modified (GM) cotton along the organic cotton value chain.
• Global Standards co-hosted the Organic Cotton & Textiles Conference in Indore, India in February 2023 with partners Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA) and IFOAM – Organics International. The conference focused on collaborative solutions to industry-wide issues of transparency, integrity and capacity.
• Global Standards is collaborating with the European Space Agency (ESA) on a demonstrator project that employs AI and satellite imagery to detect organic versus non-organic cotton fields, enhancing the monitoring of organic cotton cultivation systems.
• Global Standards is in the process of developing a central database that will trace the origins of organic materials across the entire GOTS chain of custody. This database will cover the journey from the raw material's source, through the initial processing stages, and extend all the way to the final product. To ensure the standard's independence from economic influences, a portion of the development costs is being covered by public funding.

Protecting the integrity of our voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) means taking action against misuse. We investigate allegations of fraud, misleading claims and the improper use of our labels or references to certification, and apply appropriate sanctions where necessary.

Our standards are dynamic, we foster constant progress towards the development of better textile processing methods. Every three years a revision process takes place in which Global Standards collaborates with international stakeholders. Find out more about our comprehensive and transparent revision process below.

The revision process is supported by stakeholder-based decision bodies and technical committees so that a wide range of perspectives are considered. Participants may include representatives from the textile and apparel industry, certification bodies, civil society organisations, environmental groups, labour organisations and other relevant experts.

Through this multi-stakeholder approach, Global Standards ensures that revisions are both robust and practical, supporting global acceptance and effective implementation.

Standard revisions follow Global Standards’ Standard Setting Procedure (SSP). For each revision cycle, an independent Standards Revision Committee (SRC) is established. The SRC brings together experts from different stakeholder groups and operates under defined terms of reference.

The revision process typically includes:

• Establishment of the Standards Revision Committee
• Preparation and publication of draft revisions
• Public consultation periods to gather stakeholder input
• Review and deliberation on received feedback
• Finalisation and publication of the revised standard

This transparent process ensures that stakeholders have the opportunity to contribute and that revisions are developed through broad consultation and consensus.

Public consultation is a key element of the revision process. Draft revisions are made publicly available to allow stakeholders to review proposed changes and submit feedback. Two stages of public consultation are generally conducted to ensure broad stakeholder input, improve the clarity and robustness of the requirements, and allow feedback to be integrated iteratively to strengthen both the quality and practical implementability of the standard. All comments are reviewed by the Standards Revision Committee and considered during the finalisation of the revised standard.

For more information, please contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Global Standards gGmbH operates as a non-profit, with strategic guidance provided by its sole shareholder, the Global Standards Foundation. Through this independent organisational model, a single strategic governing body, the Governing Council, oversees the organisation’s operations.   

The Governing Council is the Foundation’s governing body and is responsible for overseeing both the strategic direction and the ongoing management of its operating unit Global Standards gGmbH guided by Global Standards’ Vision and Mission.  

The Council consists of nine members drawn from diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise relevant to Global Standards’ work. Members are elected through a defined process for fixed terms. The Council itself elects new members if members leave.  

Through its independent oversight, the Governing Council ensures that Global Standards remains accountable to its mission and operates in the public interest.  

The independent, accredited Certification Bodies form the basis of the monitoring system for all Standards, currently GOTS and GRTS. This serves to provide credible assurance of the certified textiles’ integrity.  

To facilitate their oversight, Global Standards has a Certifiers Council in which each approved certification body is represented by a responsible expert. The Certifiers Council has an advisory function regarding all issues related to the quality assurance of the Standards. The collaboration of all approved Certification Bodies, as well as with their Certifiers Council counterparts, provides a consistent interpretation of the criteria and requirements of the Standards. The Certifiers Council is coordinated by Managing Director Rahul Bhajekar.   

Documents:  

• Code of Conduct 
• Conflict of Interest Policy