The basis for GOTS certification:
- Annual on-site inspection of premises of the processor, manufacturer or trader, performed by an independent and specially accredited certification body.
- Tracing the organic fibre product flow.
- Assessment of all the inputs and accessories used.
- Verification of the wastewater treatment system as part of the environmental management programme.
- Monitoring social criteria and implementing a risk assessment based quality and residue policy are key elements of the inspection protocol.
The certification of traders is mainly based on the verification of their product flow documentation. The inspection protocol includes a reconciliation of purchases and sales volumes of organic textiles (volume reconciliation calculation). It also allows to trace back to check whether all the purchased products with a claim to being GOTS certified were correctly certified.