GOTS Certification Explained: What GOTS Certified Means for Clothing

What GOTS Certification Means

GOTS stands for the Global Organic Textile Standard. It is a certification for textiles made from organic natural fibres, and it covers more than the fibre itself: it sets environmental and social requirements for every processing step between the farm and the finished, labelled product. The standard was first published in 2006 by organic-sector organisations from Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan, and it is now managed by Global Standards gGmbH, a non-profit based in Germany.

When a product is GOTS certified, it means three things at once. The organic fibre content has been verified. Every company that processed or traded the goods along the chain, from spinning to sewing, held a valid GOTS certificate for that step. And those companies met the standard's restrictions on chemical inputs, its wastewater and environmental rules, and its social criteria for workers.

That combination is what separates GOTS from a claim such as "made with organic cotton". The claim describes one input. GOTS describes the whole route the product took.

What GOTS Covers in Clothing Production

GOTS starts after the fibre is harvested. The farm itself is certified under a recognised organic farming standard, such as the USDA National Organic Program or the EU organic regulation. From that point on, GOTS covers the processing chain:

If one step in that chain is done by a facility without a valid certificate, the finished product cannot be sold as GOTS certified, even if the fibre is organic and every other step was certified.

The Two GOTS Label Grades

GOTS has two label grades, and they are worth knowing before you write a fabric specification.

Organic

A product labelled "organic" under GOTS contains at least 95% certified organic fibres. The remaining share can be other fibres permitted by the standard.

Made With Organic

A product labelled "made with organic" contains at least 70% certified organic fibres. The standard limits how much of the remaining share can be synthetic or regenerated fibre, with a higher allowance for some stretch products such as socks, leggings and sportswear. Check the current version of the standard on global-standards.org for the exact limits before you settle a blend.

In practice, a 100% organic cotton T-shirt or towel would typically qualify for the organic grade, while an organic cotton jersey with elastane, or a fleece blended with recycled polyester, is more likely to fall under "made with organic". The grade is decided by the composition of the finished product, so write the blend into the tech pack before sampling rather than discovering the grade at the end.

Environmental and Social Criteria

The fibre content is only one part of the standard. GOTS also sets requirements for how certified facilities operate.

How GOTS Certification Works: Scope and Transaction Certificates

Two documents carry most of the weight in a GOTS order, and buyers often confuse them.

Scope Certificate

A scope certificate is issued to a company by a GOTS-approved certification body after an on-site inspection. It lists the facility, the processes it is certified for (for example knitting, dyeing or garment manufacturing) and the product categories it may supply as GOTS goods. Certified companies are inspected on site every year to keep their certificate.

The scope certificate tells you that a factory can produce GOTS goods. It does not tell you that a specific order was produced as GOTS goods.

Transaction Certificate

A transaction certificate is issued by the certification body for a specific shipment of certified goods from one certified company to the next. It records the seller, the buyer, the products, the quantities and the label grade. It is the document that proves a particular delivery is GOTS certified.

For a brand, the transaction certificate is the one to ask for. A factory with a valid scope certificate can still ship an order made from uncertified fabric. Without a transaction certificate covering your goods, you should not market the order as GOTS certified.

Checking a Certificate

GOTS publishes a public database of certified suppliers on global-standards.org. Before you sample, ask the factory for its scope certificate and check three things against the database: that the certificate is valid, that it covers the processes your product needs, and that it lists your product category. A sewing unit certified for knitted garments is not the right partner for a woven shirt programme simply because it holds a GOTS certificate.

GOTS vs OEKO-TEX

GOTS and OEKO-TEX Standard 100 are the two certifications buyers ask about most often, and they answer different questions.

Neither is a better version of the other. If your brand promise is "tested for harmful substances", OEKO-TEX Standard 100 is the relevant standard. If your brand promise is "organic", GOTS is the standard that substantiates it through the whole chain. A product can carry both, and many organic basics do. Our guide to OEKO-TEX certified clothing manufacturers in Turkey covers that certification in more detail.

GOTS vs Organic Cotton Claims

A product can contain organic cotton without being GOTS certified. Textile Exchange's Organic Content Standard, for example, verifies and tracks the amount of organic fibre in a product through the supply chain, but it does not set the chemical, environmental or social criteria that GOTS does.

That difference matters when you choose wording for a product page or a retailer listing. "Contains organic cotton" and "GOTS certified organic" are different claims, backed by different evidence. Use the claim your documents support, and use the GOTS label only on products covered by transaction certificates.

Does Your Brand Need to Be GOTS Certified?

Your factory's certificate covers your factory. Whether your own company needs a certificate or licence depends on what you do with the goods and how you want to label them.

If you want the GOTS logo on your own sewn-in label, hang tag or packaging, the standard's labelling rules apply to you, and the label must show the label grade together with a reference to the certification body and a licence number. Rules for brands, traders and retailers are set out in the labelling and licensing sections of the current standard. Contact a GOTS-approved certification body before you print labels or packaging, and ask what your company needs for the way you will sell, whether that is direct to consumers, through Amazon or wholesale to retailers.

How to Place a GOTS Order with a Clothing Manufacturer

Most problems with GOTS orders come from treating the certification as a checkbox on a quote. These are the steps that keep an order certifiable.

Write the requirement into the tech pack

Put the GOTS requirement and the label grade against the fabric line of the bill of materials, not in a general note. Name the composition, the weight in GSM and the label grade you expect. Our guides to what goes into a tech pack and how to specify fabric weight cover the rest of that specification.

Confirm every step of the chain

Ask the manufacturer which steps it does in-house and which it subcontracts. If dyeing, printing or embroidery is done by another facility, that facility needs its own valid certificate covering the process. A garment factory's certificate does not extend to its subcontractors.

Check trims and print inks

Labels, threads, elastics, buttons and print inks all need to meet the standard's accessory and chemical criteria. Ask the factory to confirm the trims and inks it plans to use are approved for GOTS production before sampling.

Ask about samples

Development samples are sometimes made from uncertified fabric while certified stock is ordered. That is acceptable for fit and construction, but agree in writing which sample will be made from the certified fabric and approved as the reference for bulk.

Agree the transaction certificate and its cost

Agree before production that a transaction certificate will be issued for your shipment, who requests it and whether any certification body fee is included in the quote. Ask for it to be issued against your invoice and packing list, and keep it with your shipment records.

Plan for fabric minimums and lead time

Certified yarn and fabric may need to be ordered specifically for your programme, and the binding minimum on a GOTS order is often the fabric or dye lot rather than the garment count. Ask at the quote stage how the certified fabric affects minimums and the production calendar.

Inspect against the approved sample

Pre-shipment inspection checks the goods against the approved sample and agreed tolerances, just as it would for a conventional order. Our guide to AQL sampling explains how that inspection reaches a pass or fail result. Ask the inspector to check that GOTS labels and hang tags match the label grade on the transaction certificate.

GOTS Production in Turkey

Turkey has a long-established cotton and textile industry with organic cotton cultivation and spinning, knitting, dyeing and garment facilities that work to GOTS. For a brand, the practical advantage is that a full certified chain, from yarn to finished garment, can often be organised within one country, which makes the chain easier to document.

SourceBridge works with Turkish textile manufacturers that offer GOTS organic cotton and OEKO-TEX Standard 100 options, alongside BCI cotton. Certifications vary by factory, so we match a brief to manufacturers whose certification fits the product, and you can ask for each factory's scope certificate to check it in the GOTS database yourself. Our published starting point for textiles is 300 units per style, with sampling taking 7 to 14 days plus 5 to 7 days by courier. Send the product, the target composition and the label grade through our textile sourcing service and we will come back with a manufacturer match and quote within 24 hours. If you are still building a shortlist yourself, start with how to find a clothing manufacturer.

FAQ: GOTS Certification

What does GOTS stand for?

GOTS stands for the Global Organic Textile Standard. It is a certification for textiles made from organic natural fibres that covers processing, manufacturing, packing, labelling and trading, together with environmental and social criteria for the companies in the supply chain.

What is a GOTS certificate?

There are two. A scope certificate is issued to a company after an on-site inspection and lists the processes and product categories it is certified for. A transaction certificate is issued for a specific shipment of certified goods and proves that delivery is GOTS certified. Brands should ask for both: the scope certificate before sampling, the transaction certificate for the shipment.

Which is better, OEKO-TEX or GOTS?

They measure different things. OEKO-TEX Standard 100 tests finished products for harmful substances, whatever the fibre. GOTS verifies organic fibre content and sets chemical, environmental and social requirements across the processing chain. If you are making an organic claim, GOTS is the relevant standard. Many organic products carry both.

Does GOTS certified mean non-toxic?

GOTS restricts and bans chemical inputs used during processing, and finished products must meet limits on residues. It is not a general non-toxic guarantee, and it does not replace product safety testing that applies to your category, such as the requirements for children's products in the US.

What is the difference between organic cotton and GOTS certified?

Organic cotton describes how the fibre was grown. GOTS certified describes the whole product: verified organic fibre content plus certified processing at every step, with chemical, environmental and social requirements. A product can contain organic cotton without being GOTS certified.

How much does it cost to get GOTS certified?

Certification fees are set by the GOTS-approved certification bodies and depend on the size of the company, the number of facilities and the processes in scope. For a brand ordering from a certified manufacturer, the factory carries its own certification cost; ask whether transaction certificate fees and any price difference for certified fabric are included in the quote.

Can a Turkish clothing manufacturer produce GOTS certified products?

Yes, provided every facility in the chain, including any subcontracted dyehouse or printer, holds a valid GOTS scope certificate for its process and your shipment is covered by a transaction certificate. Check each certificate in the public GOTS database before sampling.

What is the minimum order for GOTS certified clothing?

It depends on the factory and on the certified fabric. SourceBridge's published starting point for textiles is 300 units per style, but on GOTS programmes the fabric or dye lot minimum is often the binding constraint, so confirm it at the quote stage.