The worldwide leading voluntary sustainability standard for the post-harvest textile value chain for certified organic fibres, covering environmental criteria, human rights, social criteria and business conduct.
") detects evidence of [Organic](https://global-standards.org/resources/glossary/organic "'Organic' is a regulated term used to distinguish systems of managed production and products derived therefrom that adhere to principles of health, ecology, fairness and care, and which are certified compliant to an organic standard's regulations by an Approved Certification Body.
GOTS defines organic textiles as being made with fibres from organic agriculture systems that are certified to one of the IFOAM Family of Standards, and that are processed in socially and ecologically responsible ways, in alignment with organic principles.
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').
") by GOTS [accreditation body](https://global-standards.org/resources/glossary/accreditation-body "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'.
") IOAS – a regular part of the GOTS quality assurance – attended by GOTS experts, they detected fake Raw Cotton [Transaction Certificates](https://global-standards.org/resources/glossary/transaction-certificate "A document issued by a GOTS-approved Certification Body for GOTS-certified products, verifying their compliance with the Standard. It provides traceability by listing product details, shipment information and confirming integrity through volume reconciliation process.
") (TCs). These TCs had been created by fraudsters using APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority of the Indian Government) templates with fake QR codes which led to a cloned APEDA website to pretend the TCs were authentic. GOTS has assured knowledge of 20.000 metric tons fake material. GOTS accepts raw organic cotton if it is certified to any of the IFOAM Family of [Standards](https://global-standards.org/resources/glossary/standard "standard glossary text
"). In India, the nodal agency to certify organic raw cotton for export is APEDA. Their system is similar to GOTS’, where TCs are issued by their Certification Bodies (CBs) and carry information about certified produce (volume, transport details, buyer, seller, etc.). GOTS has instructed its’ approved CBs to cancel all upstream TCs issued based on wrongly issued TCs in order to prevent affected goods being sold with GOTS labels. A Certification Ban on 11 companies was imposed and the contract with one approved CB was terminated. GOTS has submitted all facts to APEDA urging investigation, criminal prosecution and improvement. All GOTS certified organisations have been informed on the matter and are being provided guidance accordingly. Being a processing [standard](https://global-standards.org/resources/glossary/standard "standard glossary text
") and thus having so far relied on national law based and governmentally supervised organic cotton production, GOTS, in addition, introduced own measures to secure against such fraud: Henceforth, all incoming TCs (for organic raw material) into the GOTS supply chain will be checked by GOTS itself for authenticity and credibility. A system for permanent data collection for raw material entering the GOTS supply chain and checks and reviews of CBs is being developed. GOTS strongly believes that while these steps are strict, they are inevitable and will in the long run, strengthen the credibility of organic fibre production and GOTS. **About GOTS:** GOTS is the stringent voluntary global standard for the entire post-harvest processing (including spinning, knitting, weaving, dyeing and manufacturing) of apparel and home textiles made with certified organic fibre (such as organic cotton and organic wool), and includes both environmental and social criteria. Key provisions include a ban on the use of [genetically modified organisms](https://global-standards.org/resources/glossary/genetically-modified-organism "Organisms whose genetic material has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination. (Source: EUR-Lex, Access to European Union law: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/EN/legal-content/glossary/genetically-modified-organisms-gmo.html)
") ([GMOs](https://global-standards.org/resources/glossary/gmo "Organisms whose genetic material has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination. (Source: EUR-Lex, Access to European Union law: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/EN/legal-content/glossary/genetically-modified-organisms-gmo.html)
")), highly hazardous chemicals (such as azo dyes and formaldehyde), and child labour, while requiring strong social compliance management systems and strict waste water treatment practices. GOTS was developed by leading international standard setters - Organic Trade Association (U.S.), Japan Organic Cotton Association, International Association Natural Textile Industry (Germany), and Soil Association (UK) to define globally-recognised requirements that ensure the organic status of textiles, from field to finished product. GOTS is a non-profit organisation which is self-financed. For more information please see [www.global-standard.org](http://www.global-standard.org/?acm=19_169) and follow @globalorganictextilestandard on [LinkedIn](http://global-standard.org/index.php?option=com_acymailing&ctrl=url&subid=&urlid=591&mailid=286&Itemid=170), [Instagram](http://global-standard.org/index.php?option=com_acymailing&ctrl=url&subid=&urlid=592&mailid=286&Itemid=170) and [Facebook](http://global-standard.org/index.php?option=com_acymailing&ctrl=url&subid=&urlid=589&mailid=286&Itemid=170). \### 2.923 characters Juliane Ziegler Communication Executive [This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ](mailto:ziegler@global-standard.org) [ ](mailto:wyman@global-standard.org) [**GOTS Global Organic Textile Standard**](mailto:wyman@global-standard.org) [ ](https://global-standards.org/) [ Share this page ](#fs-toggle=share)