GOTS Certification for Factories: What You Need to Know for v8.0

GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) is one of the most recognised organic textile certifications globally, but most published guidance on it is written from the brand or buyer perspective. This article covers what a processing facility (a spinner, weaver, dye house or cut-and-sew unit) needs to understand, prepare and maintain to achieve and keep GOTS certification. It is a practitioner explainer based on supply-chain and audit experience, not a GOTS certifier's product. The standard text and your certification body decide what applies to you.

Which Version of GOTS Applies to You?

GOTS is revised on a roughly three-year cycle. Version 8.0 was released in March 2026 and will be fully effective from 1 March 2027, with a one-year transition period. From that date, audits and assessments run against v8.0. Early adoption is allowed. Confirm the exact dates for your audit with your certification body and at global-standard.org.

According to GOTS and certification body summaries, the changes most relevant to processing facilities are: tightened PFAS limits and updated testing; a dedicated GOTS Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL) section; a new endocrine disruptor assessment aligned with EU legislation; mandatory due diligence processes aligned with OECD guidance; new governance requirements; stronger requirements on air emissions and waste management; and updated verification testing for non-GMO cotton. Read the v8.0 text itself for the exact criteria, because summaries leave out detail.

What Certification Does Your Facility Need?

Every processing facility in a GOTS chain needs its own certification. A brand cannot certify on a factory's behalf. What your certificate covers depends on the activities you carry out, so check the wording on your own certificate with your certifier. In general terms:

Many factories will be certified for mechanical processing, wet processing, or both if both happen on the same site. If you subcontract a processing step such as embroidery, printing or washing, those subcontractors must be part of the certified chain: either certified themselves or covered under your certification and audited. Ask your certifier how your subcontractors must be declared before you use them for GOTS orders.

The Input Chain: Fibre, Transaction Certificates and Approved Chemicals

GOTS certifies the processing chain, not the farm. The organic fibre entering your facility must already be certified organic under a recognised organic standard, for example EU Regulation 2018/848 or the USDA National Organic Program. Check the GOTS manual for the list it accepts. As a processor, you need valid certification documents for every certified fibre source and a Transaction Certificate (TC) covering each certified delivery. If the paperwork for a delivery is missing, you cannot claim that material as GOTS at your facility, whatever the supplier's own certification status.

On the chemical side, dyes and processing auxiliaries used in GOTS production must be GOTS-approved chemical inputs, a pre-approval route rather than a factory-level substance test. The practical risk for a dye house is reformulation: if a chemical supplier changes a product, the approval may no longer apply to the new version. Auditors can cross-check your chemical list against current GOTS approvals, so confirm the approval status of each product when a supplier notifies you of a change.

What the Annual Audit Covers

GOTS audits are carried out each year by an approved certification body. The audit looks at four main areas: the input chain (fibre certificates, TCs, approved chemical inputs), the processing record (production records, separation of GOTS and non-GOTS materials, labelling), the output chain (TCs issued to buyers and records of certified goods volumes), and facility systems such as wastewater treatment, worker welfare and chemical storage and handling.

Volume reconciliation is a key audit tool. The certifier compares the certified inputs you received with the certified goods you shipped. If more certified product was claimed on outgoing documents than the certified inputs could produce, the discrepancy will generate a nonconformance. This is how the system catches inflated claims, and it is why accurate records of inputs, production yields and outputs are essential.

Before every audit, check your certification body's current accreditation status. Certification bodies are accredited by an independent accreditor (IOAS for GOTS), and a suspension can affect your certificate. You can check status at ioas.org or ask your certifier directly.

v8.0 Readiness Checklist for Factories

v8.0 readiness checklist

• Obtain the v8.0 standard text and ask your certification body which version will apply to your next audit date and whether it falls before or after 1 March 2027.
• Review your approved chemicals list against current GOTS approvals, and flag any product its supplier has reformulated since your last audit.
• Review the tightened PFAS limits against your chemical inputs, in particular water-repellent finishes, PTFE-based coatings and fluorinated processing aids.
• Check how v8.0 due diligence and governance requirements apply to your facility, and plan who owns each one.
• Check your wastewater, air emissions and waste management records against the v8.0 criteria.
• If subcontractors work on your GOTS orders, confirm they are covered and are preparing for v8.0, because your compliance depends on theirs.

References

Global Standard gGmbH, GOTS v8.0 release announcement (global-standard.org, accessed 8 October 2026). USB Certification, GOTS 8.0 Released: Mandatory Due Diligence and Circularity Requirements Incoming. Apparel Insider, GOTS-certified facilities rise 15 per cent to 17,800 in 2025. Always rely on the GOTS standard text and your certification body for requirements that apply to your facility.

Frequently Asked Questions