GOTS statement on ECCHR's white paper

GOTS takes decisive and swift actions against proven non-compliances or fraud. There are more than 12,000 GOTS certified facilities worldwide. As is standard procedure at GOTS, any allegations against a GOTS certified company are taken very seriously and investigated thoroughly. This is also the case with ECCHRs concerns against 3 companies based in Xinjiang. 

• There are currently no GOTS accredited Certification Bodies operating in Xinjiang since Control Union decided to cease auditing activities in XUAR.
• The certification of one company expired on 3 December 2021, the others expire on 09 January and 15 January 2022 respectively.
• From 23 August 2022, there will be no GOTS certified companies in Xinjiang.*
• It is important to clarify that Virtual Audits (VA) did not exist before the Covid-19 pandemic. They are an exception due to travel and meeting restrictions imposed by health authorities worldwide. All VAs are mandatorily followed up by an in-person audit during the next audit cycle. As soon as the situation allows, all audits will again be conducted as in-person audits.
• GOTS does not allow raw fibers that originate from producer projects that have irrefutable gross violations of ILO core labour standards. Thus, GOTS expects the third-party Certification Bodies to consider the origin of the organic fibre during certification and requires them to reject raw material entering the GOTS supply chain in these cases.
• Transparency is key for GOTS. We therefore require the origin of the raw fibre as mandatory information in Transaction Certificates – along the entire supply chain up to the ready garment. By doing so, we provide transparency to buyers for their purchasing decisions. GOTS is also currently developing a centralized database which will not only address the origin of raw material but will also cover GOTS’ full chain of custody, from first processing steps to end products. 

Revision to GOTS 7.0 will commence in spring 2022. GOTS invites all critical stakeholders to share their input to further improve the GOTS system.

 *An earlier version of this statement said there will be no GOTS certified companies in Xinjiang from 16 January 2022. Due to misspelling in a facility's address, one facility was not included in the original statement. This facility has a valid GOTS certificate until 22 August 2022.