YOUR KEY TO ACHIEVING COMPLIANCE+
Since the publication of the European Green Deal in 2019, the EU Circular Economy Action Plan in 2020 and the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles in 2022, legislative activities and initiatives relating to textiles and sustainability have increased significantly, both within and outside the EU. At the same time, and despite efforts towards sustainability, the textile industry’s current trajectory is still incompatible with achieving key goals to mitigate climate change and its negative environmental and social impacts are further increasing.
Responsible textile companies have therefore started long ago to pursue alternative, more sustainable business models and have long turned to Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) such as the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) for support in identifying and addressing risks and impacts in their often complex and geographically dispersed supply chains and in communicating their sustainable and responsible practices to consumers.
GOTS certification is a powerful tool that helps your company comply with legal requirements and empowers you to exceed those, showcasing your commitment to people and the planet.
By continuously monitoring legislative developments on a global level, analysing the legal requirements companies in scope must comply with, assessing the role assigned to VSS in legislative initiatives and eventually adjusting our requirements through the revision of the Standard, of implementation policies, and the provision of additional guidelines, GOTS strives to provide Certified Entities with the best possible compliance support.
In addition, GOTS will continue to offer “compliance+”; that is, go beyond legal requirements by stipulating science-based, ambitious, robust, and verifiable requirements throughout the value chain for ecological, human rights including social criteria and business conduct in the textile sector. GOTS offers a traceable, whole-value-chain approach from farm to final products for fashion, apparel, personal care and home textile products. Certified Entities improve their sustainability performance, ensure continuous improvement, gain access to markets and are able to demonstrate that business success can be based on sustainable and ethical practices.
GOTS works in partnership with other VSS as a member of the International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling Alliance (ISEAL) and with the International Federation of Organic Agriculture, Organics Europe and Organics International. GOTS is also continuously working on an even closer alignment with important international norms such as ISO 17065 and ISO 14024 to minimise any room for interpretation.
The following table gives a non-exhaustive overview of important laws and legislative initiatives relevant to the textile sector in the European Union and in selected countries within and outside of Europe and outlines how certification to GOTS provides compliance support for companies.
| Legislative Initiative | Purpose | Compliance support provided by GOTS Certification |
Non-binding strategies and guidance |
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| EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles (ESSCT) | The ESSCT serves as a foundational framework to develop binding legislation. It addresses the main environmental-related issues within the textile industry, namely: high consumption of water, energy, and raw materials, significant waste generation, extensive use of hazardous chemicals, and social issues in global textile supply chains. | By stipulating ambitious, robust, and verifiable requirements throughout the value chain for ecological, human rights including social criteria and business conduct, GOTS is well positioned to support compliance with the specific legislation derived from the ESSCT (such as ESPR incl. Digital Product Pass, GCD, WFD Revision or TLR Revision – for details on these initiatives see below). |
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UN and OECD guidelines on due diligence provide an international framework for good business practices to respect human rights and protect the environment in responsible textile supply chains. These ensure that responsible business conduct and due diligence are embedded into management systems. |
Human rights and environmental due diligence are integral elements of the GOTS 7.0 criteria.
Global Standard offers trainings on Responsible Business Conduct and DD for GOTS Certified Entities and Certifying Bodies and has developed and published the GOTS Due Diligence Handbook for Certified Entities which provides detailed guidance on how businesses can meet the due diligence requirements, as well as human rights and environmental protection, and the GOTS Due Diligence Handbook for Auditors. |
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OECD 2018 Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains in the Garment and Footwear Sector |
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| OECD 2018 Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct |
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| OECD 2023 Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct | ||
Binding legislation on Reporting, Disclosure and Due Diligence |
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EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive 2022/2464 (CSRD) |
The CSRD aims at helping a company’s stakeholders (such as investors, civil society actors, customers, or policy makers) better understand its sustainability performance and impact. It sets out how companies must report on their social and environmental performance. Companies in scope must follow the reporting requirements set out in the ESRS. | GOTS certification offers a robust framework and a comprehensive risk management instrument for a company's supply chain which covers many of the environmental and social criteria required by the CSRD and its underlying ESRS. By adhering to GOTS criteria, companies demonstrate their alignment with important CSRD principles such as focus on environmental impact, due diligence, traceability and transparency.
Data from GOTS certification directly contribute to disclosures on e.g., pollution (ESRS E2), resource use and circularity (ESRS E5), and social impacts on both direct employees (ESRS S1) and workers in the value chain (ESRS S2). Companies can thus streamline their CSRD reporting while demonstrating at the same time compliance with other global sustainability standards, such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework for sustainability reporting, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) or standards set by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB). Since GOTS certification involves independent third-party verification by accredited certification bodies, it ensures the credibility and reliability of reported information, which aligns with the CSRD's mandatory assurance requirement. |
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EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive - 2024/1760 (CSDDD) NOTE: significant changes to the CSDDD have been proposed under the ‘Omnibus Package’ published by the EU Commission in February 2025 |
The CSDDD requires companies inside and outside of the EU to undertake due diligence (DD) on their environmental and human rights impacts and create and implement a transition plan to mitigate climate change. DD in this context extends beyond a company's direct operations to cover its entire supply chain, including all activities, actors, and business relationships. | GOTS provides a structured roadmap guiding companies to mitigate potential harm to human rights and the environment. This enables companies to align with the increasing global focus on responsible business practices and to comply with due diligence (DD) requirements as per the OECD and UN Guidelines, and the CSDDD.Global Standard offers trainings on Responsible Business Conduct and DD for GOTS Certified Entities and Certifying Bodies and has developed and published the GOTS Due Diligence Handbook for Certified Entities and the GOTS Due Diligence Handbook for Auditors for guidance |
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The Regulation prohibits the sale of products made with forced labour within the EU and to hold companies accountable for ensuring compliance within their supply chains. |
GOTS is dedicated to eliminating forced labour in the textile sector and upholds a zero-tolerance policy regarding any cases of forced labour. In October 2021, GOTS implemented a requirement to specify the region of origin of the raw material in transaction certificates, allowing buyers to perform their due diligence. GOTS strictly prohibits forced labour throughout the value chain and provides comprehensive tools and guidance for GOTS Certified Entities to meet due diligence requirements, including the ban on forced labour, particularly in high-risk areas. It also offers auditors tools to evaluate the due diligence measures implemented by GOTS Certified Entities concerning forced labour and supplies auditing techniques for identifying potential human rights abuses related to forced labour. | |
| The goal of the UFLPA is to prohibit the importation of goods produced wholly or in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of China, or by entities on the UFLPA Entity List. | GOTS is dedicated to eliminating forced labour in the textile sector and upholds a zero-tolerance policy regarding any cases of forced labour. In October 2021, GOTS implemented a requirement to specify the region of origin of the raw material in transaction certificates, allowing buyers to perform their due diligence. GOTS strictly prohibits forced labour throughout the value chain and provides comprehensive tools and guidance for GOTS Certified Entities to meet due diligence requirements, including the ban on forced labour, particularly in high-risk areas. It also offers auditors tools to evaluate the due diligence measures implemented by GOTS Certified Entities concerning forced labour and supplies auditing techniques for identifying potential human rights abuses related to forced labour.
In the event an entity to be certified is included on the UFLPA Entity list, Certification Bodies shall carry out desktop research and background checks on the relevant entity. Based on the findings, the Certification Body may decide not to proceed with certification or to decline certification services. Furthermore, GOTS can support Certified Entities in obtaining or producing the documentation required by CBP for an eventual applicability review. |
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| The Regulation prohibits the sale of products made with forced labour within the EU and to hold companies accountable for ensuring compliance within their supply chains. | GOTS is dedicated to eliminating forced labour in the textile sector and upholds a zero-tolerance policy regarding any cases of forced labour. In October 2021, GOTS implemented a requirement to specify the region of origin of the raw material in transaction certificates, allowing buyers to perform their due diligence. GOTS strictly prohibits forced labour throughout the value chain and provides comprehensive tools and guidance for GOTS Certified Entities to meet due diligence requirements, including the ban on forced labour, particularly in high-risk areas. It also offers auditors tools to evaluate the due diligence measures implemented by GOTS Certified Entities concerning forced labour and supplies auditing techniques for identifying potential human rights abuses related to forced labour. | |
| US Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act | The goal of the UFLPA is to prohibit the importation of goods produced wholly or in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of China, or by entities on the UFLPA Entity List | GOTS is dedicated to eliminating forced labour in the textile sector and upholds a zero-tolerance policy regarding any cases of forced labour. In October 2021, GOTS implemented a requirement to specify the region of origin of the raw material in transaction certificates, allowing buyers to perform their due diligence. GOTS strictly prohibits forced labour throughout the value chain and provides comprehensive tools and guidance for GOTS Certified Entities to meet due diligence requirements, including the ban on forced labour, particularly in high-risk areas. It also offers auditors tools to evaluate the due diligence measures implemented by GOTS Certified Entities concerning forced labour and supplies auditing techniques for identifying potential human rights abuses related to forced labour.
In the event an entity to be certified is included on the UFLPA Entity list, Certification Bodies shall carry out desktop research and background checks on the relevant entity. Based on the findings, the Certification Body may decide not to proceed with certification or to decline certification services. Furthermore, GOTS can support Certified Entities in obtaining or producing the documentation required by CBP for an eventual applicability review. |
| The Act aims at improving the human rights situation and environmental protection by defining nine due diligence (DD) obligations companies in scope must observe in their entire supply chain | GOTS provides a structured roadmap guiding companies to mitigate potential harm to human rights and the environment. As stated by the German BAFA , the use of standards such as GOTS enhances the robustness and credibility of human rights and environmental due diligence frameworks. Standards therefore are important supplementary tools for responsible business conduct.Global Standard offers trainings on Responsible Business Conduct and DD for GOTS Certified Entities and Certifying Bodies and has developed and published the GOTS Due Diligence Handbook for Certified Entities and the GOTS Due Diligence Handbook for Auditors for guidance. | |
| Norwegian Transparency Act on fundamental human rights and decent working conditions 2020 | The Act aims at promoting respect for fundamental human rights and decent working conditions in connection with the production of goods and provision of services. Companies in scope must carry out due diligence throughout their supply chains, publish an annual account of due diligence, and provide more detailed information upon request. | GOTS provides a structured roadmap guiding companies to implement due diligence and mitigate potential harm to human rights including working conditions and the environment. GOTS’ due diligence requirements have been developed based on the OECD Due Diligence Guidelines for Responsible Business Conduct, and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights thus enabling companies to also comply with the Norwegian Transparency Act.Global Standard offers trainings on Responsible Business Conduct and DD for GOTS Certified Entities and Certifying Bodies and has developed and published the GOTS Due Diligence Handbook for Certified Entities and the GOTS Due Diligence Handbook for Auditors for guidance |
Binding legislation on Products, Claims and Labelling |
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| The Revision of the TLR aims at expanding the labelling requirements to include sustainability and circularity labels, origin labels, etc. It also might require a mandatory digital label for textiles. | It is not clear yet what the official proposal of the EU Commission will contain (especially regarding sustainability and circularity as well as digital labels) and how compliance with the requirements can be ensured. | |
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EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation 2024/1781 (ESPR) |
The ESPR aims at improving the sustainability of products placed in the EU by improving their circularity, energy performance, recyclability and durability. It also introduces a Digital Product Pass (DPP) and rules to ban the destruction of unsold consumer products and establishes mandatory Green Public Procurement criteria. | It is not yet clear how compliance with ESPR on a product-specific level shall be ensured, this is, which data shall be collected and disclosed and which methods applied to e.g., assess the environmental impacts of a product.Despite this uncertainty, it can be expected that many environmental criteria, product parameters and data points (such as energy and resource use and efficiency, presence of chemicals / substances of concern, carbon and environmental footprint, waste generation, etc.) are already covered by GOTS certification and that many data and information gathered during the GOTS certification process can be directly used for the Digital Product Pass.For GOTS version 8.0, Global Standard has proposed a new section on circularity principles of GOTS goods to ensure that GOTS goods are designed as per the relevant ecodesign principles. |
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EU Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive 2024/825 (EmpCo) - Amendment to the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive 2005/29 (UCPD) |
The Directive ’s goal is to fight greenwashing and early obsolescence by adding various claims and practices to the UCDP "blacklist", including claims regarding a product's environmental or social characteristics and circularity aspects, and by requiring information on the durability and repairability of products. Sustainability labels must be based on certification schemes with third-party verification or established by public authorities. Like UCDPEmpCo is based on an ‘ex-post’ enforcement assessment from market surveillance or consumer protection authorities and courts. | To prevent companies from making unsubstantiated claims and awarding themselves their own sustainability labels, claims and labels can only be used if based on a certification scheme with third-party verification and which meets the criteria defined under the EmpCo Directive.GOTS fulfils all these requirements which means that any (correct) use of the GOTS certificate and the GOTS logo should ensure compliance with the EmpCo Directive regarding the substantiation of claims.GOTS is also continuously working on an even closer alignment with important international norms such as ISO 17065 and ISO 14024 to minimize any room for interpretation. |
| The goal of the Green Claims Directive is to make ‘green claims’ reliable, comparable and verifiable across the EU. It aims at protecting consumers from greenwashing, enabling them to make informed purchasing decisions and establishing a level playing field by defining detailed rules on substantiation, communication and verification of explicit environmental claims.Member states must ensure that any substantiation of environmental claims is made from a lifecycle perspective, backed by solid scientific evidence and verified ‘ex-ante’. This ex-ante verification shall be carried out by national accredited conformity assessment bodies issuing ‘certificates of conformity’. | GOTS fulfils the requirements defined under the GCD for environmental labelling / certification schemes used for the substantiation of environmental claims. It therefore should qualify for being an officially recognized environmental label permitted for use on the EU market under the GCD. This recognition, however, must be demonstrated through a 'certificate of conformity' issued by the relevant verification body in the member states.GOTS is also continuously working on an even closer alignment with important international norms such as ISO 17065 and ISO 14024 to minimise any room for interpretation. | |
| The Regulation addresses the use of microplastics in products. Textiles are in scope insofar as the sale of non-biodegradable, insoluble plastic glitter for textiles purposes is banned when glittered articles serve purely or primarily a decorative function, and the glitter can detach from the article under normal use. | For GOTS version 8.0, Global Standard has proposed to include intentionally added microplastics and decorative accessories with intentionally added synthetic polymer microparticles (including plastic glitter, plastic beads) that hold risks to shed during normal use in the list of prohibited materials used for Accessories. | |
| The Decree mandates that companies in scope provide detailed environmental information about their products, including aspects like recyclability, compostability, and the presence of harmful substances. It aims at ensuring consumers have access to accurate environmental information about the products they purchase. | Although GOTS fulfils the requirements usually defined for recognized certification schemes with third-party verification, it is, as of today not officially approved by the French verification body COFRAC. It can, however, be expected that many data and information gathered during the GOTS certification process can be used for substantiating any claims under the Decree. | |
Binding legislation on Waste |
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EU Waste Framework Directive 2008/98 (WFD) - Revision |
The “targeted” revision of the Directive focuses on food and textile waste and seeks to introduce compulsory and harmonized Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes for textiles and footwear to be set up by each member state, and to tackle illegal textile waste exports. | Although the criteria and parameters for the eco-modulation of fees to be paid by producers are not clear yet, it can be expected that GOTS certified products will be among the textile products with the least negative social and environmental impact. In addition, the GOTS certification process will support the reporting of product specifications required to eco-modulate fees.For GOTS version 8.0, Global Standard has proposed additional requirements regarding waste management to ensure that GOTS Certified Entities e.g., maintain a waste inventory system, and refrain from unsustainable waste disposal practices. It is also foreseen to add the obligation for GOTS Certified Entities to assess the shedding of microfibres and microplastics and take measures to prevent it. |
| The PPWR aims at reducing packaging waste by setting ambitious targets and promoting reusable and refillable packaging solutions and at making all packaging recyclable in an economically viable way by 2030.It wants to make producers more accountable for the entire lifecycle of their packaging. | GOTS stipulates in detail which packaging materials may be used for B2B and B2C trade of GOTS certified products. It asks, for example, that synthetic packaging material shall not contain chlorinated plastics (e.g. PVC), prohibits the single use of virgin plastic hangers and describes requirements for bioplastic, paper, cardboard or textile materials used for packaging. | |
GOTS is an all-inclusive, comprehensive standard which addresses this issue by setting strict environmental, human-rights and social criteria throughout the entire value chain. Find out about all GOTS key features:
Compliance support+
All Processing Stages
Due Diligence
Human-Rights and Social Criteria
Environmental Criteria
Traceability
Third-Party Certification
Organic Fibres