Annual inspection and licence renewal

During the inspection there are certain records, documents and processes that the inspector will need to see.

The checklists below provide an overview of what will happen and what you'll need to have available based on the activities you are certified to undertake.

• the inspector will carry out a mass balance and a traceability exercise to verify the flow of Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) goods over a period of 12 months

• they will want to have a walk around your operation to see that your facility demonstrates compliance with local fire safety regulations, including the provision of required firefighting equipment, and ensure health and safety guidelines are adhered to

• confidential interviews will be conducted with a member of staff; during the worker interview, a series of questions will be asked to assess the effective implementation GOTS Human Rights and Social Criteria requirements

• inspectors will want to review procedures and policies relating to social criteria and environmental management

• at the end of the audit, the inspector will explain to you any application requirements that have been raised, and you will then be able to see these on our client portal

• you will need to provide corrective actions to close these application requirements before we can issue your certificate

To help applicants prepare for inspection, we request a:

• labelling release form

• packaging release form

• product specification form

• copy of your suppliers' scope certificates

The inspector will also provide some documents such as, an audit plan for your Soil Association Certification visit and a GOTS Pre-inspection checklist. You can download templates for these below.