📚 Starter PackTextile & Garment Export
Certification Starter Pack — Textile & Garment Exporter
European and US sustainable fashion brands ask for GOTS, OEKO-TEX, and SA8000 — sometimes all three. Factories Act compliance and workers' rights are verified in every social audit. This pack maps what you need and in what order.
Factories Act compliance before any export certSA8000 and GOTS are the two most-asked-forBuyer requirement determines which — always confirm first
Legal baseline India
Factories Act 1948
Mandatory for factories with 10+ workers
EU/US social compliance
SA8000 or SMETA
Worker rights audited with worker interviews
Organic textile buyers
GOTS certification
Full supply chain must be GOTS-certified
Harmful substance buyers
OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100
Article-level substance testing
Your certification roadmap — in the right order
Start at Step 1. Each step builds on the previous. Trying to skip foundational steps delays everything that follows.
Factories Act 1948 compliance★ Mandatory
Factory licence from State Inspector of Factories. Working hours records, overtime register, accident register. Cannot export credibly without domestic labour law compliance — SA8000 auditors verify this.
Full guide ↗
SA8000 / SMETA✓ Recommended
Social accountability. Worker interviews are mandatory at every SA8000 audit — private, without management. Working hours compliance and wages are the most scrutinised areas. Confirm whether your buyer wants SA8000 or SMETA.
Full guide ↗
GOTS certification○ Optional
Required if your buyer wants organic fibre certification. Your entire supply chain must be GOTS-certified from fibre to finished product. Every sale requires a transaction certificate.
Full guide ↗
OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100○ Optional
Required if your buyer wants harmful substance testing on the finished article. Does not require organic fibre. Annual renewal with re-testing.
Full guide ↗
ISO 9001○ Optional
Quality management system. Less commonly required in garment export compared to food or automotive, but increasingly asked for in formal procurement.
Full guide ↗
People SOPs★ Mandatory
Documented HR procedures for joining, leave, payroll, grievance, and disciplinary. SA8000 auditors ask workers about the grievance mechanism — it must be documented and communicated.
Full guide ↗
All certifications for textile exporter
Factories Act Compliance
★ Mandatory
Factory licence, working hours records, overtime register, accident register. Legal baseline.
Read the full guide ↗
SA8000
✓ Recommended
Social accountability. Nine worker rights elements. Mandatory worker interviews.
Read the full guide ↗
SMETA Audit
✓ Recommended
SEDEX shared audit format. Widely used by UK buyers. Not a certification — an audit report.
Read the full guide ↗
GOTS
○ Optional
Organic fibre certification. Full supply chain must be GOTS-certified. Transaction certificates required.
Read the full guide ↗
OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100
○ Optional
Harmful substance testing on finished article. Annual renewal.
Read the full guide ↗
ISO 9001
○ Optional
Quality management. Increasingly required in formal procurement.
Read the full guide ↗
People SOPs
★ Mandatory
Documented HR procedures. Grievance mechanism required by SA8000.
Read the full guide ↗
Skill Matrix
✓ Recommended
Competence records for all production roles. Supports SA8000 training requirements.
Read the full guide ↗
Clicarity — Live Job Process Tracker & Bottleneck Identifier
Clicarity tracks your production process — and the records it generates support your SA8000 and GOTS documentation.
SA8000 and GOTS both require production records and traceability. In Clicarity, every production job captures: operator at every stage, shift records, wastage by stage, and sign-off at each step. For GOTS production, fibre receipt captures the supplier transaction certificate number and GOTS certification number. When a production run splits into GOTS Grade 1 and Grade 2 material, each is tracked independently with its own label claim. Shift records with supervisor sign-off support the working hours evidence SA8000 auditors ask for.
Clicarity is a process tracking tool. It does not provide certification, consulting, or audit services.
Common questions from textile exporters
What is the difference between SA8000 and SMETA?
SA8000 is a certification standard from SAI. SMETA is a shared audit report format used by SEDEX. Both cover social compliance but they are different — SA8000 results in a certificate, SMETA in an audit report. Confirm which your buyer requires.
Do I need GOTS if I use organic cotton?
Using organic cotton is not enough — your entire supply chain from fibre to finished product must be GOTS-certified, and every sale must be accompanied by a transaction certificate. One uncertified stage breaks the chain.
Does SA8000 check wages?
Yes — SA8000 requires wages to be at or above the legal minimum, paid on time. Auditors check payroll records and interview workers directly about their pay.
What do SA8000 auditors ask workers?
About working hours, wages, freedom to leave, whether they know how to raise a grievance, and whether they have ever experienced pressure. Answers are given privately without management present.