Social Compliance & Certifications for Bulk Buyers
As your orders grow — and especially if you sell to retailers — "do you have your certifications?" becomes one of the first questions you're asked. Here's what the main ones mean, so you know what to require from a factory and what each proves to your own buyers.
Social compliance audits
These check how a factory treats its people and premises — wages, working hours, safety, and no child or forced labour:
- Amfori BSCI — a widely used social audit covering labour rights, health and safety, and fair pay.
- Sedex / SMETA — SMETA is the audit; Sedex is the platform where results are shared with buyers. Common across UK and EU retail.
- WRAP — Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production, a certification focused on lawful, humane and ethical garment manufacturing.
Product & material certifications
- GOTS — Global Organic Textile Standard; certifies organic fibre content plus environmental and social criteria through the supply chain.
- OEKO-TEX (Standard 100) — confirms a textile is tested for harmful substances and safe for skin contact.
- GRS — Global Recycled Standard; verifies recycled content and responsible production.
What to ask a factory for
Request the actual certificate, check the expiry date, and confirm the scope covers the facility making your goods. A real, current audit report is worth far more than a logo on a homepage.
Compliance isn't paperwork for its own sake — it's the difference between a supply chain you can show a retailer and one you hope nobody asks about.
What each certification actually covers
These get listed together as though they are interchangeable. They audit different things, and knowing which is which prevents you from accepting one when your buyer is asking for another.
| Standard | What it audits | What it does not |
|---|---|---|
| BSCI (amfori) | Working conditions, hours, wages, safety — a social audit | Product safety or chemical content |
| Sedex / SMETA | Labour standards, health & safety, environment, business ethics | Fibre origin or organic status |
| WRAP | Lawful, humane and ethical manufacturing at the facility | Environmental chemistry |
| GOTS | Organic fibre and processing and social criteria, chain of custody | Nothing outside the certified chain |
| OEKO-TEX Standard 100 | Finished fabric tested for harmful substances | Labour conditions, organic status |
How to verify a certificate is real and current
Three checks, none of which require the supplier’s cooperation. First, get the certificate number rather than an image — images are trivially edited. Second, look the number up on the issuing body’s own database; GOTS publishes theirs publicly. Third, and most missed: check the scope. A certificate names which entity is certified and for which processes, and a group certificate covering a parent company does not automatically cover the specific unit sewing your order.
Also check the date. Certifications expire, typically annually, and an audit from three years ago tells you about a factory that may no longer exist in that form.
Why it protects your brand
One exposé of poor factory conditions can undo years of brand building. Sourcing from audited, certified factories protects your reputation, smooths your path into retail, and increasingly satisfies due-diligence laws in the US and EU. See how we approach this on our sustainability page.
Ask us for our compliance documentation and certifications — we're glad to share them. Get in touch.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between BSCI, Sedex and WRAP?
All three address social compliance; they differ in governance and in how buyers use them. BSCI, operated by amfori, is European-led and produces a graded audit against a code covering wages, working hours, safety and freedom of association — commonly requested by EU retailers. Sedex is a data platform rather than a standard; the associated audit methodology is SMETA, and results are shared between members rather than published, which suits buyers managing visibility across many suppliers. WRAP is US-centred, certifies the facility rather than a buyer relationship, and issues gold, silver or platinum grades. Which is required is determined by the customer rather than the supplier. None addresses environmental performance, which is the domain of GOTS or OEKO-TEX.
What certifications do I need to sell clothing to retailers?
Legally, few or none in most markets; commercially, it depends on the buyer and the destination. For organic claims, GOTS is the standard retailers recognise and can verify. OEKO-TEX Standard 100 addresses chemical safety in the finished product and is frequently requested by mainstream retail. Selling into the EU triggers GPSR, Regulation (EU) 2023/988, which requires a responsible person established in the EU and a technical file retained for ten years — a legal obligation rather than a certification, and one that first-time exporters routinely overlook. Children's clothing carries additional safety requirements. Retailers increasingly also request social compliance evidence via BSCI, SMETA or WRAP. Establish the buyer's requirements before production, since documentation is far harder to assemble retrospectively.
What is GOTS certification?
GOTS — the Global Organic Textile Standard — certifies the processing chain rather than the fibre alone. Certification applies to each operator in sequence: farming, ginning, spinning, knitting or weaving, dyeing and finishing, sewing, and trading. Its scope covers permitted chemical inputs, wastewater treatment and social criteria derived from ILO conventions, and version 7.0 introduced an outright ban on PFAS. Two label grades exist: "organic" requires a minimum of 95 per cent certified organic fibre, "made with organic" requires 70 per cent, with synthetic content capped at 10 per cent and 25 per cent for socks, leggings and sportswear. Each certified operator holds a numbered Scope Certificate published at global-standard.org, which makes any claim independently checkable rather than a matter of trust.
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Sources & further reading
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