Certifications that matter when sourcing from India

A certificate tells you three things, and buyers usually check only one. Who holds it, what its scope covers, and whether your specific shipment is covered by a transaction certificate. You can buy from a certified supplier, using certified material, and still have no right to make the claim on your packaging.

Most sourcing advice says "ask for certifications." That is where the advice stops, and it is roughly where the problems start.

Here is what a certificate actually means, what it does not mean, and how to check one properly.

The three questions

1. Who holds it?

We interviewed a manufacturer whose website listed GOTS, Fair Trade, OEKO-TEX and BCI. They hold none of them. Their fabric suppliers hold two.

They told us this openly the moment someone asked. Their website simply implied something broader than the truth, which is extremely common and usually not malicious.

But the consequence is real. A buyer who never asked would have assumed their finished garments could carry a certified organic claim. They cannot, because certification does not travel up a supply chain by association.

Ask: is this held by your company, or by your material supplier?

2. What is its scope?

This is the question almost nobody asks.

A certificate is not a general statement about a company. It covers specific processes and specific product categories at specific facilities. A factory can be certified for knitwear and not for woven. For one site and not another. For dyeing and not printing.

A supplier can hold a genuine, current certificate that does not cover the thing you are buying.

Ask: what product categories and processes does this certificate cover, and does that include my product?

3. Is my shipment covered?

The one that catches people, and the reason for the next section.

Scope certificates and transaction certificates

For GOTS and similar standards, two different documents exist and you need both.

The scope certificate alone is not enough to make a claim. It confirms capability. It says nothing about whether your particular order was produced under compliant conditions.

The transaction certificate is what entitles you to the claim on your packaging and marketing.

Why this matters at small volumes

Here is where it bites, and it explains something a manufacturer told us.

A full-package apparel manufacturer we interviewed has a 100-unit minimum, which is genuinely accessible. But they told us a certificate "can only be provided at roughly 1,000 kg of fabric."

That threshold is the transaction certificate. The scope certificate sits with their fabric supplier permanently. The per-shipment document that would let a buyer say "certified organic" is only issued at a volume a 100-piece order does not approach.

So both of these are true at once:

• You can order 100 pieces from a certified supply chain

• You cannot label those 100 pieces as certified organic

Nobody is being dishonest. The two documents simply do different jobs, and only one of them is ever discussed.

If a certified claim matters to your brand, establish the transaction certificate threshold before you design around it. It is a volume decision disguised as a paperwork detail, and it is much cheaper to know at the brief stage.

How to verify a certificate, properly

Never accept a PDF. Certificates get edited, borrowed, expired and screenshotted.

The last row is the one people skip. Verify the certificate, then verify the certificate holder is the entity on your invoice. A genuine certificate belonging to a different company is a known fraud pattern.

The certifications that actually matter, by category

Textiles and apparel

OEKO-TEX versus GOTS, since it is the most common confusion. OEKO-TEX Standard 100 tests the finished textile for harmful substances. It says nothing about whether the fibre is organic, how the workers were treated, or where the material came from. GOTS covers organic fibre content, chemistry, labour and full chain of custody.

If your brand claim is about safety, OEKO-TEX supports it. If your claim is about organic, only GOTS does.

Cosmetics and personal care

Schedule M-II is the legal floor in India. ISO 22716 is more detailed and more system-focused, covering production, storage, packaging, labelling, traceability and documentation. Ask for the second.

Food, ingredients and wellness

One food manufacturer we interviewed claimed FSSAI, ISO and "all certifications an Indian company needs," with a site listing ISO 22000, FSSC 22000, Halal, Kosher, WHO, USDA and EU organic, and OneCert. We recorded that as claimed but not verified, because the certificates were not shared on the call.

That is not an accusation. It is the honest state of the record, and it is how every entry in our directory is treated until documents arrive.

Everything, regardless of category

• ISO 9001, quality management

• ISO 14001, environmental management

• BIS, mandatory for certain product categories in India

Two answers that are not answers

"All of them." We asked a studio which certifications their manufacturing partners hold. The answer was "all of the above," against a list including ISO, GOTS, OEKO-TEX, WRAP, Sedex and BSCI.

Nobody holds all of those, and partners do not share a certification profile. It is not a lie so much as a non-answer, and the right response is a specific follow-up: which partner, which certificate number, held by whom.

A PDF. A document is a claim about a certificate, not the certificate. Check the number in the relevant database.

The questions to ask

1. Do you hold this certificate, or does your material supplier?

2. What is the certificate number and the certifying body?

3. What product categories and processes does its scope cover?

4. Does that scope include my specific product?

5. Can you provide a transaction certificate for my order, and at what minimum volume?

6. When does it expire, and when was it last renewed?

7. Does the name on the certificate match the name on my invoice, exactly?

Or let us do it

We record which certifications a builder holds, which belong to their suppliers, and which we could not verify. Where a claim does not hold up, we say so on their profile rather than repeating it.

Tell us what claim your brand needs to make, and we will point you at builders who can actually support it.

Get in touch at: https://www.reborngoods.co/scouting

FAQ

What certifications should an Indian manufacturer have?
It depends on category. For cosmetics, a CDSCO manufacturing licence is mandatory and ISO 22716 is what international buyers should ask for. For food, an FSSAI licence is mandatory, with ISO 22000 or FSSC 22000 for food safety management. For textiles, GOTS covers organic and chain of custody while OEKO-TEX Standard 100 covers chemistry only. ISO 9001 applies across categories.

How do I verify a GOTS certificate?
Use the free GOTS public database at global-standard.org/public-database. Search by company name or certificate number. It shows the exact scope, the product categories covered and the expiry date. Never rely on a PDF the supplier sends you, and confirm the certificate holder's name matches the company on your invoice.

What is the difference between a scope certificate and a transaction certificate?
A scope certificate proves a facility is permitted to handle certified goods. A transaction certificate proves your specific shipment was produced under certified conditions. You need both to make a retail claim. The scope certificate alone is insufficient, because it says nothing about your particular order.

Can I make an organic claim on a small order?
Often not, even from a certified supply chain. Transaction certificates are typically issued only above a minimum volume. One manufacturer we interviewed has a 100-unit minimum but told us a certificate is only provided at roughly 1,000 kg of fabric. Establish that threshold before you design your brand around the claim.

What is the difference between OEKO-TEX and GOTS?
OEKO-TEX Standard 100 tests the finished textile for harmful substances. It is a chemistry claim and says nothing about organic content, labour conditions or origin. GOTS covers organic fibre content, chemistry, labour and full chain of custody. If your claim is about safety, OEKO-TEX supports it. If your claim is about organic, only GOTS does.

My supplier says they have all the certifications. Is that credible?
No, and it is worth following up rather than dismissing. Nobody holds every certification, and a supplier's partners do not share one profile. Ask for specifics: which partner, which certificate number, held by which entity, covering which product categories. A vague answer usually means nobody has ever asked.

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