Principles of the Revision Process - Stakeholder Input

GOTS is backed up by stakeholder-based decision bodies/technical committees which ensure that the views of relevant stakeholders are considered. The GOTS approved certification bodies are also actively involved in the GOTS revision process through the ‘Certifiers Council’.

Revised Process for Standard Revisions

Commencing 2022, the revision process followed the Standard Setting Procedure (SSP) which provides for the constitution of an (ad hoc) Standard Revision Committee (SRC) for each revision. The SRC consists of experts from different stakeholder groups, works on the basis of respective terms of reference and decides on the revised standard. Selection of members is based on the “GOTS Stakeholder Identification Document”.

The GOTS Standards Revision Committee 2022 was formed for the revision to GOTS 7.0 and details are avialable on this website.

Public Consultation and Comments on GOTS Revision Drafts

GOTS revision drafts were made available for open public consultation and comments during the revision process. GOTS encourages all stakeholders including associations, organisations, companies and individuals to contribute to the process of the revision of the Standard through this process. The timeline for the revision to GOTS version 7.0 is as follows:

1. Constitution of GOTS SRC		March / April 2022 (complete)
2. Release of first revision draft for public consultation		14 April 2022 (complete)
3. First public consultation period		60 days from release (ends 12 June 2022) (complete)
4. Deliberations of the SRC on inputs received		May-August 2022 (complete)
6. Second public consultation period		From October 3 through October 31, 2022 (complete)
7. Deliberations by the SRC on inputs received		November-December 2022 (complete)
8. Finalisation of GOTS version 7.0		February 2023 (complete)
9. Release of GOTS version 7.0		March 2023 (completed 7 March 2023)

Reference documents :

• Standard Setting Procedure v 1.0
• Terms of Reference for GOTS Standard Revision Committee v 1.0
• GOTS Stakeholder Identification v 1.0

For more information, contact Rahul Bhajekar ().

---

GOTS REVISION PROCESS TO VERSION 7.0 IS NOW COMPLETE.

---

• The consolidated list of public inputs received during the 2nd public consultation period is available here
• The second public consultation period for GOTS version 7.0 is now closed, as on 31 October 2022.
• Revision Draft 2.0 of GOTS is still available for download here.
• Revision Draft 2.0 of the Manual for the Implementation of GOTS is still available for download here.
• A changelog for each of these documents is available here (Standard| Manual).
• A consolidated list of public inputs recieved during the 1st consultation period with corresponding GOTS SRC responses and decisions is available here.

---

• The first public consultation commenced on 14 April 2022 for a period of 60 days which ended on 12 June 2022.
• A compilation of all received comments was made available for review (download here).
• The GOTS SRC discussed all inputs and the 2nd revision draft for GOTS v 7.0 was released for public comments on 3 October 2022.
• Revision Draft 1.0 of GOTS is available for download here.
• Revision Draft 1.0 of the Manual for the Implementation of GOTS is available for download here.
• A changelog for each of these documents is available here.
• The current version, GOTS 6.0, can be downloaded here.
• The current version of the Implementation Manual 6.0 can be downloaded here.