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Full Certification Reference is a companion lookup table — it takes those same field concepts and applies them across every certification GCN lists, so instead of a facility figuring out "what does Assessment Level mean for GOTS specifically" from first principles, just look it up here.


Full Certification Reference — UNTP Conformity Classification

How to read this table

Assessor Level = how independent the party who did the assessing was (almost always 3rd Party for genuine third-party certifications -- flagged separately only where it differs). Assessment Level = where assurance for the scheme itself comes from -- most industry schemes are Scheme CAB (the scheme recognises accredited bodies to assess on its behalf); a few carry a genuine authority endorsement. Conformity Topic = broad UNTP category the credential relates to.

Where genuine uncertainty exists about a specific scheme's exact accreditation structure, this is flagged clearly rather than guessed -- worth independent confirmation before treating as final, same standard applied throughout this whole project.

Textile & Fibre Certifications

Organic / Recycled Content Standards -- all typically 3rd Party / Scheme CAB

GOTS, OCS (Organic Content Standard), GRS (Global Recycled Standard), RCS (Recycled Claim Standard) -- all administered via accredited certification bodies (e.g. Control Union, ECOCERT) recognised by the scheme (Textile Exchange, in most cases), without a separate government/authority endorsement of the scheme itself. Conformity Topic: circularity.content (GRS/RCS), environment general (GOTS/OCS -- organic agriculture input reduction)

Animal Fibre / Welfare Standards -- same pattern as above

RWS (Responsible Wool), RDS (Responsible Down), RMS (Responsible Mohair), RAS (Responsible Alpaca), Responsible Animal Fiber Standard, SFA Animal Fibre Standard, Good Cashmere Standard (GCS) -- all 3rd Party / Scheme CAB, all Textile Exchange or equivalent industry-scheme administered. Conformity Topic: social / animal welfare doesn't have a dedicated UNTP topic yet -- closest fit is governance.ethics, worth flagging as an imperfect match.

Chemical & Safety Standards

• bluesign -- 3rd Party / Scheme CAB. Conformity Topic: environment (chemical inputs).

• OEKO-TEX Standard 100 -- 3rd Party / Scheme CAB (administered by the International OEKO-TEX Association's member institutes). Conformity Topic: governance/quality -- product safety, not a clean single UNTP topic match.

• OEKO-TEX MADE IN GREEN -- same structure as Standard 100, but combines chemical safety with facility-level sustainability tracing.

• OEKO-TEX STeP -- facility-level, broader scope (environment + social + quality + chemical all at once) -- see the overlap warning above.

• ISO 20471:2013 (Hi-Vis Clothing) -- this is a safety performance standard, not a sustainability certification -- 3rd Party assessed, but structurally different from the rest of this list (a product safety spec, not a scheme with a governing body in the same sense). Conformity Topic: none of the standard UNTP topics fit well -- flag as out of scope for the environment/social/governance framework.

Traceability / Chain of Custody

FSC, FSC Chain of Custody, PEFC Chain of Custody, CanopyStyle "Green Shirt" -- 3rd Party / Scheme CAB. Conformity Topic: environment.deforestation.

Regenerative / Land-Based

Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC), Better Cotton -- 3rd Party / Scheme CAB. Conformity Topic: environment general, circularity.design (ROC's soil/regenerative focus doesn't map cleanly to one topic).

Design/Branding Standards

Masters of FLAX FIBRE(TM), Cradle to Cradle Certified(R), EU Ecolabel -- all 3rd Party / Scheme CAB, though EU Ecolabel is worth double-checking -- as an official EU-run scheme, it may actually carry a genuine Authority Mandate endorsement (government-run), unlike most others on this list. Worth confirming directly before classifying.

Cross-cutting / Reporting

SBTi (Science Based Targets initiative) -- this is a target-commitment framework, not a point-in-time certification -- Assessor Level and Assessment Level don't map cleanly the same way; it's closer to a self-declared commitment independently validated by SBTi's own review process. Worth treating distinctly, not forced into the same pattern as the others. ZDHC Roadmap to Zero -- 3rd Party / Scheme CAB. Conformity Topic: environment.emissions / chemical discharge.

Facility Certifications (Mill / Trims / Manufacturer)

Product & Material Integrity

Cradle to Cradle, Bluesign, GOTS, GRS, RCS, FSC CoC, PEFC CoC -- same classifications as their entries above (these are the facility-level application of the same schemes).

Environmental Management

• ISO 14001 -- 3rd Party / Authority Global MRA is plausible here (ISO certification bodies are commonly accredited under IAF/GAC's global multilateral recognition arrangement, peer-evaluated to ISO/IEC 17011) -- worth checking the specific certification body's accreditation status per case, since this is one of the few in this list that may genuinely carry Authority Endorsement.

• ISO 50001 (Energy Management) -- same pattern as ISO 14001.

• AWS Standard (Alliance for Water Stewardship) -- 3rd Party / Scheme CAB.

• ZDHC Supplier to Zero -- as above.

Social & Labour

• SA8000 -- 3rd Party / Scheme CAB (accredited by Social Accountability Accreditation Services, SAAS -- worth checking whether SAAS itself carries a formal global MRA accreditation, which would elevate this to Authority Global MRA).

• SMETA -- this is an audit methodology, not a certification with a pass/fail outcome -- structurally closer to amfori BSCI (Scheme CAB, no authority endorsement).

• amfori BSCI -- confirmed Scheme CAB (see dedicated FAQ entry).

• WRAP (Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production) -- 3rd Party / Scheme CAB.

Quality & Operations

• ISO 9001 -- same accreditation pattern as ISO 14001 (potentially Authority Global MRA depending on the certifying body).

• Lean Manufacturing certifications -- highly variable by issuing body; no single classification applies -- would need checking per specific certificate.

Health & Safety

ISO 45001 -- same pattern as ISO 14001/9001.

Climate & Carbon

• ISO 14064 (GHG quantification/verification) -- same ISO accreditation pattern.

• PAS 2060 (Carbon Neutrality) -- 3rd Party / Scheme CAB, BSI-administered.

Other

• RWS/RMS/RAS Certified Facility -- same as their product-level entries above.

• LWG Audit Rating (Leather Working Group) -- 3rd Party / Scheme CAB.

• B-Corp -- genuinely distinct structure: administered by the nonprofit B Lab, which sets its own assessment methodology and directly certifies companies (not via separate accredited third-party bodies) -- closer to Scheme Self than Scheme CAB, worth treating differently from the rest of this list.

Accreditations (organisation/facility level)

• amfori BSCI -- Scheme CAB, no Authority Endorsement (confirmed, see dedicated FAQ entry).

• Higg BRM (Cascale) -- self-assessment with optional third-party verification -- Assessor Level varies by whether a given company chose verification; Assessment Level likely Scheme Self or Scheme CAB depending on verification status. No score displayed on GCN regardless (see earlier decision).

• ISO 14001 / ISO 45001 -- see Facility Certifications section above.

• OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Garment and Footwear -- genuinely different structure: a government-backed (OECD, an intergovernmental organisation) framework -- this is one of the few entries that may legitimately carry Authority Mandate or Authority Peer endorsement, given OECD's intergovernmental status. Worth confirming precisely, not assuming.

• SA8000 -- see Facility Certifications section above.

• SLCP (Social & Labor Convergence Program) -- a multi-stakeholder converged assessment tool, similar in structure to amfori BSCI -- likely Scheme CAB, worth confirming directly rather than assuming identical to amfori.

• UN Global Compact -- genuinely distinct: a UN initiative, membership-based, not an audited certification at all -- participants self-report progress. This doesn't fit the Assessor Level/Assessment Level framework the same way as an audited certification; worth treating as its own category (a voluntary commitment/reporting framework, not a conformity assessment).

This document is a starting reference, not a final legal classification -- several entries are flagged above as needing direct confirmation before being treated as settled. Recommend verifying the ISO-accredited items (14001, 9001, 45001, 50001, 14064) and EU Ecolabel specifically, since those are the ones most likely to carry genuine Authority Endorsement rather than Scheme CAB.

GOTS

• Conformity Scheme: GOTS

• Standard Version: eg GOTS 8.0 (March 2026)

• Conformity Credential (Attestation) - GOTS Scope Certificate (SC) 

• Document type: Certificate of Conformity 

• Issuing Organisation: eg Control Union  (is this the same as the Assessment Body: Control Union??)

• Certificate/Verification number: unique to the organisation

• Date of Issue, Date of Expiry 

• Scope: Product-level

• Assessor Level: 3rd Party

• Assessment Level: Scheme CAB

• Authority Endorsement: (leave blank) - 

• Conformity Topic: environment

• Reference standard: "GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) Version 8.0"

• Document type: Certificate of Conformity 

• Evidence - Certificate: unique Certificate/audit numbers and dates issued

GRTS

The new standard for textiles made of responsible fibres

GRS

• Scope: Product-level

• Assessor Level: 3rd Party

• Assessment Level: Scheme CAB

• Authority Endorsement: (leave blank)

• Conformity Topic: circularity.content

• Reference standard: "Global Recycled Standard (GRS) 4.0"

• Document type: Certificate of Conformity

• Evidence - Certificate: unique Certificate/audit numbers and dates issued

bluesign

• Scope: Facility-level

• Assessor Level: 3rd Party

• Assessment Level: Scheme CAB

• Authority Endorsement: (leave blank)

• Conformity Topic: environment

• Reference standard: "bluesign SYSTEM"

• Document type: Certificate of Conformity

• Evidence - Certificate: unique Certificate/audit numbers and dates issued

ISO 14001 — note different pattern 

• Scope: Organisation-level (or Facility-level, depending on the certificate's registered site)

• Assessor Level: 3rd Party

• Assessment Level: Authority Global MRA  (well-established real-world pattern for ISO certifications specifically)

• Authority Endorsement: Authority Global MRA

• Conformity Topic: environment

• Reference standard: "ISO 14001:2015"

• Document type: Certificate of Conformity

• Evidence - Certificate: unique Certificate/audit numbers and dates issued

ZDHC Supplier to Zero

• Scope: Facility-level

• Assessor Level: 3rd Party

• Assessment Level: Scheme CAB

• Authority Endorsement: (leave blank)

• Conformity Topic: environment.emissions

• Reference standard: "ZDHC Roadmap to Zero / Supplier to Zero Programme"

• Document type: Certificate of Conformity

• Evidence - Certificate: unique Certificate/audit numbers and dates issued

SA8000 — one genuine area of uncertainty, flagging honestly

• Scope: Facility-level

• Assessor Level: 3rd Party

• Assessment Level: Scheme CAB (recommend as the safer default — SA8000's accreditation body, SAAS, is purpose-built specifically for this scheme; GCN can't confirm it carries the same formal IAF/GAC MRA status as general ISO accreditation bodies, so not recommending Authority Global MRA here even though it's possible)

• Authority Endorsement: (leave blank)

• Conformity Topic: social.labour

• Reference standard: "SA8000:2014"

• Document type: Certificate of Conformity

• Evidence - Certificate: unique Certificate/audit numbers and dates issued

ISO 9001

• Scope: Organisation-level

• Assessor Level: 3rd Party

• Assessment Level: Authority Global MRA

• Authority Endorsement: Authority Global MRA

• Conformity Topic: (note as no UNTP topic fits — ISO 9001 is pure quality management, not sustainability-related; leave blank)

• Reference standard: "ISO 9001:2015"

• Document type: Certificate of Conformity

• Evidence - Certificate: unique Certificate/audit numbers and dates issued

SBTi —Corporate Net-Zero Standard Version 2.0  

• Scope: Organisation-level

• Assessor Level: 3rd Party

• Assessment Level: Scheme CAB 

• Authority Endorsement: (leave blank)

• Conformity Topic: environment.emissions

• Reference standard: "SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0"

• Conformity Assessment: "End-of-cycle Assessment of progress against validated near-term emissions reduction targets, per the SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0"

• Document type: Validation Statement 

• Evidence - Certificate: unique Certificate/audit numbers and dates issued

amfori BSCI Inspection Report (audit-based, not certificate-based) 

• Scope: Organisation-level

• Assessor Level: 3rd Party

• Assessment Level:   ???

• Authority Endorsement: (leave blank)

• Conformity Topic: ???

• Reference standard: "???

• Conformity Assessment: "???

• Document type: Inspection Report 

• Evidence - Audit numbers and dates issued