Traditional scope standards like Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) or the Organic Content Standard (OCS) verify a supply chain or rather the way of a verified material. Being able to show their logo on a product means that all companies involved in the products supply chain produce with the standards requirements of the standard, can therefore show a valid Scope Certificate and that every order that was issued for the creation of that product is verified by a transaction Certificate. In the case of GOTS, end consumers can therefore be sure that their product with a GOTS label is really made of GOTS-certified cotton.

Scope standards are so complex because they certify several levels: The one logo on a product means that the company, supply chain and product are certified. To be able to show the logos of scope standards only on the verified products, we decided to also have two certificate types in our system: Scope Certificates certifying the companies in the supply chain of the certified product and transaction certificates showing which products are certified by the according scope standard.

For jeans to display the logo of a Scope Standard such as GOTS, at least the main suppliers must have a valid Scope Certificate in their company profile. Ideally, however, all companies involved in the supply chain that process the verified material - in this case organic cotton - should have a valid scope certificate. In addition, the company selling jeans must provide evidence of a transaction certificate and link it to the jeans.

The separation of Scope and Transaction Certificate was necessary so that our platform can correctly display Scope Standards not only at company level but also at product level. We are aware that transaction certificates certify on order level. We use them nevertheless on product level because it is the only proof there is that a product really is certified by a scope standard, esp. if users do not use our tracing feature.

The splitting of scope standards into scope certificates on company level and transaction certificates on product level has another advantage: It allows us to correctly visualise other standards that link product and company levels like the certificates of Bluesign or Fairtrade. Therefore, we can show certificates how certificates work more transparent visualizing the connections between the different levels.

We strengthen this transparency also with our rule validator that helps users navigate the complex certification landscape. During the request process, it indicates at each step whether a company and/or a product complies with the respective standards. However, we do not limit the request process if requirements are not met. The certificate can still be sent to be reviewed.

Regarding the other standards that combine multiple levels in the creation of products, we are aware that users might not always have the perfect proof like a transaction certificate. Therefore, we are more open in the review process and accept also other documents. We encourage you to use the "Additional Remark" or "Comment" section in the certificate pages to explain the attached proof documents.