A Textiles Compliance Checklist for Buyers Sourcing Apparel and Fashion

Use this checklist before you confirm a purchase order with a new textiles, apparel or fashion supplier, or when adding a new fabric or garment line to your range.

1. **OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certificate** — confirms the finished textile has been tested for harmful substances and is safe for skin contact.

2. **REACH Regulation EC/1907/2006 documentation** — check the supplier can confirm chemicals used in dyeing, finishing or printing are registered and not on the restricted substances list.

3. **GOTS certificate, if the product is marketed as organic** — verifies organic fibre content and the processing chain, from farm to finished garment.

4. **GRS certificate, if the product contains recycled fibres** — traces recycled content through the supply chain and confirms the recycled claim is accurate.

5. **Fair Trade Certification from Fairtrade International, if fair trade claims are made** — confirms labour and trading conditions have been independently assessed against Fairtrade standards.

6. **ISO 14001:2015 certificate for the manufacturing site** — shows the factory operates an environmental management system covering waste, water and energy use.

Not every item on this textiles compliance checklist will apply to every order. A basic cotton t-shirt with no organic or recycled claims may only need OEKO-TEX and REACH documentation. A recycled polyester jacket marketed as organic and fair trade will need most or all six.

Ask for copies of certificates before you place the order, not after goods have shipped. Check the certificate number, issue date, and scope — some certificates cover a specific factory or product line rather than the whole company. If a supplier cannot produce a certificate for a claim they are making, treat that as a gap to resolve before you commit, not a formality to chase later.

Keep copies of every certificate against the purchase order it relates to. If a customs authority, retailer or auditor asks for evidence later, you want to find it in minutes, not weeks. This applies whether you are sourcing one style or building a full seasonal range across apparel and fashion, since the volume of documentation only grows with the number of suppliers and product lines involved.

Textiles compliance is not a one-off check. Certificates expire, suppliers change processes, and standards get updated, so build this checklist into your routine at each reorder rather than treating it as a single gate at onboarding.

If you want a clearer way to track certificates and expiry dates across your textiles, apparel and fashion suppliers, take a look at what Complyra offers for [Textiles, apparel and fashion](/industries/textiles).