Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) certification applies to all supply chain sites of wool from the farm, processing of wool, assembly of the final products, up to the seller in the last business-to-business transaction. Farms are certified to the Animal Welfare and Land Management Modules of the RWS. Subsequent stages of the wool supply chain are required to be certified against the requirements of the Content Claim Standard (CCS) up to the seller in the last business-to-business transaction. The Content Claim Standard is a chain of custody standard that verifies the amount of a given raw material in a product. The aim of chain of custody is to preserve the identity of the claimed material and to track its movement through the supply chain up to the final product. This is done through Scope Certificates (SC) and Transaction Certificates (TC).

GCL offers certification services for the supply chain scope (post farm and post slaughter site) of Responsible Wool Standard (RWS).

Application and contract

You can apply online for the RWS Certification to receive a quotation.

Once the quotation has been accepted, return a signed copy of the quotation and our Scheme Rules.

Preparation for the Initial RWS Certification Audit

The following documents are supplied prior to the initial certification:

• Briefing information about the RCS Standard
• Standard and Implementation Manual
• Document checklist
• Inspection Report including inspection checklists, list of suppliers and subcontractors.

Initial Certification Audit

• Opening meeting
• On-site Audit
• Preparation of Audit Report (including Findings)
• Closing meeting

Following the completion of the inspection, a report detailing the findings is provided. Subject to the closure of any non-conformances or findings (if any), a Scope Certificate is issued.

Labelling Release

Whenever the client wishes to have artwork approved, the proposed artwork and Labelling Release form shall be submitted to GCL International for approval.

Transaction Certificate

• The certified client may request a Transaction Certificate by email
• Send us a Transaction Certificate Request form and associated documents
• If approved, the Transaction Certificate is issued to the client

Re-Assessment Or Annual Audit

• GCL International will communicate with the client to plan for the reassessment and to determine if there have been any changes, such as to production units, subcontractors, recipes or new suppliers. An audit report must be completed by the client and returned to us
• GCL International will conduct the re-assessment
• Following the completion of the assessment, a report detailing the findings is provided. Subject to the closure of any non-conformances or findings (if any), a certificate with TE labelling is issued

• GCL Scheme Rules
• RWS Standard, v2.2
• RWS User Manual, v2.2
• CCS Standard, v3.1
• Transaction Certificates Policy
• Scope Certificates Policy
• Standards Claims Policy
  
• Standards Logo Use Specifications
• Request Operator Handbook 
• Request Fee Structure