Intertek Testing Services NA, Inc. (Intertek) – Suspension of CB Accreditation
On October 8, 2024, ANSI National Accreditation Board, LLC (ANAB) revised the terms of Intertek’s suspension to Textile Exchange standards. As a result, the restrictions on Intertek’s office in India have been expanded to all Textile Exchange standards, and certain restrictions have now been imposed for all Intertek’s offices for the Organic Content Standard (OCS). The statement below has been edited to clarify what certification services are permitted while the suspension is in place. Please ensure to review the statement in full for more details on how this suspension may impact certification services from Intertek.
Textile Exchange’s assurance program supports the credible and consistent certification of fibers and materials according to the criteria in our suite of standards.
Our assurance system’s auditing and certification processes support a network of certification bodies around the world. These certification bodies are required to conform to our policies and procedures to conduct audits and issue certificates based on assessing conformity with our standards. Accreditation bodies monitor and assess the certification bodies to ensure that they are operating as intended and in conformity with the requirements of our standards system.
Effective July 31, 2024, Intertek Testing Services NA, Inc. (Intertek) elected to voluntarily suspend all of its activities related to the Organic Content Standard (OCS) at its office in India, including the issuance of OCS scope certificates (SCs) and transaction certificates (TCs) from this office.
On August 13, 2024, Intertek’s accreditation body, ANSI National Accreditation Board, LLC (ANAB), took the decision to accept its voluntary suspension, subject to further assessment by ANAB on related areas.
Following its assessment and decision review, on October 8, 2024, ANAB expanded the suspension of Intertek’s India office to include all Textile Exchange standards and halted the acceptance of new OCS clients by Intertek globally. This means that no Intertek offices may issue OCS scope certificates for new clients as of this date.
However, ANAB confirmed that existing Intertek clients for Textile Exchange standards in India may be serviced by Intertek offices that ANAB has approved in other countries/areas outside of India. These offices may maintain existing scope certificates and issue transaction certificates to existing clients. Please note that the maintenance of existing scope certificates is limited to certification renewals and excludes scope updates (such as additions/extensions).
As of October 8, 2024, this suspension covers Intertek’s operations in India for all Textile Exchange standards, and Intertek’s operations globally for the OCS (no new OCS clients nor additions or scope extensions for existing OCS clients permitted). Other Textile Exchange standards in geographic regions outside of India are unaffected.
Transaction certificates previously issued by Intertek are still considered valid – unless otherwise notified by Intertek or Textile Exchange. To authenticate a transaction certificate issued by Intertek, please see the Textile Exchange transaction certificate portal.
Next steps for certified Intertek clients:
The Procedure for the Withdrawal of Certification Body Licensing (ASR-112), section D details the requirements for certification bodies to communicate to their certification clients directly about how this suspension will impact their certification services.
If you are a certified client of Intertek, you should soon receive their notification. Below are some additional potential next steps and resources to assist you with the process:
1. Contact your current certification body for more details regarding how this suspension may impact the certification services you receive.
2. Should you wish to transfer your certification to an alternative certification body, please:
a. Note that any such voluntary transfer may require another audit and be subject to additional costs. See the Accreditation and Certification Procedures (ASR-101-V2.1) section D4.12 for more details.
b. Review this page of certification bodies licensed to certify to the relevant Textile Exchange standard(s) in your region and contact them for quotes to become newly certified by them.
c. When an organization transfers between certification bodies (from the “preceding certification body” to the “succeeding certification body”, including when the transfer occurs at recertification), the succeeding certification body may issue transaction certificates for shipments from the time when the organization was certified with the preceding certification body, provided that all the conditions of the Policy for Transaction Certificates (ASR-104) section A8.5 are met. Please contact your certification body for more information.
d. Inform the chosen succeeding certification body of the circumstance and provide them a copy of this communication.
While Textile Exchange is disappointed by this situation and the conditions that will impact site certifications, these circumstances reflect the integrity and consistency of our assurance system.
A fundamental part of this system includes entrusting accreditation bodies with independent decision-making. We firmly support any decisions made by ANAB and value the integrity this brings. In turn, this helps to ensure greater credibility of our standards and of the entities that offer auditing and certification services.
Please refer to our FAQ document for more details and clarifications on questions related to the suspension.
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