The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) is a holistic approach to sustainable cotton production, which covers the three pillars of sustainability: environmental, social and...

Updated in 2019, the bioRe label is operated by Swiss-based Remei Foundation, which defines the standards for bioRe Sustainable Cotton and subsequent bioRe Sustainable...

Focusing on consumer safety and the environment, the Swiss-based bluesign system examines natural resources and chemicals used in textile production, occupational health...

The Bra Miljöval standard was developed by the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC) and translates as ‘Good Environmental Choice’ in English. It is...

The reference documents on best available techniques (BREF) are a series of documents that reflect an information exchange in the European Union carried out according to...

A framework standard from the British Standards Agency (BSI) for implementing the principles of the circular economy within organisations.

The Canada Organic Regime is a food based standard, but it’s interesting from a textiles point of view because in June 2009, an ‘equivalency agreement’ was signed...

The Hot Button Ranking scheme, from environmental NGO CanopyStyle, provides an overview of the work undertaken by leading viscose producers to ensure that the raw...

The Content Claim Standard is a voluntary certification standard that can be used to trace a material through the supply chain. It can be used to back-up content claims...

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is a voluntary, international agreement between participating governments. It...

Cotton Made in Africa is a project based on standards and criteria designed to help the socio-economic development of smallholder cotton farmers in sub-Saharan Africa...

On 15th March 2021 Version 4.0 of the Cradle to Cradle standard was released. It assesses product safety to humans and the environment, as well as product design for...

Directive 94/11/EC is a legal act of the European Union concerning the labelling of materials used in footwear, including parts sold separately. The European Union has...

The EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) regulation is a management tool for companies and other organisations to evaluate, report and improve their environmental performance.

Introduced at the end of 2011, this EU regulation has brought together three previous regulations – directives covering ternary fibre mixtures (73/44/EEC), binary...

The European Ecolabel system allows the products of manufacturers, retailers or service providers to carry the distinctive ‘Flower’ label for marketing purposes...

It is often complicated for small and medium sized businesses to completely comply with environmental legislation and have a comprehensive vision of short and long term...

This regulation was developed to regulate the organic farming sector within and beyond the European Union. The use of the term ‘organic’ with the regulation...

When a product is ‘Fair Trade Certified’ it has demonstrated that it meets rigorous social, environmental and economic standards outlined by the initiative’s...

Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO), also known as Fairtrade International, is a non-profit multi-stakeholder organisation which develops and reviews...

The Forest Stewardship Council is an independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit organisation established to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests.

According to the FTC Recycled Content guidelines, it is deceptive to misrepresent, directly or by implication, that a product or package is made of recycled content....

The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) is a voluntary, certified standard that covers all aspects of the production of all natural fibres of organic status including...

The Global Recycled Standard (GRS) addresses input material verification, chain of custody, environmental principles, social requirements, and labelling for textile...

The Higg Index, is a suite of sustainability self-assessment tools developed by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition to assess the manufacturing, brand and product impacts...

Published in April 2019, this ISO standard relates to the screening of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in cotton and textiles.

LEED, whose name originates from the acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, was launched in March 2000 by the US Green Building Council.

Made in Green by Oeko-Tex is a traceable label for textiles tested for harmful substances and the use of sustainable production practices and technologies through the manufacturing process.

The non-profit Nordic ‘Swan’ Ecolabel is a voluntary license designed to help companies make and indicate products to the consumer that are more sustainable. It is...

The Oeko-Tex Standard 100, introduced in 1992, is a global uniform testing and certification system for textile raw materials, intermediate products and end products at...

Sustainable Textile Production (STeP) is an Oeko-Tex certification system for brands, retail companies and manufacturers from the textile chain who want to communicate...

The Organic Content Standard (OCS) is a voluntary standard from Textile Exchange for tracking and verifying the content of organically grown materials in a final...

The production and processing of organic textiles sold on the Japanese market is regulated in the Japanese Agriculture Standard (JAS). These certified goods are...

The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) provides assurances that forests are managed in line with international environmental requirements,...

The Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) is a voluntary material content claim standard that tracks recycled raw materials through the supply chain to give credibility to...

Regenerative Organic Certified was established in 2017 by a group of farmers, business leaders, and experts in soil health, animal welfare, and social fairness...

SCS claim that Recycled Content Standard certification helps companies: Demonstrate leadership in reducing reliance on natural resources Satisfy purchase...

The Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) is an industry working group dedicated to a more robust environmental vision for packaging. Through member support, an informed...

The Green Mark Program was launched in 1992 by Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Administration as a voluntary eco-labelling program and published its latest revision in December 2013.

A label of the Chargeurs Group, Nativa sets a standard for stakeholders within the merino sheep industry and supply chain to meet if they’re to demonstrate a...

Launched in 2015, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a universal set of goals, targets and indicators that UN member states will be expected to use to frame...

The United States Department of Agriculture administers the BioPreferred Program, which was created by the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (FSRIA or...

ZQ is a merino wool certification that looks at animal welfare and environmental standards. It has been developed and owned by The New Zealand Merino Company Ltd. ZQ is...