The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) is a national trade association representing apparel, footwear and other sewn products companies, and their...

AFIRM (the Apparel & Footwear International RSL Management Working Group) is a global organisation providing resources for sustainable, self-governing RSL...

Best Available Techniques (BAT) Reference Document for the Tanning of Hides and Skins provides a review of the Best Available Technology in the Tanning Industry across...

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...

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) was enacted by the federal government of the United States of America to “establish consumer product safety...

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.

Energy Star is a joint voluntary programme of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that aims to help consumers save money...

An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is a verified and registered document that communicates transparent and comparable information about the life-cycle...

The EU General Product Safety Directive is a directive provided by the European Commission on the requirements and surveillance of non-food consumer products on the market.

The European Union’s Thematic Strategy on Prevention and the Recycling of Waste is a long-term strategy which aims to help Europe become a recycling society that...

Established in 1999, the US-based Fair Labor Association (FLA) is a collaborative effort of socially responsible companies, universities, governments, labour rights...

The Fairtrade Textile Standard is one component of the greater Fairtrade Textile Programme which aims to facilitate change in textile supply chains and related business...

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 Reporting Initiative (GRI) is a non-profit organisation that promotes economic sustainability and produces one of the world's most prevalent standards for...

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...

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) campaigns to improve rights at work, encourage decent employment opportunities, enhance social protection and strengthen...

Since the last guide was published in 2018, international testing house Intertek has retired its ‘Green Leaf’ environmental marks for consumer goods including...

BSI (the British Standards Institute) has launched ISO 20400:2017 Sustainable procurement – guidance. Designed to assist organisations to meet their sustainability...

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...

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...

Previously in the Textile Standards & Legislation Guide we featured ISO/TS 14067:2013. This has now been superseded by this later version, which was revised in late 2018.

The Responsible Alpaca Standard (RAS) is an international, voluntary standard that ensures alpaca wool is responsibly sourced from farmers with high animal welfare...

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.

The Good Cashmere Standard (GCS) is an independent standard for sustainable cashmere, developed by the Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF), that aims to improve the welfare...

The Soil Association organic standard for textiles is another label which has adopted the GOTS criteria. It has a very high degree of consumer recognition in the UK...