10 Ethical fashion certifications you want to know about
Walking into practically any grocery store today, you will encounter a wide selection of everything from fruits, shampoo, toilet paper to meat and dairy labeled with an ethical certification that is reassuring you that their production complies with certain standards, defined to limit the harm of people and planet.
On the contrary, when you walk into a clothing store, the “organic department” is nowhere to be found. Some brands might have their own brand-specific ethical garment-tags but ethical certification in the fashion industry seems to be less established among the customers, although they do exist! But if you don’t know about them, it’s difficult to know what to look out for and what the different certification represents and guarantees.
So to take you through the maze of labels and certifications, here is a guide to help you make more sustainable and ethical garment investments:
1. Certified B Corporation
The Certification with the big C, or B rather. Accredited B Corps work to use their profits and growth to create a positive impact on their employees, communities, and environments. The B Corporation certification spans across all industries and all kinds of businesses receive the certification as long as they prove to balance their profit and purpose by meeting the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability.
Some examples of B Corps in the fashion industry are Patagonia, Allbirds, Organicbasics, VEJA, TOMS, Ecoalf, and KOTN. Find the full list here. If a business is a certified B Corporation, you can be sure that they are doing their best.
Cotton
2. GOTS — Global Organic Textile Standards
The Global Organic Textile Standards certify that the textile fibers in your garments are organic. This means that ecological and social responsibility has been taken throughout all processes from processing, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, trading, and distribution of all textiles. This standard is most commonly associated with organic cotton. This label comes in two standard-grades; a garment carrying a GOTS label graded ‘organic’ must contain a minimum of 95 % certified organic fibers whereas a product with the label grade ‘made with organic’ holds a minimum of 70 % certified organic fibers.
Leather
Contrary to cotton, it is more difficult to find a unified standard for organic leather production. The difference between leather and organic leather is mainly the use of chemicals in the tanning process. In non-organic leather, these chemicals are very toxic and harm both the people working in the tanneries and the water and soil in its surrounding environment (watch this video to learn more about the work in a tannery).
3. L.W.G — The Leather Working Group
L.W.G — The Leather Working Group is an independent group of tanneries and manufacturers that certify tanneries with bronze, silver, and gold standards to indicate the level of health and safety in the tannery, gold being the highest standard.
4. IVN Naturleder — The International Association of Natural Textile Industry
IVN is Europe’s only quality standard of ecologically and socially sustainable leather. The animal skin with this label must be sourced from the meat industry and skins from wild animals are strictly forbidden. Unless they are biodegradable, all chemicals are avoided in the tanning process.
5. Vegan or vegetal leather
In addition to organic and non-organic animalistic leather, there is also vegetal leather. Different companies have tried to come up with materials with similar texture, functionalities, and aesthetics as animalistic leather and some companies have made great progress! Mycoworks and Vegea are two companies that successfully have created leatherlike fabric made out of mushrooms(Mycoworks) as well as the wastes from the production of the winemaking industry(Vegea), which makes the leather 100% biodegradable.
It might be obvious but it’s still important to point out that what could be named or labeled as vegan leather could be leather imitations made of plastic. A vegan label is not explicitly incorrect as it’s not animalistic leather and instead of a leather replica. However, leather imitations made of plastic are not a sustainable option.
Wool
6. RWS — Responsible Wool Standard
RWS — Responsible Wool Standard addressed the welfare of the sheep and the land they graze on. RWS was created with the purpose to provide the industry with a framework to recognize the best practice of sheep-farming to reassure that the farmers practice a holistic and progressive approach in everything from animal welfare to managing their land.
The be RWS certified, high standards must be met across the whole production chain; from the wool farmer and throughout all processing steps including trading, sourcing, the creation of yarn, fabric, and the final garment.
Plant-based fabrics
Textiles such as viscose, rayon, modal, and lyocell are all made of variations of regenerated cellulosic fibers from trees, soybeans, bamboo grasses, or cotton-plants. These textiles are more commonly known or labeled viscose in Europe and rayon in North America.
7. FSC — The Forest Stewardship Council
FSC — The Forest Stewardship Council certifies that the cellulose used in these fabrics comes from well-managed and prosperous forests that will stay alive for generations to come.
FSC is developing fully certified supply chains in the textile industry that will enable textile manufacturers to sell clothing and other production with the FSC-certified label.
Other certifications
8. Oeko-tex
Oeko-tex certifies that the garments you’re wearing don’t contain any dangerous chemicals and guarantees the human-ecological safety of textile and leather products throughout the whole production chain. This might be extra important for clothes that you wear close to your skin such as underwear, sleepwear, and children’s clothing.
9. Fair Wear Foundation
Fair wear foundation is working to improve labor conditions in garment factories, following the motto: Fair fashion is about fundamental rights (and should not be considered an optional “add-on” or a favor provided to factory workers). FWF is collaborating with brands worldwide to create change and a “new normal” for labor in the fashion industry.
10. Cradle to cradle
C2C certifies recyclability and products that are made for a circular economy. Certified products have been assessed and approved of their environmental and social performance across five critical sustainability categories: material health, material reuse, renewable energy and carbon management, water stewardship, and social fairness.
