Textile certifications are a confirmation or authentication that a brand is meeting a certain set of “sustainability” standards set by the certifying body. A brand that displays textile certifications is signaling to consumers that it cares about sustainability and holds itself accountable to a global standard. There are a few that I can rattle off the top of my head– like “GOTS” or “OekoTex 100”– but I honestly don’t know the specifics of what any of these combinations of letters mean so I did some digging.

Environmental

Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS)

According to their website, the GOTS is a “quality assurance system… based on on-site inspection and certification of the entire textile supply chain (processing and trade).” This means they assess everything post-harvesting through fiber and fabric production, finishing, and distribution. All facilities in the supply chain have to undergo an on-site inspection. 

Both environmental and social standards are checked, including the use of uncontaminated organic fibers, the biodegradability of finish treatments, wastewater management, adherence to global labor standards, occupational safety, and the distribution of living wages. Any claim to be compliant with GOTS can only be made after each step is checked by a third-party certifying body. There are two tiers of compliance: ’organic’, which requires a minimum of 95% organic fibers, and ’made with xx% organic materials,’ which requires a minimum of 75% organic fibers. 

Oeko-Tex

Oeko-Tex’s website was slightly more difficult to parse through, but it seems that they offer a few different, but related standards that are updated at least once a year. 

• Their Standard 100 is their most well-known certification. It is a certification that every element in a textile product is harmless to human health. It sets limits for the pH, heavy metals content, pesticides, and other harmful substances that could have been integrated into the final textile product throughout the manufacturing process. They have more stringent testing for products for babies and for products that have prolonged contact with skin, and less stringent testing measures for textile furnishing or decorative products.
  
• The Leather Standard is essentially the same thing as the Standard 100, but for leather products.
  
• The Eco Passport is used by manufacturers of chemicals used throughout the textile and leather goods production process. It certifies that these chemicals have been tested for harmful substances and are not harmful to human health. Chemicals certified with the Eco Passport can be used for products certified by the Standard 100 or Leather Standard.
• The STeP (Sustainable Textile & Leather Production) standard closely resembles the GOTS. It focuses on the certification of the entire production chain, from fiber spinning to product finishing. It assesses both the environmental and the social impact of these facilities, in the same way that the GOTS does, though the one step it seems like it might be missing is the post-harvest fiber treatment step (i.e. ginning, retting, boiling) the way GOTS does. That being said, Oeko-Tex does not seem to focus solely on organic natural textiles the way GOTS does so it may not be relevant for certain textile products they’re testing.
• Lastly, the Made in Green standard seems to be the most comprehensive out of all of these. It certifies that a textile or leather good has been produced in an environmentally friendly and socially responsible facility AND that the resulting product is harmless to human health. It combines the Standard 100/Leather Standard with the STeP standard.

Textile Exchange Standards

The Textile Exchange is a nonprofit that seeks to drive industry-wide sustainable change by creating a global network of and uniting them under a set of sustainability goals and certifications. They have created different standards for different fibers and materials used. The certification services are carried out by different third-party certifying bodies around the world.

• Their Organic Content Standard (OCS) certifies organic input within products. Their stated goal is to “increase organic agricultural production” by creating a tool to help brands verify organically grown content in their purchased materials and to help organic farmers access their market more easily.
• The Global Recycled Standard (GRS) and the Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) both are used to verify the recycled content in raw materials. The RCS simply identifies that a material has a least 5% recycled content based on an established definition. The GRS is much more in-depth than the RCS, and also sets standards for the social and chemical impact of producing recycled materials. The standard also sets a higher minimum of 20% recycled content to be considered for certification.

• The Responsible Wool Standard (RWS), Responsible Mohair Standard (RMS), and Responsible Alpaca Standard (RAS) ensure that the wool content from the respective sheep, goats, and alpacas, are sourced from farms that meet animal welfare standards, have safe working conditions, and preserve the soil and biodiversity within grazing grounds.
• The Responsible Down Standard (RDS) ensures that the down content in a product does not cause unnecessary harm to the animals, including prohibiting live-plucking and force-feeding. 

• The Content Claim Standard (CCS) ensures the accuracy of any claimed material attributes by tracing the material content from the input source to the final product. 

bluesign®

bluesign® is a sustainability standard that focuses on the use green chemistry in textile products. They ensure that safe chemicals and responsible chemical management is being used in every step of the supply chain. They also ensure that manufacturers responsibly consume resources to reduce their environmental impact. There are two tiers of bluesign® certified products. ’bluesign® APPROVED’ is given to textile components that meet bluesign®  criteria. ’bluesign® PRODUCT’  is given to final products that are composed of all ’bluesign® APPROVED’  textile components.

Social

Fairtrade Textile Standard

Fairtrade Standards cover fairer working conditions for laborers in developing countries. They are well-known for their different standards that protect small-scale farming organizations, hired and contract laborers, and mining organizations. For their textile standard, Fairtrade aims to guarantee workers a decent standard of living through fair wages, the right to unionize, and safe working conditions. The standard prohibits forced labor, ensures proper wastewater management, specifies prohibited materials, and more measures.

Social Accountability International SA8000 Standard

The SA8000 Standard, created by Social Accountability International (SAI), is based off of internationally recognized standards for “decent work,” such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They ensure the regulation of similar elements as Fairtrade, including prohibiting child and forced labor, protecting the right to unionize, providing safe working conditions, and fighting against workplace discrimination.