Transparency is inevitable for today’s world.
Transparency is extremely critical to the textile industry. Especially, Z generation is very much concerned about where the garments they buy come from. They want to know who made it and under which circumstances it was produced. They pay attention to choose ethically sourced and safe to environment alternatives. Besides the change in customer demand, brands also give importance to transparency because their supply chain becomes less risky for both social compliance and environmental sustainability parameters.
Certifications are great tools for all the stakeholders in the textile industry to transfer the sustainability messages about their products. The fact that brands and consumers can track the supply chain of each product makes certifications the best transparency tools.
What is the history of these sustainability certificates or so-called ecolabels?
The concept of ecolabels can be traced back to late nineteen century where community awareness regarding ethical production started to increase. With the shift of production from developed countries to underdeveloped countries, people were more concerned about the conditions of the workers who produce their goods. To avoid environmental and social damage of the mass production, standards and certifications were formed as a solution.
What are the demanding sustainability standards, certifications, and platforms?
Regarding organic production, GOTS and OCS certificates are well-known among the industry. Both certificates trade the cotton from farm to garment. GOTS has social and environmental criterias to be compliant whereas OCS has limited requirements. However, traceability is the core for both certificates.
GOTS the leading organic textile standard – GOTS (global-standard.org)
Organic Content Standard (OCS) | Textile Exchange
For recycled goods, GRS and RCS certificates have started to spread. For both certificates, the recycled content can be traced throughout the supply chain. GRS has social compliance and environmental requirements. RCS is only for traceability. Both certificates encourage the industries to increase the recycled content in their products. With the increasing awareness on circular economy solutions, we foresee that the demand to recycled certificates will increase in the following years.
Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) + Global Recycled Standard (GRS) | Textile Exchange
Higg Index is another industry tool improved by SAC (Sustainable Apparel Coalition) which tracks the sustainability performance of brands, producers, and products. It is a self-assessment tool with a verification audit which grades the participant body among social and sustainability parameters. Currently, the environmental model which is called Higg FEM is widely known and requested by many brands. Companies can register the platform and complete the self-assessment as a sustainability initiative.
The Higg Index – Sustainable Apparel Coalition
ZDHC (Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals) provides a road map for the brands and producers to reduce the chemical footprint of the industry. With a focus on promoting the green chemicals by avoiding the harmful chemicals, ZDHC helps the supply chain to understand where their chemical footprint comes from and how to prevent from the damage. It provides a holistic approach to support the sustainability improvements and to protect the natural resources which are at risk because of the current practices in textile industry.
Engaging with sustainability certificates and standards can be costly and time consuming for the producers. However, they outline the rising ethical values, and they are one of the best ways to provide traceability and sustainability to overcome the current social and environmental challenges of the textile industry.
Nilgün Aytekin // 08.12.2022
