Responsible Sourcing Organizations & Certification Info
To ensure you are factually using EPMs, and know the percent of recycled or bio-based materials, you must get it certified. Based on the material type, these groups and standards below are ones to use to get this critical information. Absent certification, you cannot make real, substantiated, claims about your materials or end product.
Leather
- Leather Working Group's objective is to develop and maintain a protocol that assesses the environmental compliance and performance capabilities of leather manufacturers and promotes sustainable and appropriate environmental business practices within the leather industry.
- Sustainable Leather Foundation is industry led and consumer focused. At the heart of the foundation is the integrated SLF Transparency Dashboard™, linked to a certification standard that assesses the compliance and performance of the whole leather value chain, against the three pillars of sustainability: Environmental, Social and Governance. The Foundation works with the A.I.M. Approach – Accessible, Inclusive and Modular – to support companies of all sizes and scopes and provides dynamic QR technology and Partner Profiles to directly communicate the good practice of the industry to customers and consumers. View Information sheet
The Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) and Global Recycled Standard (GRS) are international, voluntary standards that set requirements for third-party certification of recycled input and chain of custody. The shared goal of the standards is to increase the use of recycled materials. The GRS includes additional criteria for social and environmental processing requirements and chemical restrictions. Standards via Textile Exchange.
The Responsible Wool Standard is an independent, voluntary standard. On farms, the certification ensures that sheep are treated with respect to their Five Freedoms and also ensures best practices in the management and protection of the land. Through the processing stages, certification ensures that wool from certified farms is properly identified and tracked.
- The Organic Content Standard (OCS) is an international, voluntary standard that sets requirements for third-party certification of certified organic input and chain of custody. The goal of the OCS is to increase organic agriculture production. Learn more here.
- A textile product carrying the GOTS label must contain a minimum of 70% certified organic fibres, a product with the label grade grade 'organic' must contain a minimum of 95% certified organic fibres.
An independent 3rd party certification ensuring that products come from responsibly managed forests that provide environmental, social and economic benefits.
Biobased Products are derived from raw materials such as plants and other renewable agricultural, marine, and forestry materials.
The new sustainable way to find materials. Leverage our digital ready network to find, source and manage footwear and apparel material suppliers from across the globe
Hohenstein assesses the mass degradation in percentage of the test sample after a defined time period, as well as the ecotoxicological safety. The Hohenstein Quality Label: Biodegradable is awarded for products that are safe during biodegradation, as assessed through eco-toxicological assessment.
- Only for 100% natural fibers and 100% materials of natural origin
- Confirmed degradation of at least 90% (mass loss) after 12 months
- Passing of the ecotoxicity tests
- Valid only for the tested quality (construction/weight/color)
