REGULATIONS & CERTIFICATIONS.
The GOTS label: a guiding principle for more responsible textiles
In the world of textile labels, the GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) has established itself as an international reference. Created in 2002 by four pioneering organizations — the Organic Trade Association (USA), the International Association of the Natural Textile Industry (Germany), the Soil Association (UK), and the Japan Organic Cotton Association — it aims to ensure that organic textile products meet stringent environmental, social, and ethical criteria, from fiber to label.
Its latest version, v7.0, published in March 2023 and effective from March 2024, further strengthens requirements on traceability, chemistry, and human rights.
The OEKO-TEX label®: security, transparency and limitations
Created in 1992, the OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 label is one of the world’s best-known testing and certification systems for textile products. Managed by an international association of 18 independent research and testing institutes, it ensures that certified items are safe for human health and limited in harmful substances, from the threads to the buttons. This label emerged from consumers’ growing need to combine comfort, durability and safety, in a context where the chemical impacts of the textile industry are raising increasing concern.
Introduction: the spirit of the GRS label
The Global Recycled Standard (GRS) is an international voluntary standard used to certify:
- the presence of recycled materials in a product,
- the traceability of these materials throughout the supply chain,
- compliance with specific social, environmental, and chemical criteria at certified sites.
Historically, the GRS was developed in 2008 by Control Union Certifications, then taken over in 2011 by the NGO Textile Exchange, which also manages other standards (GOTS, RCS, etc.).
The RWS standard (Responsible Wool Standard)
The Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) is a voluntary standard led by the NGO Textile Exchange. It mainly aims at two things:
- sheep welfare,
- proper land management on which they graze,
with an additional chain of custody component to track the wool from the flock to the finished B2B product.
The RWS standard is international, applies to all sheep breeds, and relies on certification by third-party bodies (independent auditors). The current version of the standard is v2.2, released in 2021.
The Fair for Life standard: fairness as a principle
Fair for Life is a fair trade and social responsibility label that certifies entire supply chains: agricultural, food, cosmetic… and textile. It was created in 2006 by the Swiss Bio-Foundation and the certification body IMO, and later taken over in 2014 by the French group Ecocert.
Its goal: to make trade a positive lever for people and the environment, ensuring that all links in the chain (producers, processors, brands) comply with demanding social, economic and environmental criteria.
In textiles, Fair for Life applies in particular to sectors such as cotton and to finished products (clothing, home textiles…), from cotton fields to the brand.