Organic And Sustainable Fashion Certifications

The market for ethical and sustainable fashion, currently worth 3.3 billion USD, is set to increase by 9.5% between 2024 and 2032¹. However, so is greenwashing. Many fashion companies have made false statements about how eco-friendly and socially just they are. A sustainable clothing certification allows you to verify sustainability claims instantly.

This article introduces some of the most valued eco certifications in the textile industry.

How certification schemes work 

Fashion brands willingly submit to independent audits to obtain and maintain sustainability certifications. Some certifying organizations only perform audits, while others offer business and training support. 

Many sustainability certifications focus on the environmental aspects of fashion, while others combine ecological and social criteria. To ensure that certifications remain credible and impartial, neutral third parties, not the fashion brand or the certificate issuing body, are in charge of audits.

28 Sustainability Certifications for the Fashion Industry

Here are the top sustainable fashion certifications to look out for on your next purchase:

1. B Corporation

Certified B Corps are businesses with high standards of environmental and social accountability. Such companies must have and maintain a positive impact on their environment, employees, customers, production partners, etc.

B Lab, a global nonprofit founded in 2006, issues the B Corporation certificate. The organization's goal is to use capitalism as a force for equitable and sustainable development. In addition to its independent certification, B Lab also provides tools and programs to help businesses become more sustainable.

2. Better Cotton Initiative

The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) was one of the ideas produced by experts in a 2005 World Wide Fund for Nature roundtable. It officially launched in 2009. The organization's purpose is to reduce the environmental impact of cotton cultivation by offering field training to cotton farmers and farm workers.

BCI is present in twenty-two countries across Europe, Africa, and Asia. It gives assurance licenses to cotton growers that meet its Better Cotton Standard, which covers environmental, social, and economic impacts.

3. Bluesign

Bluesign focuses on sustainable chemical use in the textile industry. The organization's strict criteria ensure that chemicals used during textile production are safe for the environment, textile workers, and consumers. The Bluesign System manages the input stream so that toxic chemicals do not enter the supply chain.

Bluesign offers two classes of sustainable clothing certifications. A product will carry "Bluesign Approved" if the organization okays some of its components. However, a "Bluesign Product" label shows that Bluesign approves all of the product's components. 

4. Cotton Made in Africa

Cotton Made in Africa (CmiA) is an Aid by Trade Foundation initiative. The foundation established the initiative to help smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa produce cotton sustainably and profitably.

The absence of large-scale production and distribution infrastructure puts Made in Africa cotton at a disadvantage on the international market. CmiA facilitates training on sustainable cotton production and provides access to equipment and the global market.

CmiA gives licenses to brands and manufacturers that source from its network of cotton farmers. 

5. Cradle to Cradle

The Cradle to Cradle (C2C) institute certifies finished products and materials that are recyclable, eco-friendly, and responsibly consumed resources. Its focus is on encouraging the shift to a circular economy.

The institute offers two certification classes, with one more in the pipeline for 2025. The C2C Certified label indicates sustainable production, social fairness, safe materials, product circularity, environmental stewardship, and climate protection.

The C2C Certified Material Health Certificate focuses on material safety, while the C2C Certified Circularity will certify products intentionally designed for reuse and recycling.

6. Ethical Trading Initiative

Fair and equitable labor practices are essential for a sustainable future. However, many employers have gotten away with violating human rights at work.

In 1998, a group of UK companies, NGOs, and trade unions founded the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI). They aimed to help members adhere to the highest human rights due diligence standards. So far, ETI has reached nearly ten million workers across global supply chains.

The fashion industry is well known for its unethical labor practices. An ETI label assures that your purchase is socially just.

7. EU Ecolabel

The EU Ecolabel is the official voluntary sustainable fashion certification scheme of the European Union, which also applies to other goods and services. When it launched in 1992, they called it the Community Ecolabel for environmentally friendly products, but now, folks commonly call it the EU Flower. 

Only products and services with demonstrated environmental excellence can get the label. It looks beyond the final product and examines raw material extraction, manufacturing, and disposal. Ecolabel products avoid toxic and hazardous ingredients. They must also use minimal packaging that is recycled and recyclable.

8. Fair Trade USA

The fair trade movement is based on the idea that every purchase affects someone's livelihood somewhere. Fair Trade USA, founded in 1998, is one organization dedicated to protecting the livelihoods of workers and producing communities. 

Fair Trade USA sets a standard for safe working conditions, consistent living wages, the elimination of forced labor, and traceability. It also sets minimum prices to ensure mutually beneficial trade even when market prices are low. Through its funding scheme, Fair Trade USA aids community development in developing countries.

Fashion companies who use Fair Trade Certified factories can use the label on their products.

9. Fairtrade International

Fairtrade International connects its supply chain partners in a global, ethical, and sustainable trade system. It certifies products across different industries at different levels.

Fairtrade Marks for the fashion industry include Fairtrade Textile Standard and Fair Trade Cotton. The Textile Standard covers the full-scale ethical production of textiles. A fabric carries the Fair Trade Cotton mark if 100% of its cotton is Fairtrade certified. You may find clothing carrying Fair Trade cotton and Fairtrade Textile Standard marks.

Fairtrade uses a white logo for composite products where only the indicated ingredient is fair trade certified while the rest, even if they could be sourced as fair trade, are not.

10. Fair Wear Foundation

The Fair Wear Foundation is an organization that focuses on ethical clothing trade. It engages with key players at various levels of the supply chain to ensure that garment workers receive humane working and living conditions.

The Fair Wear Foundation tackles issues of forced and child labor, discrimination, the inability to form unions, gender-based violence, low wages, and unsafe employment conditions. It uses responsible purchasing practices to ensure equitable contracts between brands and suppliers. Such agreements guarantee that factory workers will get decent pay without having their human rights violated. 

11. Forest Stewardship Council

Forest products like bamboo, eucalyptus, cork, and rubber are essential raw materials for the textile industry. Sustainability certifications like the one from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) aim to encourage sustainable and responsible forest management. 

According to the FSC, responsibly managed forests are resilient against deforestation and other ecological damage. They allow biodiversity to thrive and do not displace indigenous communities. They also uphold fair labor practices. 

FSC offers three sustainable fashion certification classes: FSC 100%, FSC Recycled, and FSC Mix. Each label indicates the source of the forest materials used for the product.

12. Global Organic Textile Standard

In 2002, the International Association of Natural Textile Industry, the Japan Organic Cotton Association, the Organic Trade Association, and the Soil Association established the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). It has become one of the most recognized organic clothing certifications worldwide. 

Textiles with a minimum of 70% certified organic fibers get a GOTS 'made with organic' label, while the 'organic' label requires a minimum of 95% certified organic fibers.

The entire textile supply chain must be GOTS-certified for a final product to earn the GOTS label. GOTS-certified final products include personal hygiene products, food-contact textiles, household linens, garments, fabrics, and yarns. 

13. Global Recycled Standard

The Global Recycled Standard (GRS) is an international sustainable production seal that verifies whether a product contains recycled materials. It also verifies chemical safety and the social and environmental impact of the product.

The final product must contain at least 20% recycled content for business-to-business tools and a minimum of 50% recycled content for consumer-facing products to get a GRS label.

The Control Union Certifications created the GRS in 2008 but transferred ownership of the Standard to the Textile Exchange in 2011.

14. GoodWeave

GoodWeave is a nonprofit organization working to eliminate child labor in global supply chains. It also champions worker's rights and promotes the welfare of children in producer communities.

The organization was founded in 1994 by Kailash Satyarthi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner. Its work cuts across the textile industry and extends into the jewelry and brick industries. GoodWeave requires its label holders to commit to complete supply chain transparency and frequent unannounced inspections of manufacturing sites.

The GoodWeave label assures that a product is free of unwilling and unfair labor.  

15. Leather Working Group

Leather's position in the sustainable fashion agenda is precarious. It can be chemical-intensive and cruel to animals. The Leather Working Group (LWG) audits and certifies key players along the leather supply chain that use environmentally friendly production methods. A group of footwear, apparel, upholstery, and leather producers set up the nonprofit in 2005.

LWG's holistic scope for responsible leather production covers supply chain traceability, knowledge sharing, waste reduction, chemical safety, and optimal resource use. It further assesses the impact on forests, labor practices, and animal welfare.

16. OEKO-TEX

The next sustainable fashion certification is from the OEKO-TEX Institute, established in 1992. They use laboratory tests to verify the chemical safety of textile products. 

Their Standard 100 label assures that a textile product contains no harmful substances. The OEKO-TEX Organic Cotton and OEKO-TEX Leather Standard also test for toxic substances but only within their specific material scope.

The OEKO-TEX Made In Green label indicates that a product is non-toxic and manufactured in socially and environmentally responsible ways. Similar OEKO-TEX certifications include OEKO-TEX STeP, Eco Passport, and Responsible Business. The organization also conducts a Detox to Zero analysis for textile manufacturers.

17. Organic Content Standard

The Organic Content Standard (OCS) is an independent standard for measuring and communicating organic content in a product. Administered by Textile Exchange, The OCS is more than just a certificate; it is an initiative that connects organic fiber farmers with the international market.

OCS certifies and monitors organic raw materials, not the final products. It's usually for blended products with some organic fiber. For example, a fabric with up to 95% organic cotton can carry the OCS label but not 100%.

18. PETA-Approved Vegan

PETA is the largest animal rights organization worldwide. They stand against how the food industry, laboratories, textile manufacturing, and show businesses subject animals to cruel treatment.

The PETA-Approved Vegan label is for fashion brands that use vegan (plant and plastic) alternatives to leather, fur, wool, or any other animal-derived fabric. PETA-approved brands do not test their products on animals or use animal-derived ingredients throughout their manufacturing processes. 

19. Responsible Down Standard

The Responsible Down Standard (RDS) is one of Textile Exchange's animal welfare certifications. It focuses on the down and feather industry, setting a standard for the humane treatment of ducks and geese. Force-feeding, removal of down from live birds, and overcrowded pens are some of the welfare issues in the industry. 

Part of the criteria for RDS certification is a third-party audit of the supply chain from the farm to finished products. That way, Textile Exchange can monitor and influence the supply chain to achieve its goal of reducing carbon emissions from the fiber and raw material sector by 45% by 2030.

20. Responsible Wool Standard

The Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) is another animal welfare certification from the Textile Exchange nonprofit. It looks beyond the welfare of sheep to the social and environmental aspects of wool production. The standard evaluates a progressive approach to land management and the safety and health of farm workers.

Getting a product certified under the Responsible Wool Standard scheme requires the wool farmer and the final business-to-business seller to be certified. That helps Textile Exchange maintain a strong chain of custody for traceability.

21. SANE Standard

SANE is a member of the United Nations Fashion and Lifestyle Network. It calls itself the next-gen certifier of sustainable fashion products. The organization was founded in 2019 but became a globally recognized certifier in August 2024.

The SANE Standard is holistic, evaluating the impact of materials and manufacturing on the environment and people. It wants to reduce fast fashion's resultant waste, pollution, plastic, poverty, and toxic chemicals.

22. Social Accountability International

Social Accountability International (SAI) is a global non-governmental organization that promotes human rights in the workplace. It collaborates with manufacturers, brands, trade unions, governments, and other stakeholders.

In 1997, SAI launched its social responsibility certification, the SA8000 Standard. The standard is a framework for providing fair and decent work environments. It applies to all types of organizations worldwide. To help companies improve their social responsibility, SAI also offers restructuring, evaluation, and capacity-building programs.

23. Soil Association

The Soil Association is the UK's largest eco charity promoting organic material standards. Its goal is to foster organic farming practices that protect soil health and biodiversity. The Soil Association's organic certification covers industries that use farm and forest resources.

Through Soil Association Certification, sustainable fashion brands can assure consumers that they meet high organic standards. The organization also offers a wide range of forest management and carbon certifications.

24. Sustainable Apparel Coalition

Patagonia and Walmart established the Sustainable Apparel Coalition in 2009 to develop a multi-industry sustainability standard. It is now the footwear and textile industry's leading alliance for sustainable fashion.

On February 26, 2024, the Coalition announced that it had changed its name to Cascale. However, its mission remains to stop unnecessary environmental harm and people.

Cascale developed the Higg Index, a suite of tools for evaluating environmental and social impact. Brands can verify their Higg data for a sustainability certification from Cascale's partners.

25. Traceable Down Standard

Traceable Down Standard (TDS)  or Global Traceable Down Standard is an animal welfare standard developed by Patagonia and enforced by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF). The NSF is an independent certification organization that develops and implements public and environmental health standards.

TDS primarily certifies clothing but any other product that uses TDS-certified down can use the label. The criteria for the certification are verifiable respect for the Five Freedoms of Animals and humane treatment of ducks and geese. TDS also enforces strict traceability measures, monitoring certified down from parent farm to factory.

26. USDA Organic Seal

The USDA seal is an official mark of sustainable organic production. It is protected by federal regulation and managed by the National Organic Program. The USDA standard is the baseline for organic products. Using any "organic" label without meeting the standard will result in thousands of dollars in fines.

Sustainable fashion brands can only use the USDA seal on finished products with at least 95% organic fiber. Clothing with a minimum of 70% organic fiber can say 'made with organic' but cannot display the USDA seal.

27. World Fair Trade Organization

The World Fair Trade Organization is a global community of mission-led enterprises that fully practice fair trade in their business and supply chains. Founded in 1989, the organization is present in more than eight four countries.

The World Fair Trade Organization is the only international verification model focused entirely on Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. The organization's ten fair trade principles ensure better working and living conditions for garment workers in developed and developing countries. Its holistic evaluation also considers environmental impact.

28. Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production

Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP) was founded in 2000 to help fashion brands identify credible, humane, and safe manufacturing facilities. Today, WRAP has certified more than 3,500 facilities worldwide and is a leader in the fashion sustainability discourse.

WRAP works to advance lawful and ethical labor practices throughout the entire production chain. Its standards align with local and international labor laws. Every WRAP-certified facility undergoes an intensive social compliance audit yearly. The organization certifies only individual production units, not brands or parent companies.