CERTIFICATIONS

What is a certification and why is it important to have an overview of the main certifications currently circulating in the fashion industry?

A certification is a set of rules and actions for proper management of systems validated by independent third-party organizations. It is a means of shared communication for those who want to communicate their commitment and demonstrate their integrity in countering the environmental and social impacts our capitalistic system generates.

Certifications provide mutual rules and allow a certain culture to be spread among all stakeholders.

In the last couple of years, the very necessary commitment to sustainability and environmental impact has become more mainstream. This will hopefully lead to important and necessary changes in the fashion industry, but as long as some actors business models are not fully revisited it often times just means that it is growing increasingly difficult to tell the difference between a meaningful commitment and greenwashing.

To date, no entity is required to certify its materials, finished products, brand or factories. It is a voluntary process that depends on a company’s desire to demonstrate their commitments, their budget and their activity sector.

But all this may change very soon with the introduction of new European legislature regarding consumer rights and transition to a more circular economy and the EU strategy for sustainable textiles.

The lack of international common legislature has left open a space in which a number of

sustainability labels and certifications have co-existed and become so important today, each attesting to various commitments in terms of a textile, a product, a factory or even a brand. Here are a few international environmental labels we believe are important to know.