The role of companies is fundamental in guaranteeing sustainability, and to this end they must include environmental protection, health and safety and social responsibility measures in their strategy, involving the entire supply chain.
Certifications and labels are a way for companies to show that they are complying with all the requirements that guarantee sustainable production.
SMETA is the most widely used audit in the world. Companies use SMETA to understand and improve working conditions and environmental performance in their business and supply chain.
The Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA) protocol is the standard for inclusion in Sedex (Supplier Ethical Data Exchange). Sedex is a global membership organisation dedicated to promoting improvements in ethical and responsible business practices in global supply chains.
The Higg Index is a set of tools for standardised measurement of the sustainability of the value chain. It is made up of a core set of five tools that make it possible to measure the environmental and social impacts of how, where and under what conditions products are manufactured, as well as the companies that manufacture them.
GOTS guarantees the organic status of textiles from the harvesting of raw materials, through environmentally and socially responsible manufacturing, to labelling, in order to provide credible guarantees to the consumer.
The standard covers the processing, manufacture, packaging, labelling, trade and distribution of all textiles made from at least 70 percent certified organic natural fibres.
Final fibre products can include, but are not limited to, yarns, fabrics, clothing and home textiles. However, this standard does not establish criteria for leather products.
The Global Recycled Standard (GRS) is a voluntary product standard for tracing and verifying the content of recycled materials in a final product. The standard applies to the entire supply chain and addresses traceability, environmental principles, social requirements, chemical content and labelling. GRS covers processing, manufacturing, packaging, labelling, trade and distribution of all products made with a minimum of 20% recycled material. It also establishes requirements for third-party certification of recycled content, chain of custody, social and environmental practices, and chemical restrictions.
The standard supports companies seeking to verify the recycled content of their products, as well as responsible social, environmental and chemical practices in the production of these products. Although the GRS is owned by Textile Exchange, the product range is not limited to textiles and can include any type of product containing recycled content materials.
The desired effect of the GRS is to provide brands with a tool for more accurate labelling, encourage innovation in the use of recovered materials, establish more transparency in the supply chain, and provide better information to consumers.
The aim of the GRS is to increase the use of recycled materials in products and to reduce or eliminate the damage caused by their production.
The Organic Content Standard (OCS) applies to any non-food product containing 95-100% organic material.
It verifies the presence and quantity of organic material in a final product and follows the flow of the raw material from its origin to the final product.
The OCS 100 is based on third-party verification to confirm that a final product contains the exact amount of a given organically grown material. The OCS allows for independent, transparent, consistent and comprehensive assessment and verification of organic material content claims on products.
The OCS 100 covers the processing, manufacture, packaging, labelling, trade and distribution of a product that contains at least 95 percent certified "organic" materials. It can be used as a business-to-business tool to give companies the means to guarantee that they are selling quality and getting what they pay for.
The Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) offers an opportunity for farmers to demonstrate their best practices to the public, and a means for brands and consumers to be sure that the wool products they buy and sell are in line with their values.
The RWS is a voluntary global standard that addresses the welfare of sheep and the land on which they graze. The RWS provides verification of the practices that are taking place at farm level, giving brands a clear solution that will allow them to make statements about their wool supply with confidence.