Certification

Navigating the jungle of certification schemes can be a complex exercise.
Here, we list and evaluate the most prominent ones for our industry

Why so many different certificates and labels?

The simple answer is, that the majority of labels have a narrow focus. For instance, FairTrade cotton focuses solely on the cotton farmer and mainly on social issues. On the contrary, the OEKO-TEX Made in Green label focuses on manufacturing processes and the use phase across both social and environmental dimensions.

So, to ensure a high degree of social and environmental responsibility from the cotton farm to the hotel room, it becomes necessary to combine different labelling schemes. 

Certification overview and guide

Conventional Cotton

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  • Aggregate factors
  • Environment

  • Social

  • Selected factors
  • CO2e emissions

  • Water savings
Which product lifecycle phase is covered by the certification?
  • Phase: Raw material
  • Phase: Manufacturing
  • Phase: Use
  • Phase: Next life

Better Cotton Initiative

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  • Aggregate factors
  • Environment

  • Social

  • Selected factors
  • CO2e emissions

  • Water savings
Which product lifecycle phase is covered by the certification?
  • Phase: Raw material
  • Phase: Manufacturing
  • Phase: Use
  • Phase: Next life

FairTrade

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  • Aggregate factors
  • Environment

  • Social

  • Selected factors
  • CO2e emissions

  • Water savings
Which product lifecycle phase is covered by the certification?
  • Phase: Raw material
  • Phase: Manufacturing
  • Phase: Use
  • Phase: Next life

Organic Cotton

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  • Aggregate factors
  • Environment

  • Social

  • Selected factors
  • CO2e emissions

  • Water savings
Which product lifecycle phase is covered by the certification?
  • Phase: Raw material
  • Phase: Manufacturing
  • Phase: Use
  • Phase: Next life

EU Ecolabel

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  • Aggregate factors
  • Environment

  • Social

  • Selected factors
  • CO2e emissions

  • Water savings
Which product lifecycle phase is covered by the certification?
  • Phase: Raw material
  • Phase: Manufacturing
  • Phase: Use
  • Phase: Next life

OEKO-TEX Made in Green

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  • Aggregate factors
  • Environment

  • Social

  • Selected factors
  • CO2e emissions

  • Water savings
Which product lifecycle phase is covered by the certification?
  • Phase: Raw material
  • Phase: Manufacturing
  • Phase: Use
  • Phase: Next life

SA8000

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  • Aggregate factors
  • Environment

  • Social

  • Selected factors
  • CO2e emissions

  • Water savings
Which product lifecycle phase is covered by the certification?
  • Phase: Raw material
  • Phase: Manufacturing
  • Phase: Use
  • Phase: Next life

GOTS

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  • Aggregate factors
  • Environment

  • Social

  • Selected factors
  • CO2e emissions

  • Water savings
Which product lifecycle phase is covered by the certification?
  • Phase: Raw material
  • Phase: Manufacturing
  • Phase: Use
  • Phase: Next life

Green Button

Responsive image
  • Aggregate factors
  • Environment

  • Social

  • Selected factors
  • CO2e emissions

  • Water savings
Which product lifecycle phase is covered by the certification?
  • Phase: Raw material
  • Phase: Manufacturing
  • Phase: Use
  • Phase: Next life

Sources: siegelklarheit.de, keurmerkenwijzer.nl, Shah, Bansal and Singh (2018), Beirholm analysis