Textile Certifications for Fashion

Promoting sustainable fashion: more and more companies are working to achieve such target, to the point that it is hard to tell who has been doing something real to reduce the impact of their supply chain on the environment from those who are only greenwashing – claiming their products are sustainable for marketing purposes only. In this case, textile certifications can be really helpful.

Eco certifications are certificates which provide evidence to consumers of a product or the company producing it being truly sustainable. They certify the quality of the raw materials used, their traceability, the production process applied and the fact that textile workers’ rights have been respected.
Eco-sustainable fabric certifications, if applied to fashion, ensure all such aspects are compliant with the requirements established by the corresponding certifying body.

The main sustainability certifications applicable to fashion are of 5 different types

• Environmental certificates
• Social certificates
• Certificates concerning animals rights
• Organic goods certificates
• Recycling certificates

In order to be certified, companies have to apply to the certifying body and be audited, or issue a self-declaration: such self-certifications are clearly less valuable.

Then, how can we understand whether the fabrics we are buying are actually certified textiles? Most times, certifications are shown onto garments labels, but this is not always the case. This is why we’d better check the website of the textile company which has produced a given fabric.

According to Jersey Lomellina certifying the true value of fabrics by means of national or international certifications is not only a duty but the evidence of the consistent evolutions of corporate processes. That is the reason why Jersey Lomellina has decided to provide their consumers with a dedicated webpage showing  all environmental certificates assigned by the most important international authorities.

ISO 14001, Higg Index e OEKO-TEX®. Let’s find out more about the certificates obtained by Jersey Lomellina.

The most common international sustainability standards are those developed by the International Organization for Standardization, identified as ISO.  ISO 14001 certificate sets the standards concerning environmental management systems companies can used to develop their performance. UNI EN ISO 14001 standard can be used, as a whole or partially, to improve a company’s environmental management system and provide an added value.

The Higg Index instead, is used to measure and assess the sustainability performance of both companies and products along their supply chain and has been developed by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition. The Higg Index provides companies with a holistic approach aimed at improving the surrounding environment and the social well-being of the workers involved and the local communities.

OEKO-TEX® is one of the most well-known textile certifications and offers different standards, some stricter than others, according to companies’ needs. OEKO-TEX® certified fabrics, in general, do not contain any hazardous substances which may harm consumers: the certification main purpose is, indeed, preventing claims deriving from contaminated garments.

More specifically, OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 indicates that producers are certified as eco-compatible both with regard to their processes and factories, and audited to make sure they do not employ any harmful substances. OEKO-TEX® certification appears in the form of its own Confidence in textiles hangtag on each certified product.

There are various reasons why it is advisable for textile companies to be respectful of the environment and to obtain a textile certification; however, the most relevant benefit is that being certified means valuing their efforts to keep up with technological advancements. 

In this case, it is worth remembering it, consumers can make a difference! Before buying clothes, we’d better make sure they are produced by companies which are not contributing to destroying the environment. Choosing products featuring one or more of the above mentioned certifications means being sure producers have committed to work sustainably, investing time, energies and resources.

Choosing Jersey Lomellina as partner is a safe bet: they are the market leaders in the production of made-in-Italy textiles and virtuous examples of what producing sustainable fashion product can mean. This has been achieved thanks to a corporate vision based on a deep respect for people and the environment, and the willingness to safeguard the eco-system by means of concrete and transparent projects contributing to a circular economy model.