Sustainable corporate
social responsibility

OEKO-TEX^®

A guideline to certify the safety of textile products established by the OEKO TEX International community in Switzerland. The standards include: verification of harmful/innocuous substances in textile products, safety of production processes, including the environmental impact and labour background and a certificate for high-traceability standards.

Within the textile industry, this safety certificate offers a globally unrivalled standard assuring safe products. In Europe, meanwhile, where sustainability approaches are being enhanced, it is a benchmark for product purchasing and enjoys equally wide recognition among general consumers.

ISO 14001/International Organization for Standardization

An international certification standard concerning environmental management and formulated by the International Organization for Standardization, based in Geneva, Switzerland.

It is part of a framework structure to help companies minimise their environmental load when manufacturing products and/or rendering services. It was established to support voluntary environmental improvement activities undertaken by a company or organisation.

bluesign^®

A set of standards to help ensure environmental safety and safety for workers and consumers in the textile industry, organised and controlled by Blue Sign Technology headquartered in Switzerland.

It includes extremely stringent environment and safety standard, aiming to eliminate all hazardous materials which would otherwise harm people or the environment. The scope encompasses yarns, dyes, woven cloths and others used in individual production processes when making textile products.

ZDHC/Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemical

A non-profit international organisation targeting zero emissions of hazardous chemicals into the environment in textile and shoe supply chains, with an appropriate control system used to limit such substances used in the processes.

GOTS/Global Organic Textile Standard

A global standard used to certify organic textile products. It certifies textile products using organic raw materials (yarns, fabrics and clothing) which meet fixed standards in production and distribution processes. Two types of labels are available for indicating 1) over 95% of certified organic fibres and 2), over 70% and below 95%. The standard includes regulations, not only of raw materials, but equally covering the environmental impact and human rights considerations in the supply chain.

BCI/Better Cotton Initiative

The world’s largest sustainable program for cotton, organised by an international non-profit group.

It is to certify cotton cultivated in line with the BCI principles and standard and raw materials that ease the negative environmental impacts of conventional cotton cultivation. It aims to promote more sustainable cotton production by establishing environmental standards for cotton production workers, improving the soil and reducing the volume of water and agricultural chemicals used, that harm human health and the environment.

FAIRTRADE Mark

An international fair-trade standard established by <Fair Trade International>, mandating ‘social/environmental/economic standards’ during each production process. It stipulates: an appropriate price for producers, consideration for working conditions and human rights, a reduction in the volume of agricultural chemicals used and protection of soil, water and biodiversity, alongside regional development.

FSC^®/Forest Stewardship Council^®

Headquartered in Bonn, Germany, this system is organised by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), to certify that products meet requirements that take forest flora and fauna and regional peoples into consideration and uses woods and woodland as raw materials that are controlled to maintain abundant forests. It comprises two certifications: FM (Forest Management) and CoC (Chain of Custody) to control processing and distribution processes and certify that the product is well controlled from production to the end consumer.

OCS/Organic Content Standard

This global standard refers to certifications issued to produce and manage organic cotton, wool and/or linen, which are administered by the US-based international NPO < Textile Exchange >.

The criteria stipulates the following conditions: use of only raw materials certified as organic-farmed in line with regulations governing organic manufacturing methods in the EU and USA, and clear traceability of all processes from raw materials to end products.

The following two types of certification are available: <OCS100>, certifying that over 95% organic raw materials are used and <OCS Blended>, which certifies that over 5% of organic raw materials are included.

GRS/Global Recycled Standard

Basically, it is the standard that sets out requirements for the third-party certification of recycled content (textiles), including traceability of history starting from raw materials, finishing, manufacturing and distributing and up to the final products that concern recycling. It further stipulates regulations to reduce the volume of chemicals and ensure appropriate working conditions throughout production processes as well as social and environmental considerations at all stages of production chains.

RCS/Recycled Claim Standard

This standard solely concerns the traceability of recycled materials. For the GRS, it is a stringent standard that includes the working environment, whereas the RCS certifies that the recycled raw materials are delivered to processing and sewing factories without being mixed in with other materials. The standard requires that end products must include over 5% of recycled material.

RWS/Responsible Wool Standard

A global standard to certify a responsible management system covering the production processes across the board, from wool as a raw material to end products. It also enables traceability in the quest for entire on-site certification including: management of farmland, respect for animal welfare (of sheep), production processes and distribution and up to final end products.