Here's a quick list of my top 5 sustainability terms that get used most often in this industry for your reference:
- Sustainable: The overall process of utilizing natural textiles, eco-friendly processes and carefully considering the life and disposal of the textiles. It's a hugely broad and subjective term that means something different to everyone.
- Natural: Natural materials are ones that come 100% from nature. This means that they aren't woven with synthetic/man-made materials.
- Organic: "Organic fibers are natural fibers grown without the use of synthetic pesticides (such as insecticides), or herbicides and GMOs (Genetic Modified Organisms) according to the principles of organic agriculture. Organic agriculture is a production process that sustains the health of ecosystems, soils and people" (GOTS).
- GOTS: This stands for Global Organic Textiles Standard. In order for companies to acquire this certification, they must go adhere to rigorous standards that cause the "least possible environmental impact, under strict controls on natural and synthetic chemical inputs and with respect for labour conditions" (GOTS) Furthermore, "a textile product carrying the GOTS label must contain a minimum of 70% certified organic fibers, a product with the label grade grade 'organic' must contain a minimum of 95% certified organic fibers."
- Oeko-Tex: "OEKO-TEX® consists of 17 independent institutes in Europe and Japan. Together we are continuously developing test methods and limit values for the textile and leather industry, we provide important boosts for innovation and thus make a significant contribution to the development of high-quality products" (OEKO-TEX). Within this company, they have 6 different certifications you can achieve. Most commonly, you will come acrros their "Standard 100" certification, which verifies that every item used in and around your product is not exposed to a variety of harmful substances. Read more about the different Oeko-Tex standards here.
