Can a new brand call its clothes sustainable?

A new brand should call its clothes sustainable only when evidence supports that exact claim about the finished clothes and the wording has been checked against the applicable rules where they will be sold. A certificate for one fabric does not settle that question. The useful starting point is a narrower statement about what the clothes contain or what has been checked.

The words must fit the evidence. Organic material, recycled content and testing for harmful substances describe different things. None automatically proves the others. Keep the proposed wording beside the records for the clothes so that decisions about materials and decisions about the website can be checked together.

01Start with the words the evidence can support

Write the intended claim before asking the maker for documents. A statement about a fabric needs evidence about that fabric. A statement about the whole garment needs evidence that covers the garment. Extending either into a claim about the brand makes the statement broader again. The records need to support that breadth.

Ask what each document establishes. A maker's written declaration may identify where a material came from. A certificate may show which materials or activities a named business is certified for. A test report records results for the sample it describes. These documents do different jobs, so collecting them is only the beginning of the check.

Put the exact sentence intended for the label or website alongside the document supporting it. Check the product described and the date. If the match is incomplete, obtain the missing evidence or change the wording. Leave the claim off the label until those two things agree. A familiar logo cannot fill a gap in the records.

02Organic and recycled claims need a link to the finished clothes

For an organic or recycled material claim, follow the material through to the clothes being made. Keep the certificate with the order and delivery records, then compare them with the final list of materials in the garment. Check whether the documents describe the right businesses and goods, including the amount supplied. The connection matters as much as the certificate itself.

Under the Global Organic Textile Standard, known as GOTS, one certificate identifies the certified business and the product categories and activities covered. A separate certificate records a specific movement of certified goods. Read both together and match them to the seller, buyer and goods supplied before relying on them for a GOTS claim about finished clothes.

Textile Exchange also describes a system that uses certificates for the businesses and for movements of goods to support organic or recycled material claims. The evidence needs to follow the material. Stopping at the business that first made the yarn leaves the connection to the finished clothes unchecked.

If the claim gives a recycled percentage, check what that percentage describes. The fabric and the whole garment are different possible bases for the statement. Compare the claimed amount with the final materials list, including any lining or other parts. Evidence for one fabric must stay attached to that fabric's claim.

03A valid certificate still has to describe the clothes

OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 ties its certificate to a description of the covered items and their parts. That description can include the materials and details of dyeing, printing or finishing. Read it against what the maker will supply. The certificate holder's name alone does not show that every fabric or garment from that business is covered.

OEKO-TEX provides a label check using a certificate number or QR code. Use it to check validity, then compare the result with the description of the clothes. Those are separate checks. A valid certificate for fabric before printing does not automatically cover the later printed fabric or the completed garment.

Read test reports with the same care. Check which sample was tested, by which laboratory, and when. Compare the test method and result with the requirements agreed for the clothes. If the material or colour has changed since that sample, review whether the report still supports the claim. An earlier result can remain useful without answering the question about the clothes now being made.

04Working conditions and environmental impact need their own evidence

A report on working conditions records what an auditor found at a named place, on a particular date, within the checks carried out. It does not establish conditions at every place connected with the maker. Nor does it confirm that your order will be made at the address in the report.

Ask for the full report and compare the address with the proposed place of production. Read the findings and any plan for correcting problems. Keep evidence that the agreed corrections were completed. A summary score leaves those details unanswered, and a change of production address needs a new check.

A claim about lower carbon emissions or water use needs a calculation with clear limits. Record which version of the clothes was measured and which stages were included. A calculation covering fabric production answers a different question from one that also covers making and transporting the clothes.

For a comparison, check that both sides use the same unit and cover the same stages. Keep the method, data sources and period covered with the wording. A figure for one material cannot support a general claim about the brand. Check the current rules for the country of sale before publishing environmental claims.

05Approve the claim again when the clothes change

Start the evidence file when discussing the proposed materials with the maker. Review it when approving the sample, then again before production materials and label artwork are agreed. Keep the approved words with the final materials list and supporting records for that item.

A replacement lining can change recycled content. A new print can fall outside a certificate's description. Record each relevant change and check whether the evidence and wording still match. Before labels are ordered or website copy is published, resolve any gap by obtaining the right record, narrowing the claim or removing it.