In today’s marketplace, a robust commitment to sustainability, ethics, and transparency is essential. This guide summarizes the world’s leading standards and initiatives that enable businesses to verify claims, ensure traceability, and drive continuous improvement across their supply chains.

Section I: Ethical Sourcing, Traceability, and Animal Welfare

These standards focus on the humane treatment of animals and the ability to trace material origins throughout the supply chain.

DOWNPASS Standard

• Aims: The primary goal of DOWNPASS is to ensure the global demand for down and feathers is met exclusively from ethical sources. Companies that comply with the required association audit are permitted to use the official DOWNPASS label.
• Requirements:
  • DOWNPASS 2016 (Modular): This version includes a guarantee of no live-plucking and a basic level of traceability compliance. Optional modules are available to guarantee no force-feeding and to track traceability back to the farm or parent farm.
  • DOWNPASS 2017 (Zero Tolerance): This is the strictest standard, requiring monitoring of breeding conditions, full traceability to the breeding area, and quality checks of the filling material by accredited testing institutes. It enforces a zero-tolerance policy against molt harvesting, live-plucking, force-feeding, or parallel production at the farm level.

Responsible Down Standard (RDS)

• Aims: RDS ensures that the waterfowl in the down and feather supply chain are treated humanely. This is achieved by verifying that materials do not come from animals subjected to any unnecessary harm and by instituting a chain of custody system to validate the source.
• Scope: The standard is applicable to both collector-based channels of industrial and small farms. It may apply to both blended and 100% certified products, though only products with 100% certified down and feathers may be labeled as RDS certified.
• Requirements: Certification involves an audit across six modules: Farm, Slaughter, Transport, Small Farmer Group (SFG), Textile Exchange Content Claim Standard, and an optional Parent Farm certification.

European Down and Feather Association (EDFA) Traceability Standard

• Aims: The EDFA aims to defend consumer interests and animal welfare. Members strictly condemn live-plucking and commit to a documentary traceability system and code of conduct stipulating that down or feathers are not harvested in a manner that inflicts pain on animals.
• Scope: The standard serves as a basis for companies to establish a system for obtaining information on the harvesting of down and feathers globally, allowing them to publicly align with ethical harvesting practices.

J-TAS (Japan Bedding Goods Association Traceability Audit System)

• Aims: J-TAS was organized to identify the origin of down and feathers. Its goal is to create a traceability system that enables tracking from end products to material origin, promises consumers reliability, and contributes to the vitalization of the bedding industry.
• Requirements: The process requires admission to the J-TAS Association. It is only applicable to bedding manufacturers and entities involved in the sourcing and processing of virgin down and feathers. Certification involves an audit according to J-TAS standards, followed by final review and confirmation from the association.

Responsible Alpaca Standard (RAS), Responsible Mohair Standard (RMS), and Responsible Wool Standard (RWS)

• Aims: These standards address the welfare of the animals (alpaca, mohair goat, sheep) and the land they graze on. Objectives include recognizing farmer’s best practices, ensuring wool comes from farms with responsible land management, and practicing holistic respect for animal welfare.
• Requirements: All sites from farms through the final seller must be certified. Farms are certified according to animal welfare, land management, and social modules. All other stages of the supply chain are certified according to Content Claim Standard requirements.

Section II: Sustainable Material Content and Claims

These standards ensure that organic, recycled, and preferred fibers are correctly tracked and quantified throughout the supply chain.

Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS)

• Aims: GOTS defines world-recognized requirements to ensure the certified organic status of textiles, from raw fiber harvesting through environmentally and socially responsible manufacturing, up to labeling. This provides credible assurance to the end consumer.
• Scope: Certification begins with the first processing step (e.g., ginning). The GOTS logo can only be applied if all stages comply with its criteria. Two label-grades exist: ‘organic’ (requiring a minimum of 95% organic fibers) and ‘made with organic materials’ (requiring at least 70% organic fibers).
• Requirements: Certification requires on-site evaluations of the entire supply chain, assessing processing and manufacturing based on both environmental and social criteria. Mandatory criteria cover Organic Fiber Production and Composition, Chemical Inputs, Separation and Identification, Environmental Management, Wastewater Treatment, and Social Criteria.

Global Recycled Standard (GRS) and Recycled Claim Standard (RCS)

• Aims: Both standards aim to increase the use of recycled materials. The GRS further aims to align definitions of “recycled,” track input, reduce harmful production impact, and drive innovation in recycled material quality. The RCS is for any product containing at least 5% recycled material.
• Scope (GRS/RCS): Applicants can choose the types of recycled materials (e.g., down and feathers, PET, yarn) and final products they wish to have audited.
• Requirements (GRS): Evaluation covers requirements in five areas: Recycling, Supply Chain, Social, Environmental, and Chemical.
• Requirements (RCS): Evaluation covers requirements in two areas: Recycled material and Supply chain, from the recycling stage to the final business-to-business seller.

Organic Content Standard (OCS)

• Aims: The OCS is intended for use with any product containing at least 5% organically grown material. Its objectives are to verify organically grown content, provide companies with a tool to communicate claims, and provide organic farmers with access to the global organic market.
• Scope: Certification applies to supply chain companies only, including processing, manufacturing, or textile companies.
• Requirements: Applicants select the type of products to be audited based on supply chain criteria defined in the Content Claim Standard-101 (CCS) and the claimed material content.

Section III: Environmental and Chemical Performance

These initiatives provide tools and assessments for measuring, managing, and improving environmental performance and chemical usage at the facility level.

Higg FEM (Facility Environmental Module)

• Aims: Higg FEM is an environmental management standard that gives manufacturers, brands, and retailers insight into their environmental impact. Its aim is to allow facilities to assess strengths and weaknesses, implement improvement strategies, and scale sustainability improvements.
• Scope: The FEM is a tool used to verify the self-assessment submitted by a facility—it is not a pass-or-fail audit. The scope includes all onsite facilities, processes, equipment, and related areas.
• Requirements: The self-assessment covers environmental impact factors in seven key areas: Environmental Management System (EMS), Energy, Water, Wastewater, Air Emissions, Waste, and Chemical Management.

Worldly FDM (Facility Data Manager)

• Aims: Worldly FDM Validation is a solution that empowers businesses with clear insight into their environmental performance. It ensures environmental data is accurate, consistent, and ready to use for Higg FEM reporting or other brand/certification requirements.
• Scope: FDM Validation verifies the environmental data that facilities enter into the Worldly FDM platform, ensuring accuracy and completeness. It covers all onsite facilities, processes, equipment, and relevant operational areas that contribute to the environmental footprint.
• Requirements: FDM collects and organizes environmental data across the same core impact categories found in the Higg FEM, including EMS, Energy, Water, Wastewater, Air Emissions, Waste, and Chemical Management.

ZDHC Verified InCheck – Level 1

• Aims: The objective of a Verified InCheck – Level 1 is to review the overall completeness and accuracy of the chemical products listed in a supplier’s chemical inventory against the ZDHC Gateway – Chemical Module. This enhances confidence in the Performance InCheck Reports generated by the supplier.
• Requirements: A supplier must generate three Performance InCheck Reports for each of three consecutive months (or the previous four quarters). An approved verifier then conducts an onsite visit and review according to the ZDHC process.

Internationaler Verband der Naturtextilwirtschaft (IVN)

• Aims: IVN aims to create awareness for ecology, social accountability, health issues, and quality. Its primary mission is to support businesses operating in the sustainable manufacturing of textiles and leather goods.
• Scope: Sustainable textiles can be audited throughout the entire production chain. For non-textile components, only natural materials are allowed. IVN only permits 100% organic fibers to be labeled.
• Requirements: Evaluation is conducted throughout the entire production chain, covering:
  • Ecology: Hazardous Chemicals and Environmental impact (Air, Water, Health).
  • Social Accountability: Fair Wages, Human Rights, and Workplace Security.
  • Health Issue and Quality: Products must pose no danger to the health of the consumer and the person(s) involved in production, requiring health-compatible chemicals in all stages.

Section IV: Cotton Sustainability

The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) provides a comprehensive framework for transforming cotton production globally.

BCI Principles and Criteria

• Scope: These Principles and Criteria define BCI Cotton globally through six guiding principles and two cross-cutting priorities, ensuring a rigorous standard for sustainability.
• Principles: Cotton farming is guided by principles related to Management, Natural Resources, Crop Protection, Fiber Quality, Decent Work, and Sustainable Livelihoods.
• Cross-Cutting Priorities: These address Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation, and Gender Equality. By following these, BCI Farmers produce cotton in a way that benefits people, communities, and the environment.

BCI Measuring Cotton Consumption (MCC) – Independent Assessment

• Aims: The overarching goal is to make global cotton production better for the people, the environment, and the future of the sector. Measuring consumption is essential for tracking and assessing the impact of sustainable practices throughout the supply chain.
• Scope: The scope is broad, focusing on assessing sustainability impact, promoting transparency, encouraging adoption, setting targets, market transformation, stakeholder collaboration, global reach, and social responsibility integration.
• Requirements: BCI Retailer and Brand Members (RB Members) must calculate and submit their total cotton fiber consumption annually. An Independent Assessment of this measurement against BCI’s Requirements and Guidance is required to ensure consistency and reliability of results, with the frequency based on membership size.

BCI Chain of Custody (CoC) Standard v1.0

• Aims: This is the framework that connects BCI supply (produced in accordance with the Principles and Criteria) with market demand. It sets auditable requirements for organizations that are buying or selling physical BCI Cotton or cotton-containing products as BCI Mass Balance orders.
• Requirements: Requirements cover five core areas: Management System Requirements; Purchasing, Material Receipt, Storage and Production; Sales and Goods Out; Volume Reconciliation; and adherence to the various Chain of Custody Supply Chain Models.