Sustainability labels

Nowadays, more and more (clothing) brands we sell at Twinseasons carry one or more sustainability labels. For example, brands are Fair Trade Certified, have a Bluesign label or are affiliated with the Grüner Knopf. But what do these labels mean? You can read about it in this blog!

Grüner Knopf

Three quarters of all consumers say they consider sustainable fashion important. Rightly so. They do not want to wear a T-shirt produced by people working 16 hours a day and earning a pittance. Nor do they want a product dyed with toxic chemicals. Grüner Knopf, freely translated the green button, is a label for sustainable textiles created by the German government that oversees this. It requires mandatory standards to be met to protect people and the environment. A total of 46 strict social and environmental criteria must be met, covering a broad spectrum from waste water to forced labour. Read here which criteria a product must meet to get the label and read here which criteria the company in question must meet. 

Bluesign

Bluesign operates in the supply chain to assess whether products are safe for the environment, workers and customers. Every textile used in the manufacture of a product is the result of a complex production process, making it difficult for a brand to evaluate all the raw materials, dyes and chemical auxiliaries supplied. Bluesign helps with this analysis at every step in the supply chain. This has led to a network of nearly 1,000 manufacturers, chemical suppliers and brands that are Bluesign system partners. Products with a Bluesign label are made entirely by manufacturers affiliated to the label and from materials coming from suppliers with the label.

Also, brands must be affiliated to a social responsibility label such as Fair Trade or Fair Wear (read more about these labels below).

Fair Trade Certified

Garment workers are among the lowest paid people in the world. Many clothing brands do not own their own factories to produce and thus have limited control over how much workers are paid. Fair Trade Certified is committed to securing living wages for these workers. Affiliated brands pay a premium for every item that carries the Fair Trade Certified label. That extra money goes directly to factory workers and they decide how to spend it. In each factory, a democratically elected committee of Fair Trade workers decides how the money is spent. The workers have chosen numerous ways to spend their premiums: funding community projects such as healthcare programmes or a childcare centre; buying products they could not otherwise afford, such as a laptop or a stove; or opting for a cash bonus. The programme also promotes workers' health and safety and compliance with social and environmental standards, and encourages dialogue between workers and management.

Fair Wear Foundation

The Fair Wear Foundation is committed to improving working conditions for people within the garment industry. Their standards include no child labour, a living wage and reasonable working hours for workers. Brands affiliated to the organisation are assessed annually and given a score. For example, Ortovox received a score of 77/100 in 2021 and Deuter even received a score of 95/100!  See all brands affiliated to the Fair Wear Foundation here.

Responsible Down Standard

Down forms the bottom layer of skin covering waterfowl and is used in clothes and sleeping bags. The Responsible Down Standard (RDS) was created to set strict requirements for the quality of life of the birds that provide these feathers, and especially to protect them from force-feeding and live plucking. The Responsible Down Standard describes and certifies (independently) animal welfare practices in the production of down and feathers, from farm to final product.