The Content Claim Standard is the foundation of all Textile Exchange standards. It is a chain of custody standard that provides companies with a tool to verify that one or more specific input materials are in a final product. Certification to the CCS verifies the chain of custody principles are followed in each stage of production. The CCS also tracks the flow of raw material from source to the final product by addressing product flow, documentation, volume reconciliation, and segregation of materials and products. The CCS is based on scope and transaction certificates for the highest level of verification and traceability.

One of the key updates to the standard is the adjustment of the scope of chain of custody. Under CCS 2.0, on-product claims were only allowed if the entire supply chain up to the seller in the final business-to-business transaction was certified. In the new CCS 3.0, on- product claims may only be made if chain of custody is in place up to the brand, regardless of the brand’s distribution model. This means brands will be required to be certified by July 1, 2022, to make on-product claims. There is a transition period of one year (see our Transition Policy) where audits to either CCS 2.0 or CCS 3.0 will be allowed. For a seamless continuity of claims, we recommend seeking certification sooner rather than later.

The new requirement makes on-product labeling more accessible for brands and allows retailers to pass along the claims without breaking chain of custody at brand level.

Additionally, Textile Exchange will be piloting options for supply chain group certification to improve access for small companies, and for auditing on a sampling basis in multi-site certification to reduce the auditing burden in low and medium risk cases.