#Sustainability

2024-03-21

GOTS applauds European Parliament’s vote on the Green Claims Directive

The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) applauds last week’s vote by the European Parliament to ban unverified 'green' product labels by enforcing stricter rules to back green claims and labels. By obligating companies to submit evidence about environmental marketing claims – including advertising and labelling products as ‘biodegradable’, ‘less polluting’, ‘water saving’, or having ‘bio-based content’ – consumers will be able to make better informed decisions about the sustainability of their purchases.

Consumers need protection from greenwashing and false claims about a product’s environmental impact. As a leader in the organic textile industry, GOTS is a dynamic standard with constant progress towards the development of better textile processing methods. GOTS provides rules and tools for fostering responsible business practices and to support businesses to comply with domestic and international laws and beyond. The current GOTS Version 7.0 includes rigorous criteria for the protection of human, employment and social rights, as well as the environment and climate. By being certified to GOTS 7.0 and selling GOTS-labelled goods, companies are demonstrating their commitment to sustainability and human rights.

For more than two decades, GOTS, operated by non-profit Global Standard, has led the way in providing a comprehensive solution for businesses who want to embrace strictest criteria in environmentally responsible practices and human rights. Consumers purchasing certified products can be assured that these entities underwent the highest criteria of sustainable production. We are pleased that this directive also targets the proliferation of private environmental labels, requiring them to be reliable, transparent, independently verified, and regularly reviewed.

GOTS ask legislators to continue in this direction as the proposal goes into the ‘trilogue’, where the three European Union institutions – Commission, Parliament and Council – finalise the regulation. GOTS continues to monitor the implementation requirements.

Global Standards announce launch of a new textile processing standard

The 14th September 2026 marks the public launch of the Global Responsible Textile Standard (GRTS), a new standard for the processing of textiles made from fibres certified to third-party standards recognised by GRTS and covering a broad range of plant, animal, synthetic, man-made cellulosic and recycled fibres.

180 years of TESTEX: From Zurich silk testing to global certification

For 180 years, TESTEX has developed alongside the textile industry while maintaining the same underlying purpose: creating trust through independent and reliable measurement. Founded in Zurich in 1846 as the Zurich Silk Conditioning Institute, TESTEX has grown from a local institution serving the silk trade into an international Swiss testing and certification institute for textiles and leather.

Cascale launches member-led process to shape 2030 strategy

Cascale has launched a member-led process to define the industry alliance’s strategic direction for the next decade. At the Cascale Annual Meeting 2026 in Athens, CEO Ying McGuire announced that members will contribute to an industry system map that will inform Cascale’s 10-year vision, its 2030 strategy and priorities for 2027. The new strategy is scheduled to be finalized in December.

Jeanologia Sustainability Report highlights environmental impact of textile technologies

Jeanologia has published its Sustainability Report 2025, reporting a 13.64% reduction in its own carbon footprint and quantifying the environmental impact associated with the use of its technologies across the global textile industry. According to the company’s calculations, their use avoided the pollution of 21.52 million m³ of water and emissions of approximately 103,530 tonnes of CO₂ compared with conventional textile finishing processes.

ALLIED expands down traceability with lot-level carbon footprint data

ALLIED Feather + Down has expanded its TrackMyDown traceability platform to include validated cradle-to-gate carbon footprint data linked to individual down lots. The initiative is designed to provide brands and consumers with more detailed environmental information on the materials used in finished products and could also support future data requirements associated with Digital Product Passports.

Moving Advanced Recycling from Innovation to Implementation

The Advanced Recycling Conference 2026 explores technologies, markets, financing and scale-up of innovative recycling solutions for waste streams including mixed plastic waste, textiles and PVC. Europe’s chemical and materials sector faces growing pressure to close carbon loops, strengthen raw-material safety and resilience and meet increasingly ambitious EU recycling targets. Against this backdrop, the Advanced Recycling Conference (ARC) will bring together industry leaders, technology providers, researchers, innovators and policy-makers on 17–18 November 2026 in Cologne, Germany.

German textile industry and retailers form alliance to shape textile EPR system

Germany’s textile and fashion industry and retail sector have joined forces to establish the “Alliance for Textile Circularity” (Allianz für textile Kreisläufe). Initiated by the German Textile and Fashion Industry Association (Gesamtverband textil+mode) and the German Retail Federation (HDE), the alliance aims to contribute industry expertise to the development of Germany’s future Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system for textiles and footwear.

PERFORMANCE DAYS introduces Digital Design Journey with CLO and VIZOO

PERFORMANCE DAYS will introduce a new Digital Design Journey at its upcoming edition in Munich, connecting physical fabric sourcing with 3D product development. Supported by CLO and VIZOO, the installation will demonstrate how real performance fabrics can be digitized and incorporated into virtual garment development workflows.