What the hell do all those initials and logos mean? If you want to print ethical, sustainable tees, you need to get a handle on the various labels and accreditations that are used to signify environmental and social responsibility. Our eco standards and certifications guide for ethical t-shirt printing is a quick summary. A list with brief explanation for some of the most common benchmarks which are currently relevant in the UK.
We take a principled approach to customising clothes and merchandise at Fifth Column. That means caring about the rights of our team here in London, adopting the best practice for how we operate, and offering customers the best options for stuff like blank t-shirts. Garments which are produced in ways which respect the people who make them and also respect the planet. The acronyms and images might appear confusing at first glance, but eco standards and certifications are important for ethical t-shirt printing.
Global Organic Textile Standard
Introduced in 2006, the Global Organic Textile Standard is now acknowledged as a leading worldwide standard for textiles made from organic fibres. It specifies environmental yardsticks which apply to the entire supply chain. It also requires observance of specified social standards. To get a GOTS certification, the fabric needs to be at least 70% organic fibre. There are several blank clothing suppliers championing the cause with organic cotton t-shirts, but Stanley Stella are a great example.
Global Recycled Standard (GRS)
Clothes made from recycled materials, ready for printing and personalisation, are getting ever more popular in the custom clothing industry. They’re also a growing trend in sports attire and general fashion (click Here to read more about recycled merch). The Global Recycled Standard was born in 2008 and is an international certification which has gained credibility across the globe. It covers recycled content along the journey of the product, and sets levels for social, environmental and chemical impact.
Fair Wear Foundation
This is all about better ways to make clothes. Fair Wear believe and promote some very simple, but undeniable truths. The garment industry, that’s a basic for us because customisation always needs a base shirt, has to be fair and responsible. A real living wage here in the UK makes a lot more sense when it’s allied to proper wages for the people who make the stuff we print and embroider. This eco standards and certifications guide for ethical t-shirt printing wouldn’t be right without mentioning Fair Wear.
Organic 100 Content Standard
The OCS 100 standard is an organic content certification, a way of knowing that what you’re buying is genuinely organic in nature. It has become commonly recognised and stipulates that the t-shirt (or any other product) contains 95% or more organic material. It’s achieved by working with producers to verify the organically grown content in the final product.
OCS Blended Content Standard
The OCS blended organic content standard is very similar to the 100 variation, but only confirms that 5% of the finished article contains organic material. That organic element will be mixed with traditionally sourced content. It’s worth mentioning that OCS is a voluntary standard and basically tracks the origin of organically produced components of a product.
OEKO-TEX® (100)
The STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® has become one of the world’s most trusted certifications (the origins go back to 1992). It tests for harmful substances in all aspects of the product. That might sound straightforward with a t-shirt, but OEKO-TEX® (100) offers consumers a reliable certification for clothes of every type and description.
Better Cotton Initiative
It’s non-profit and the biggest cotton sustainability programme in the world. The Better Cotton Initiative is aiming to make cotton production better for all of the people involved in its production. The start date was 2009, when BCI was officially launched as an independent organisation. Their declared aim is to move sustainability in cotton growing into mainstream consciousness.
WRAP
Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production is a factory-based social compliance certification. It prohibits forced and child labour and abuse in factories which produce sewn products. That covers a lot of the merchandise in printing and embroidery. Base garments like t-shirts and hoodies from WRAP accredited workshops are fairer to the people who make them.
Amfori Trade with Purpose
Supply chains are the more complicated bit of the moral, sustainable equation. Growing the raw material can be ethical and organic, but that has to be fed into the worldwide selling machine. Amfori is interested in improving those systems which bring the stuff. Monitoring and auditing with integrity so that suppliers and their customers can buy with confidence.
SA8000
The SA8000 Social Accountability Accreditation dates back to 1997 and is an internationally recognised social responsibility certification. It covers such issues as child labour, freedom of association and collective bargaining, health and safety matters, discrimination, working hours and wage levels. The aim is to improve conditions for workers and also provide benefits for the businesses themselves. Thousands of organisations are subscribed to it in over 50 industries and across over 60 countries.
EU Ecolabel
Set up in 1992, the EU Ecolabel is a mark of environmental excellence. It’s awarded to products and services which meet exacting eco standards throughout their life cycle – from raw material to final disposal. This certification encourages circularity, the production of goods which have lower impact on the environment and can be repaired and recycled. The EU Ecolabel also provides guidance to companies in eco-friendly best practices.
Fair Trade
Folk often associate Fair Trade with food and products other than clothes. However, it does play a part in the manufacture of the blank t-shirts and other clothing which is used in printing and embroidery. Fair Trade’s mission is surprisingly simple. To improve the lot of farmers and the people who actually grow the things that we buy. Making the lives of producers more sustainable and equitable. Click Here to read more about Fair Trade and Fair Wear.
Real Living Wage
This might not be an eco standard or certification, but it’s something that we support and believe to be relevant in the context of our eco standards and certifications guide for ethical t-shirt printing. Promoting fairness in how the clothes that we decorate are made and supplied makes more sense when seen in relation to how we ourselves do things here in London. Fifth Column are an accredited Real Living Wage company and we actively endorse the campaign to see this level of pay become the legal requirement in the UK.
Fifth Column can help
This is us. It might not be an official standard or certification, but the Fifth Column logo is something that you can trust for quality and an ethical attitude to business. We’ve been printing t-shirts with love since 1977. Born in a punk London and still going strong over forty years later. Still loving what we do. We specialise in sourcing and printing garments from GOTS-certified, Fairtrade and Fair Wear audited producers and nowadays offer a comprehensive range of clothing customisation services.