Textile Exchange
Global Recycled StandardGRS
Verifies recycled content in a product and tracks it through the supply chain, adding social, environmental and chemical requirements.
What it verifies
- Recycled material content (the full label requires at least 50%; claims can start at 20%)
- Chain of custody, so the recycled input is traced, not only claimed
- Some restrictions on chemicals used in processing
What it leaves out
Recycled is not the same as non-toxic or natural. Recycled polyester is still plastic. It sheds microfibers and sits against your skin like any other synthetic.
Toxome readGood for keeping plastic in circulation, but a recycled-plastic shirt is still a plastic shirt. The badge is about the source, not the safety.
RCSTextile Exchange
Recycled Claim StandardRCS
Verifies and traces recycled material through the supply chain, confirming that a recycled-content claim is real. The lighter sister to GRS.
What it verifies
- Recycled content from as little as 5%, traced with a chain of custody
- The recycled claim on the label is independently checked
What it leaves out
Unlike GRS, it sets no social, environmental, or chemical rules at all. It confirms the recycled content and nothing else, and recycled polyester is still plastic against your skin.
Toxome readProof the recycled claim is honest, full stop. For recycled content plus some guardrails, GRS is the stronger version.
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Organic Content StandardOCS
Tracks the amount of organically grown material in a product and verifies it from farm to finished item.
What it verifies
- The percentage of certified organic fiber in the product
- Chain of custody for that organic material
What it leaves out
Unlike GOTS, it only confirms the organic content claim. It sets no rules for the dyes, finishes or processing chemistry that come after the farm.
Toxome readProof the organic fiber is real, nothing more. For the full picture on processing, GOTS is the stronger label.
Better Cotton (BCI)
Better Cotton
A farm-training program for cotton grown with less water, fewer chemicals, and better working conditions. It is now the most widespread cotton standard in the world.
What it verifies
- Enrolled farmers are trained in more responsible water, soil, and pesticide practices
- A brand has bought Better Cotton volumes equal to the cotton it uses
- Improved labor conditions on participating farms
What it leaves out
It runs on a mass-balance system, so the Better Cotton in your shirt is almost never the physical cotton from a better farm, just an equal amount sourced elsewhere. It is not organic, and it still allows GMO seed and synthetic pesticides.
Toxome readA real step up from conventional cotton at scale, but a long way from organic. Read it as better, not clean, and not traceable to your garment.
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Responsible Wool StandardRWS
An animal-welfare and land-management standard for wool, ensuring sheep are treated humanely and pastures are managed responsibly.
What it verifies
- Animal welfare on the farm, including a ban on mulesing
- Responsible land and soil management
- Chain of custody from farm to final product
What it leaves out
It's about the farm, not the fabric's chemistry. RWS says nothing about how the wool is later scoured, dyed or finished.
Toxome readA meaningful ethics signal for wool. Pair it with a chemical label if residue is your concern.
Textile Exchange
Responsible Down StandardRDS
Certifies that the down and feathers in a product come from animals that were not live-plucked or force-fed.
What it verifies
- No live-plucking and no force-feeding of the birds
- Welfare across the supply chain, audited at each stage
- Chain of custody for the down
What it leaves out
Purely an animal-welfare claim. It covers neither the shell fabric nor any chemical treatment on the finished jacket.
Toxome readThe right label to look for on down. Just remember the outer fabric is a separate question entirely.
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Responsible Mohair StandardRMS
An animal-welfare and land-management standard for mohair, the silky fiber from angora goats, covering humane treatment and how the land is managed.
What it verifies
- Humane treatment of the goats throughout their lives
- Responsible land and soil management on the farm
- Chain of custody from farm to final product
What it leaves out
Like its wool and down siblings, it is a farm standard, not a fabric one. It says nothing about how the mohair is later scoured, dyed, or finished.
Toxome readThe mark to look for on mohair ethics. Pair it with a chemical label if residue is your concern.
Textile Exchange
Responsible Alpaca StandardRAS
The animal-welfare and land standard for alpaca fiber, covering humane treatment of the animals and responsible management of the land they graze.
What it verifies
- Animal welfare for the alpacas, from handling through shearing
- Responsible grazing and land management
- Chain of custody from farm to final product
What it leaves out
It is about the farm, not the finished yarn. The standard does not reach the dyeing or finishing that comes later.
Toxome readA meaningful welfare signal for alpaca. As with wool, the chemistry of the finished piece is a separate question.
Certifies that wood-based materials come from responsibly managed forests, the feedstock behind plant-based fibers like viscose, modal and lyocell.
What it verifies
- The wood pulp behind the fiber comes from responsibly managed forests
- Chain of custody from forest to product
What it leaves out
It certifies the forest, not the fiber. Turning pulp into viscose can still involve harsh solvents, and FSC says nothing about that chemistry or the finished fabric.
Toxome readReassuring on sourcing for semi-synthetics. Look for closed-loop processing (as in lyocell) for the part FSC doesn't cover.
PEFC International
Programme for the Endorsement of Forest CertificationPEFC
The world's largest forest-certification system. Like FSC, it verifies that wood-based materials, including the pulp behind viscose and rayon, come from responsibly managed forests.
What it verifies
- The wood pulp originates in forests managed to PEFC's sustainability standards
- Chain of custody from the forest through to the finished material
- A particular focus on smallholder and family-owned forests
What it leaves out
Like FSC, it certifies the forest, not the fabric. Turning that pulp into viscose still relies on harsh solvents that PEFC says nothing about.
Toxome readA credible forestry mark, often seen as the alternative to FSC. Reassuring on where the wood came from, silent on how the fiber was made.
A conservation initiative that audits the viscose and rayon supply chain to keep ancient and endangered forests out of your clothing, and ranks the biggest producers on their risk.
What it verifies
- A producer's wood-pulp sourcing is audited for ties to ancient and endangered forests
- Brands and mills commit to cutting high-risk forest sources from their fabric
- An annual Hot Button ranking scores the largest viscose producers
What it leaves out
It is a forest-protection commitment, not a product seal. You will rarely see it on a hangtag, and it speaks to where the pulp came from, not the chemistry that turned it into fabric.
Toxome readThe sharpest watchdog on viscose and rayon sourcing. Look for it in a brand's commitments, and pair it with closed-loop processing for the part it doesn't cover.
Leather Working Group
Leather Working GroupLWG
Audits and rates leather tanneries on their environmental performance, scoring them Bronze, Silver or Gold.
What it verifies
- A tannery's environmental management, covering water, energy, waste and chemical handling
- Traceability of hides through the audited facility
- A medal rating reflecting performance
What it leaves out
It rates the tannery, not animal welfare or the residue in the finished leather. And not all LWG-rated leather is Gold, since the bar varies by tier.
Toxome readThe leading environmental audit for leather. Check the medal level, and know it isn't a welfare or chemical-safety guarantee.
OEKO-TEX Association
OEKO-TEX Leather Standard
The leather counterpart to Standard 100. Every component of a leather item is lab-tested for harmful substances against limits stricter than the law.
What it verifies
- Leather and its components test below limits for regulated harmful chemicals
- Restricted substances such as chromium VI, certain dyes, and residues
- Tested by intended use, with stricter limits for items in close skin contact
What it leaves out
It tests the leather for chemical residue, not how the animal was raised or how the tannery performed. That is the territory of welfare claims and Leather Working Group audits.
Toxome readThe chemical-safety mark to look for on leather. Read it as low tested residues, not a welfare or environmental verdict.
A farming certification for fibers like cotton, grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers under federal organic rules.
What it verifies
- The raw fiber was grown to USDA organic farming standards
- No synthetic pesticides or prohibited fertilizers on the crop
What it leaves out
It stops at the farm gate. A USDA-organic-cotton shirt can still be bleached, dyed and finished with conventional chemistry. That processing is GOTS's territory, not USDA's.
Toxome readConfirms the cotton was grown clean. It doesn't promise the shirt was made clean.
