How to Get Started with Fashion Certifications for Sustainability

A Guide to Fashion Sustainability Certifications: From First Step to Full Certification

The fashion industry, long criticized for its environmental and social impact, is undergoing a profound transformation. As consumers and regulators demand greater transparency and accountability, sustainability has shifted from a niche marketing term to a core business imperative. For brands looking to prove their commitment, navigating the world of sustainability certifications is a critical, yet often daunting, first step. This guide provides a definitive, practical roadmap for fashion brands—from fledgling startups to established enterprises—on how to choose, apply for, and achieve the most impactful certifications. We’ll cut through the jargon, offer clear, actionable advice, and provide concrete examples to help you make informed decisions that drive real, measurable change.

The Foundational First Step: Understanding Your Brand’s Goals and Impact

Before you even look at a list of logos and standards, the single most important action you can take is to conduct an internal audit of your brand’s sustainability position. Certification is not a silver bullet; it’s a verification of an existing commitment. Without a clear understanding of your current practices and long-term goals, you risk pursuing the wrong certification or failing the process entirely.

Actionable Steps:

• Map Your Supply Chain: Create a detailed flowchart of your entire production process, from the source of raw materials to the final customer delivery. Identify every partner: fiber growers, spinners, weavers, dyehouses, cut-and-sew factories, and logistics providers. This mapping is not just for show; it’s the foundation for any meaningful certification. A brand that sources organic cotton from a farm in India, has it spun in a mill in Turkey, and then sewn into a garment in Portugal must be prepared to verify the practices at all three locations.

• Identify Your Primary Impact Areas: Categorize your brand’s biggest sustainability challenges. Is it your material sourcing (e.g., using conventional cotton)? Your labor practices (e.g., lack of living wages at your partner factories)? Your chemical usage (e.g., dyeing and finishing processes)? Or is it a broader issue of corporate governance and social responsibility? Certifications are highly specialized. A brand focused on organic materials will have different needs than one prioritizing fair labor.

• Define Your Audience and Values: What message do you want to send to your customers? A brand targeting ethically-minded consumers who are concerned about fair wages might find Fair Trade certification more compelling than a technical-based chemical standard. Conversely, a brand appealing to an eco-conscious customer base focused on organic materials and clean manufacturing would prioritize certifications like GOTS or OEKO-TEX. Your certification should be an authentic reflection of your brand’s core values.

Example: A new direct-to-consumer brand, “Willow & Wren,” is founded on the principle of using only natural, non-toxic materials. Their mission is to create a fully circular product line. After an internal audit, they determine their primary impact area is material sourcing and wet processing (dyeing). Their core value proposition is material safety and environmental health. Based on this, they can immediately narrow their focus to certifications that address these specific concerns, such as GOTS and OEKO-TEX, rather than spending time on a broad corporate certification like B Corp, which may not align as directly with their immediate brand message.

Navigating the Landscape of Fashion Certifications

The world of fashion certifications is vast and can be confusing. To simplify it, we can break them down into three primary categories:

1. Material-Based Certifications: These focus on the origin and processing of fibers, from farm to factory.

2. Facility-Based Certifications: These audit individual factories or facilities on their social and/or environmental practices.

3. Corporate-Level Certifications: These assess an entire company’s performance across a wide range of social and environmental criteria.

Understanding this distinction is crucial because a single brand may need to pursue multiple certifications to cover its entire operation. For instance, a brand could have a GOTS-certified product (material-based) made in a WRAP-certified factory (facility-based), and the brand itself could be a B Corp (corporate-level).

1. Material-Based Certifications: Verifying the Product’s Journey

These certifications are the most common entry point for brands seeking to prove the integrity of their products. They provide a direct claim that consumers can see and understand.

A. The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS)

GOTS is the gold standard for organic textiles. It is a comprehensive, end-to-end certification that covers the processing, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, trading, and distribution of all textiles made from at least 70% certified organic natural fibers.

How to Get GOTS Certified (The Process):

Step 1: Internal Preparation and Documentation

• Organic System Plan (OSP): This is your foundational document. It must detail your entire supply chain, from the organic farm to your final distribution center. You need to list all suppliers, subcontractors, and the specific processes they perform.

• Supplier Certification: A crucial and often overlooked point: every single facility in your supply chain that handles the GOTS product—from ginning to knitting to dyeing—must already be GOTS certified by an accredited third-party body. This is a chain-of-custody standard. You cannot have a GOTS-certified product unless every step is certified.

• Chemical Inventory: You must provide a list of all chemicals used in your processing (e.g., dyes, auxiliaries, finishing agents). GOTS maintains a “Positive List” of approved chemicals and an “Exclusion List” of prohibited substances. Your list will be audited against these.

Step 2: Application and Audit

• Choose a Certification Body: GOTS does not certify companies directly. You must choose from a list of approved, independent certification bodies (CBs) that operate in your region.

• Initial Audit: The CB will conduct an on-site audit of your facility. This is a rigorous inspection that checks everything:

  • Bookkeeping and Traceability: They will compare purchase records, sales invoices, and production reports to ensure the quantity of organic material you bought matches the quantity of finished goods you sold. This quantitative verification prevents fraud.

  • Segregation: They will verify that organic and non-organic materials are stored and processed separately to prevent contamination.

  • Chemical Management: They will inspect your chemical storage areas, check documentation for GOTS-approved chemicals, and may take samples for residue testing.

  • Social Criteria: The auditor will review your labor practices against GOTS’s social criteria, which are based on International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions. This includes reviewing employee contracts, payroll, and working hours, and conducting confidential interviews with workers.

Step 3: Certification and Maintenance

• Review and Corrective Actions: After the audit, the CB will issue a report detailing any non-conformances. You must correct these issues within a specified timeframe.

• Issuance of Scope Certificate: Once all issues are resolved, the CB will issue a Scope Certificate, valid for one year. This document allows you to legally use the GOTS logo and make GOTS-certified claims.

• Transaction Certificates (TCs): For every shipment of GOTS-certified goods you receive, your supplier must provide a TC from their CB. You must also provide a TC for every shipment you send to your customers. These are digital documents that track the flow of certified goods through the entire supply chain.

• Annual Re-certification: The entire audit process repeats annually. GOTS also conducts unannounced spot checks to ensure continuous compliance.

Cost Example: For a small brand, the total cost for GOTS certification can range from a few thousand to over ten thousand dollars per year, depending on the complexity of the supply chain, the number of facilities, and the chosen certification body. This includes an annual fee to GOTS and the fees charged by the CB for the audit and other services.

B. OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100

OEKO-TEX® is not a sustainability certification in the way GOTS is. It is a product safety label that certifies textiles and accessories are free from harmful substances. It is a powerful tool for consumer trust and a frequent requirement for major retailers.

How to Get OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 Certified (The Process):

Step 1: Product Assessment and Application

• Determine Your Product Category: OEKO-TEX® has four product classes based on skin contact. The stricter the class, the more stringent the testing.
  • Class I: Baby articles (strictest)

  • Class II: Articles with direct skin contact (e.g., shirts, underwear)

  • Class III: Articles without direct skin contact (e.g., jackets, belts)

  • Class IV: Furnishing and decoration materials

• Collect Material Samples: You must submit a sample of your final product, including all its components (fabric, thread, zippers, buttons, labels, etc.), to an OEKO-TEX® institute.

Step 2: Testing and Analysis

• Laboratory Testing: The OEKO-TEX® institute will test all components of your product for a list of hundreds of regulated and unregulated harmful substances. This includes pesticides, heavy metals, formaldehyde, and other chemicals.

• On-site Audit: An auditor will visit your company to review your quality assurance practices and ensure a robust system is in place to maintain compliance. This is typically a shorter visit than a GOTS audit.

Step 3: Certification and Renewal

• Issuance of Certificate: If your product passes all tests and the audit, you will receive a certificate valid for one year.

• Annual Renewal: The process is repeated annually to ensure continuous compliance with the ever-evolving list of chemical regulations. The OEKO-TEX® standards are updated yearly based on new scientific findings.

Cost Example: The cost for an OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 certificate is variable, depending on the product, the number of components, and the testing required. A typical certification for a simple textile product in the U.S. might cost several thousand dollars, including licensing, testing, and administrative fees.

2. Facility-Based Certifications: Ensuring Ethical Production

These certifications are focused on the “where” and “who” of manufacturing. They verify that the factory producing your goods adheres to specific social and/or environmental standards.

A. Fair Trade Certified™

Fair Trade Certified™ is a highly respected social standard for apparel and home goods. It is focused on creating a more equitable and transparent supply chain by improving worker wages and conditions.

How to Get Fair Trade Certified™ (The Process):

Step 1: Partner with a Certified Factory

• Find an Approved Facility: The simplest and most common path for brands is to source products from an already Fair Trade Certified™ factory. Fair Trade maintains a directory of approved facilities.

• Establish a Relationship: You must register with Fair Trade and establish a formal relationship with the certified factory.

Step 2: Paying the Premium

• The Fair Trade Premium: For every product purchased from the certified factory, you pay an additional “Fair Trade Premium.” This is a sum of money, calculated per item, that goes into a communal fund managed directly by the workers.

• Worker Empowerment: Workers use this fund for projects of their choice, such as healthcare programs, education for their children, or transportation to work. This mechanism gives workers a direct voice and stake in their workplace.

Step 3: Auditing and Verification

• Factory Audits: Fair Trade’s independent certifier, FLOCERT, conducts regular audits of the factory. These audits are extensive and include reviewing payroll, worker contracts, and safety protocols. Confidential interviews with workers are a cornerstone of the process to ensure transparency.

• Brand Audit: As a brand, you are also audited to ensure you are meeting your commitment to paying the Fair Trade Premium and maintaining a transparent relationship with the factory.

Cost Example: The cost is primarily the Fair Trade Premium paid on each item. For a t-shirt, this might be an extra $0.50 to $1.00 per unit. There are also annual licensing fees for the brand, which can range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars depending on sales volume.

B. Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP)

WRAP is a globally recognized independent certification program primarily focused on social compliance in the apparel, footwear, and sewn products sectors. It is a factory-level certification that ensures safe, lawful, and ethical manufacturing.

How to Get WRAP Certified (The Process):

Step 1: Self-Assessment and Preparation

• Choose a WRAP-Accredited Monitor: You must select a monitor from WRAP’s approved list to conduct your audit.

• Complete the Self-Assessment: The factory completes a detailed self-assessment questionnaire, providing information on its facilities, practices, and policies. This helps the factory prepare for the formal audit.

Step 2: Formal Audit

• On-site Inspection: The WRAP-accredited monitor conducts an on-site, in-depth audit of the factory. This includes:
  • Review of Documentation: The auditor examines all factory records, including payroll, working hours, and health and safety documents.

  • Physical Inspection: The auditor conducts a walkthrough of the entire facility, checking for safety hazards, fire exits, proper ventilation, and sanitation.

  • Worker Interviews: Confidential, one-on-one interviews with a representative sample of workers are conducted to verify compliance with labor standards and ensure there is no forced or child labor.

Step 3: Certification and Renewal

• Certification Levels: WRAP has three levels of certification: Platinum, Gold, and Silver, based on a factory’s compliance history.

• Issuance of Certificate: If the factory meets the standards, it receives a certificate. Gold and Platinum certificates require a full-scale audit every year, while Silver is valid for six months.

• Continuous Improvement: WRAP emphasizes continuous improvement, and the re-certification process is designed to ensure that factories maintain and enhance their standards over time.

Cost Example: WRAP certification costs are paid by the factory itself. The fees are based on the number of workers and the size of the facility. For a small to medium-sized factory, the cost for an initial audit can range from a few thousand to several thousand dollars, with additional fees for re-certification.

3. Corporate-Level Certifications: The Holistic Approach

These certifications assess an entire company, not just a single product or factory. They are the most comprehensive and signal a brand-wide commitment to social and environmental responsibility.

Certified B Corporation

B Corp is arguably the most recognized and prestigious holistic certification. It certifies that a company meets the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.

How to Get B Corp Certified (The Process):

Step 1: The B Impact Assessment (BIA)

• Take the Free Assessment: The BIA is a free, confidential online questionnaire that measures a company’s impact across five key areas:
  • Governance: Your company’s mission, ethics, and transparency.

  • Workers: Your employee benefits, training, and working environment.

  • Community: Your supplier relations, diversity, and civic engagement.

  • Environment: Your environmental management, material sourcing, and resource usage.

  • Customers: The value you provide to your customers.

• Score at Least 80 Points: A company must achieve a minimum verified score of 80 points out of 200 on the BIA to be eligible for certification. The average company score is around 50, so this requires significant effort and commitment.

Step 2: Submission and Verification

• Submit Your Assessment: Once you’ve reached a score of 80 or more, you submit your BIA and pay the submission fee.

• Verification Queue: An analyst from B Lab will review your company’s assessment. This can be a long process, involving a deep dive into your documentation, records, and policies.

• Verification Call: You will have a call with the analyst to discuss your answers, provide supporting documents, and clarify any ambiguities. This is the most rigorous part of the process.

Step 3: Legal Requirement and Agreement

• Legal Commitment: A crucial step for B Corp certification is to legally amend your company’s governing documents (e.g., articles of incorporation) to include a commitment to all stakeholders, not just shareholders. This solidifies your purpose-driven mission.

• Sign the B Corp Agreement: You sign a declaration of interdependence, officially becoming a Certified B Corporation.

Step 4: Recertification and Improvement

• Recertify Every Three Years: The B Corp certification is not a one-time achievement. You must undergo the full BIA and verification process every three years.

• Continuous Improvement: The BIA is designed to be a framework for continuous improvement. Companies are encouraged to use their BIA scores to set improvement goals and track their progress.

Cost Example: The cost for B Corp certification is based on a company’s annual sales. For a small fashion brand, the annual fee can start at a few thousand dollars and increase significantly for larger companies. The verification fee is often a one-time cost, with the annual fee covering ongoing support and membership.

A Practical Plan for Getting Certified

Achieving certification is a strategic process that requires a clear plan. Here’s how to structure your journey.

Phase 1: Internal Strategy and Goal Setting (Months 1-3)

1. Form a “Sustainability Team”: This should be a cross-functional group that includes representatives from design, production, marketing, and leadership.

2. Conduct a Gap Analysis: Use the internal audit process to identify the gaps between your current practices and the requirements of your target certification.

3. Create a Strategic Roadmap: Develop a detailed plan with specific timelines, assigning responsibilities to your team. For example: “By month 4, we will have a fully mapped supply chain and have identified all wet-processing subcontractors.”

Phase 2: Preparation and Implementation (Months 4-12)

1. Engage with a Certification Body: Contact a few accredited certification bodies for your chosen standard and request quotes. Use this opportunity to ask detailed questions about their process and what support they offer.

2. Address the Gaps: This is the hard part. It involves making real changes:

   • For Material-Based Certifications (GOTS): Switch your suppliers to GOTS-certified partners. Update your internal tracking systems to properly segregate and document organic material flow.

   • For Facility-Based Certifications (Fair Trade): If you are not already working with a certified factory, find a suitable one and establish a partnership.

   • For Corporate Certifications (B Corp): Implement new policies and procedures to address the areas where your BIA score was low. This might mean starting an employee wellness program, changing your energy provider, or formalizing your supplier code of conduct.

3. Document Everything: Create a central repository for all documentation required for the audit: supplier certificates, invoices, production records, chemical lists, and social compliance reports.

Phase 3: Application, Audit, and Certification (Months 12-18)

1. Submit Your Formal Application: Once you are confident you have addressed the gaps and prepared the necessary documentation, submit your application to the certification body.

2. Undergo the Audit: Your team will work with the auditor during the on-site visit or verification process. Be prepared for a thorough and challenging review.

3. Correct Non-Conformances: Act quickly and decisively to address any issues raised in the audit report. The faster you can provide evidence of corrective action, the quicker you will be certified.

4. Celebrate and Communicate: Once certified, update your website, packaging, and marketing materials to prominently feature your new certification. This is the payoff for all your hard work. Develop a clear and honest communication strategy to tell the story behind your certification.

Conclusion: Beyond the Logo

Pursuing sustainability certifications for your fashion brand is far more than a marketing exercise. It is a commitment to a new way of doing business—one that is more transparent, ethical, and resilient. The journey is rigorous, requiring a significant investment of time, money, and internal resources. But the rewards extend far beyond a certified label. By undergoing these processes, you will build a more robust supply chain, foster greater employee engagement, and earn the deep trust of a consumer base that is increasingly looking for purpose-driven brands. The certifications themselves are not the destination; they are a verifiable milestone on your brand’s path to becoming a true force for good in the world of fashion.