#Sustainability

2025-03-13

Global Standard’s GOTS joins the MAKE THE LABEL COUNT coalition

Global Standard, the nonprofit that owns and operates the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), has joined the Make the Label Count coalition of international natural fibre producers, manufacturers, brands, standards and environmental groups. As a recognised authority in the organic textile industry, Global Standard will contribute its extensive expertise and leadership, while ensuring that voices from every segment of the value chain are heard.

In its endeavour to prevent greenwashing and empower consumers to make informed decisions about the clothes and textiles they wear, Global Standard joined the coalition to help ensure that textile sustainability claims in the EU are credible and substantiated in a transparent and fair way.

“GOTS, with more than 16,000 certified facilities, shows that businesses want to prove their sustainability efforts, and that people want to buy more environmentally friendly textiles, provided that the labels and claims are accurate and credible” said Marie-Luise Pörtner, Global Regulations Specialist at Global Standard. “Consumers can trust the GOTS label because of robust, verifiable ecological and human rights criteria throughout the textile production value chain, a strong due diligence commitment and sustainability claims backed by independent third-party certification bodies.”

Launched in 2021, Make the Label Count specifically advocates for a revision of the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) methodology for textiles which is currently being developed to assess a product’s environmental impact and provide consumers with information on that impact. Although PEF has the potential to direct the textile sector towards a sustainable system of production and consumption, it still has significant limitations, such as different system boundaries for textiles made from natural and synthetic fibres, or the non-inclusion of microplastics and plastic waste. Its application thus risks legitimising unsustainable consumption with an EU-backed green claim.

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.

The Or Foundation, adidas, BESTSELLER, H&M Group, and Inditex launch Apparel Recovery Coalition, responding to impacts of post-consumer textile exports

adidas, BESTSELLER, H&M Group, Inditex and The Or Foundation, with support from Circle Economy, unveiled the Apparel Recovery Coalition (ARC). The coalition will explore how producer responsibility systems can support circular pathways such as reuse, upcycling, recycling, and responsible waste management in countries that receive large volumes of exported secondhand apparel.

NEUMÜHLE launches mono-material hoodie designed for textile recycling

With the Circular Mono Hoodie, Zurich-based label NEUMÜHLE introduces a new essential designed around a single-material principle. The textile construction is cotton throughout, right down to the sewing thread. Entirely free from elastane, the hoodie launches as a Limited Drop for CHF 139. Take-back, collection and existing recycling partnerships complement its circular design.