Certifications explained — what GOTS, OEKO-TEX and Fair Wear actually check
Every label answers a different question, and none answers all of them. The most useful column in this table is not what is checked, but what is not.
A label is an answer to one particular question
Certification marks read like a general seal of quality, but each answers one narrowly framed question. Not knowing which one means reading something into a label that is not there.
The commonest misreading concerns OEKO-TEX. STANDARD 100 tests the finished textile for harmful substances — dyes, plasticisers, heavy metals. It says nothing about working conditions in the sewing room, and nothing about where the fibre came from. A garment tested for harmful substances may have been sewn under any conditions at all.
No label covers material, chemistry and working conditions at once. Wanting all three means needing several — or a brand that discloses them itself.
Why the threshold matters
Several schemes work with percentage thresholds, and those rarely appear on the label. Under the Global Recycled Standard, products can be certified from 20 per cent recycled content, but the product logo may only be used from 50 per cent. “GRS certified” and “carries the GRS logo” are therefore two different statements.
With GOTS the threshold decides the wording: from 95 per cent certified organic fibre a product may be called “organic”, from 70 per cent only “made with organic materials”. Two phrasings that read almost alike and differ by a quarter of the material.
What a label does not replace
This site is built around what can be evidenced, not around badges. A certification is external evidence — useful, but always narrower than what a brand could disclose itself. A published factory list with names and addresses says more about production than any logo, because it can be checked, visited and contradicted.
That is why we carry certifications in the portraits as facts with a source and a reading date, not as points in a score. Certificates expire; an undated one is worthless.
What the common labels check — and what they expressly do not
| Label | Checks | Does NOT check | Issued by |
|---|---|---|---|
| GOTS | Share of certified organic fibre, plus processing chemistry and minimum social criteria along the chain | Whether the garment lasts; conditions outside the certified operations | Global Standard gGmbH |
| OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 | Harmful substances in the finished textile, component by component down to buttons and thread | Working conditions, fibre origin, organic share, durability | OEKO-TEX |
| Fair Wear Foundation | Working conditions in members’ sewing factories, with audits and a complaints route | Materials, chemistry, upstream stages such as spinning mills | Fair Wear Foundation |
| B Corp | The whole company — environment, workers, supply chain, governance | Individual products; a B Corp may also sell uncertified goods | B Lab |
| GRS | Recycled content with chain of custody, plus social and environmental criteria for the operations | Whether recycled is better than virgin; durability | Textile Exchange |
From the standard bodies’ own statements, read on 28 July 2026. Schemes revise their criteria — in case of doubt the linked version applies, not this table.
Questions readers ask
Does OEKO-TEX mean fair working conditions?
No. STANDARD 100 tests the finished textile for harmful substances. It says nothing about conditions in the sewing room — the Fair Wear Foundation is the scheme for that.
Does GOTS mean one hundred per cent organic?
No. From 95 per cent certified organic fibre a product may be called “organic”; from 70 per cent only “made with organic materials”. The two phrasings read alike and differ by a quarter of the material.
What does GRS certified mean?
Products can be certified from 20 per cent recycled content; the GRS product logo requires 50 per cent. “Certified” and “carries the logo” are therefore two different statements.
Which label is best?
The question cannot be answered, because the labels check different things. It is more useful to ask what you want to know — chemistry, fibre origin or working conditions — and then look for the matching scheme.
Does a label replace a factory list?
No. A published list of factory names and addresses says more about production, because it can be checked, visited and contradicted. A logo is external evidence and always narrower.