Top Ethical Fashion Certifications: A Guide to Recognizing Truly Sustainable Brands

Eco-Stylist believes that for sustainable fashion to become the norm the products must meet and exceed the quality and aesthetic of conventional fashion. For that reason, any Eco-Stylist certified brand is first evaluated to meet that standard.

Our sustainable brand criteria works on a point system from 0 to 100 points, where brands need 50 or above to pass. The criteria has 3 main categories: transparency, fair labor, and sustainably made.

When evaluating brands with our criteria we take into account any and all certifications mentioned in this guide including Fair Trade, SA8000, GOTS, Bluesign, WRAP, and more.

B-Corporation, or B-Corp for short, is essentially an industry agnostic certification that solidifies a brand’s commitment to being a social enterprise. While we believe all businesses should be social enterprises, and we support the B Corp movement, it’s important to note that B Corp is not a sustainable fashion certification.

B-Corp measures both environmental and social impacts from participants. To be certified by B-Corp, a company needs to achieve a minimum verified score on the B Impact Assessment, which is an evaluation of a company’s impact on its workers, customers, community, and environment. B-Corp’s ranking system allows brands involved to better themselves, but it is worth noting that there are no clear standards that consumers can verify. B Corporations are essentially social good companies with social missions built into their core.

Cascale, formerly the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), provides guidance through the Higg Index to encourage apparel, footwear, and textile industries to incorporate sustainable practices. The tools created by them measure the impact on the environment, society, and labor by type of industry. With the data provided by Cascale an industry can then “address inefficiencies, resolve damaging practices, and achieve the environmental and social transparency consumers are demanding.” 

The Higg Index was developed by Cascale and sets a non-binding, holistic standard that measures social and environmental impact on the value of goods made by brands, retailers, and facilities. 

Fair Trade focuses on economic empowerment and sustainable living. This is done by working closely with producers and companies to ensure that the people making Fair Trade Certified goods have safe working conditions, protect the environment, build sustainable livelihoods, and earn additional money so that they can empower their communities. Being Fair Trade Certified means abiding by rigorous standards that are tailor made for each industry to ensure that everyone is working together towards the same goals. Fair Trade is best for identifying brands who place an emphasis on garment laborers in their supply chains.

Buying a Fair Trade certified product or from a brand that uses a Fair Trade certified factory means no slave labor, no child labor, safe and fair working conditions, and fair pay. Fair Trade certified factories also have to do work on the environmental side like invest in water efficient technology, waste reduction, and reduced chemical usage.

SA8000 Standard was established by Social Accountability International in 1997 with the intention to set ethical standards for workers without compromising business interests. 

The Standard has evolved in order to ensure that both human and social rights issues are addressed when a company is certified as treating its workers fairly. The nine elements that the Standard covers are child labor, forced or compulsory labor, health and safety, freedom of association and right to collecting bargaining, discrimination, disciplinary practices, working hours, remuneration, and management systems. 

The World Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP) is an independent certification that scrutinizes forced labor, lack of benefits for employees, and discrimination in the workplace. WRAP is mainly focused on the apparel, footwear, and sewn product sectors.

WRAP has twelve principles that outline compliance with the law and workplace regulation. These principles aim to prohibit child labor, forced labor, harassment, and abuse in addition to ensuring compensation, benefits, and regular hours of work. They also seek to protect the environment, provide conditions of safety to workers, respect workers rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining, and comply with the customs laws and security. WRAP measures these standards and businesses are then ranked at either platinum, gold, or silver certification. WRAP works at a high level of scrutiny with a zero tolerance policy. 

The Ethical Trading Initiative, also known as the ETI, is made up of companies, trade unions, and non governmental organizations that work together to promote the rights of workers through lobbying and assisting brands in creating and enforcing fair codes of labor. 

The ETI Base Code covers freedom of employment, freedom of association, and the right to collective bargaining. The ETI Base Code also ensures that working conditions are safe and hygienic, child labor is prohibited, living wages are paid, discrimination is prohibited, employment is regular, work hours are limited. Harsh or inhumane treatment is also prohibited by the ETI Base Code. 

The Social Accountability Accreditation Services (SAAS) have rigorous evaluation and quality assurance systems. SAAS oversees and verifies the activities undertaken by their clients in order to maintain social accountability standards and codes. SAAS works to support businesses in improving the workplace environment through implementation of social responsibility, accountability, and transparency in businesses and organizations. 

Fair Wear Foundation focuses specifically on the sewing and trimming processes of garment production. They work with brands, consumers, business associations, trade unions, governments, and NGOs to create standards in order to have fairer conditions in the garment industry. Fair Wear Foundation uses independent third parties to check business practices at three different levels. 

Through brand performance checks, factory floor audits, factory training, and a complaints helpline they work with brands to create fairer standards. While the Fair Wear Foundation works to resolve all the problems that arise in factories, it is up to members who are part of the Fair Wear Foundation, not just third-parties, to monitor their supply chains and change their management and business practices to promote better working conditions and solve the problems that they find. 

GOTS stands for Global Organic Textile Standard. Not only does it demonstrate that a fabric is certified organic, but it also tells a much bigger story. GOTS certification ensures that the whole supply chain meets strict social and environmental standards. This means that everything from the raw materials to the finished product are included in the certification. 

A few examples of considerations in the GOTS certification are: labor, chemicals used, fiber type, wastewater treatment, and packaging. GOTS considers “fair labor” to be fair wages, no child labor, and no slave labor.

The bluesign standard is awarded to textile manufacturers who provide a safe working condition for their employees and who work to minimize their ecological footprint. Bluesign takes the environmental impact of all steps in textile manufacturing into account.

From waterway pollution to air pollution, bluesign approved textiles keep workers, consumers, and surrounding communities safe.

Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) is a holistic certification that builds upon USDA Organic standards by adding rigorous criteria in three key areas: soil health, animal welfare, and social fairness. Developed by the Regenerative Organic Alliance—which includes organizations such as Patagonia, Dr. Bronner’s, the Rodale Institute, Compassion in World Farming, and Fair World Project—ROC aims to heal the planet through agriculture.

ROC certification ensures that agricultural products, including fibers used in textiles, are produced using farming practices that regenerate soil, enhance biodiversity, and promote fair treatment of farmers and workers. This includes practices like crop rotation, composting, and cover cropping, as well as adherence to strict guidelines for animal welfare and labor rights.

STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX®

The STANDARD 100 is set by OEKO-TEX (International Association for Research and Testing in the Field of Textile and Leather Ecology). This is a standard that ensures materials used in textile manufacturing are not harmful to humans. By monitoring and assessing dyes, fabrics, chemicals, and other manufacturing materials, the STANDARD 100 ensures consumer and worker safety.

MADE IN GREEN by OEKO-TEX®

Building upon the foundation of STANDARD 100, the MADE IN GREEN label incorporates additional criteria for environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and product traceability. Plus, every MADE IN GREEN label includes a traceable product ID, allowing consumers to trace the product’s supply chain and verify compliance with OEKO-TEX® standards.

The Global Recycled Standard or GRS is an international, voluntary standard enforced by the Textile Exchange that tracks recycled raw materials throughout the supply chain. With the goal of enforcing and ensuring that at least 5% of recycled products are actually used in products that claim to contain them, the GRS works to provide consumers with the assurance and confidence to make informed decisions. 

Leather Working Group or LWG approves and rates leather tanneries and traders with either gold, silver, or bronze rankings based on their adherence to guidelines that work to protect the environment. LWG conducts audits that take into account waste management, water consumption, energy expenditure, and much more. The audits conducted by LWG are all done by third parties using a consistent set of standards. 

The Better Cotton Initiative or BCI is a non-profit organization and the largest cotton sustainability program in the world. BCI works to make global cotton production better for the people who produce it, better for the environment it grows in and better for the sector’s future. BCI strives to do this by setting a clear criteria for participants, the BCI ensures and encourages companies to incorporate environmental, social, and economic fairness.

Forest Stewardship Council or FSC is a global not-for-profit organization that works to keep forests safe. They work with forests, supply chains, retailers and many others in order to make sure that the 10 FSC principles are met. An FSC certified forest ensures that the product comes from a responsibly managed forest and supply chain.

Canopy is an international non-profit organization that works with over 750 different companies to develop business solutions that help protect forests. Canopy fosters innovation in the supply chain by providing solutions ranging from policy development to straw paper and pulp products.

They also provide alternative fibers for clothing, recycled pulp and paper, forest product certifications, and they are Ancient Forest Friendly, which means that they represent the highest ecological qualities in the paper industry. Canopy certification can be awarded to both textile and paper suppliers. 

The Cradle to Cradle Standard looks at products through five quality categories: material health, material reutilization, renewable energy and carbon management, water stewardship, and social fairness. After a product is assessed, it is rated basic, bronze, silver, gold, or platinum in each category.

The lowest score that a product receives in any category is the overall score for a product’s certification. Cradle to Cradle is not only focused on the ethics of how products are made, but also on the end-of-life impact that certified products have. 

Eco-Cert is an independent company awarding voluntary certification that monitors organic products and sustainable development. Eco-Cert sets out to support the environment and encourages agricultural companies to adopt responsible practices.

In the textile industry, products certified must be grown with materials in compliance with the Organic Cotton Standard. Their team of auditors works to strengthen participants’ commitment to reducing environmental impact. 

1% for the Planet membership is eligible to any company that is committed to giving back at least 1% of their sales to the environment. A membership isn’t just for companies though: individuals who pledge 1% of their annual salary, whether that be through money or volunteer work, can also join the 1% for the Planet network.

Their mission is to “bring dollars and doers together to accelerate smart environmental giving.” If a brand is a 1% for the Planet member, it’s a good clue that they are committed to more than just profit.

Pledge 1% is a global movement that encourages companies to integrate philanthropy into their business models by pledging 1% of equity, profit, product, and/or employee time to charitable causes. Founded by Salesforce, Atlassian, and the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Colorado, the initiative aims to inspire early-stage companies to embed social impact into their core values.

The program offers a flexible framework, allowing companies to choose any combination of resources to give back—be it through volunteer time, product donations, equity shares, or a percentage of profits. This adaptability makes it accessible for businesses of all sizes and stages to participate in corporate philanthropy.

PETA certifies apparel, accessories, furniture, or home decor products to be animal-free. Note that participants do their own self-auditing, and there are no audits to confirm that participants are being truthful.