NSF International Expands Sustainable Certifications for Apparel, Footwear and Textile Industries

NSF International, a global, independent organization that works to protect the environment and human health, is now an approved certification body for three additional Textile Exchange standards. NSF International's full portfolio of responsible textile certifications helps organizations demonstrate their commitment to sustainability, transparency and traceability.  

As consumers continue to seek greater transparency in the products they purchase, NSF International's third-party validation of textile content claims helps support and protect brands and strengthen customer trust. 

"We now offer a full range of sustainable third-party certifications including recycled and organic content, traceable down and responsible wool," said Jenny Oorbeck, General Manager of Sustainability at NSF International. "We apply NSF International's 70-plus years of certification expertise, global presence and quality to help the textile, footwear and apparel industries improve their sustainability, traceability and transparency." 

NSF International's full responsible textile certification portfolio now includes: 

  • Recycled Content - The Textile Exchange Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) verifies the presence and amount of recycled material in a final product through chain of custody verification.  

In addition, the Global Recycled Standard (GRS) verifies responsible social, environmental and chemical practices in the production of both finished and intermediate products containing recycled content. The standard covers processing, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, trading and distribution of all products made with a minimum of 20 percent recycled material. 

  • Organic Content - The Textile Exchange Organic Content Standard (OCS) provides third-party verification of organic material content in a product, addressing raw material verification throughout the harvest, processing and manufacturing activities. 
  • Responsible Wool - The Textile Exchange Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) establishes complete traceability of the wool supply chain and ensures that wool in garments and commercial products comes from a responsible source that respects animal welfare and follows enhanced land management practices. 
  • Traceable Down - Developed by NSF International, the Global Traceable Down Standard (Global TDS) ensures that down in garments and other household and commercial products comes from a responsible source that respects animal welfare and can be transparently traced.

Textile Exchange's Content Claim Standard (CCS) serves as the chain of custody foundation for the above content claim standards. The CCS verifies the presence and amount of raw material in a final product, allowing for transparent, consistent and comprehensive independent evaluation and verification of material content claims on products. 

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