Certification standards
Textile and apparel compliance is a layered system. Each certification measures a different dimension of responsible production, and together they describe a factory’s environmental, social and chemical performance. Integrity Thread tracks the four marked below.
Green building
LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) scores energy and water use, materials, waste and indoor environmental quality. It is the most widely used green building rating system in the world and is applied to industrial facilities globally.
Social compliance
These standards share much of their scope (labour rights, health and safety, management systems) but differ in structure. WRAP certifies apparel, footwear and sewn-products facilities. BSCI grades audits A–E rather than pass/fail. SA8000 is the most management-systems focused. SMETA gives the most detailed audit findings.
Chemical safety
OEKO-TEX® tests finished products for harmful substances such as azo dyes, heavy metals and formaldehyde, and certifies production sites through STeP. ZDHC targets hazardous chemicals through its Manufacturing Restricted Substances List. bluesign® certifies processes for chemical safety and resource use.
Material sustainability
GOTS is the most demanding organic textile standard, covering the whole supply chain with restrictions on chemical inputs and social criteria. RCS and GRS verify recycled content, with GRS adding environmental and social requirements. Fair Trade covers fair wages and community premiums.
Sustainability assessment
The Higg Facility Environmental Module (FEM) and Facility Social & Labor Module (FSLM) are widely used across apparel and footwear to measure facility performance and track improvement over time.
How they work together
No single certificate tells the whole story. A facility may hold LEED for its building, GOTS for organic fibre, OEKO-TEX® for chemical safety and WRAP for labour practices. 4,253 companies in the ledger hold two or more of the schemes we track.
Scheme owners: OEKO-TEX Association · Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production · Global Organic Textile Standard · U.S. Green Building Council. Integrity Thread is independent and not affiliated with any of them.