Certification Guide

B Corps go beyond profit. Because the legal commitment is built into the company's constitution, it cannot be reversed when ownership changes hands. Re-verification is required every three years, keeping standards live and enforceable.

Wage theft and unsafe conditions are endemic across fashion and beauty supply chains. Fair Trade is one of the few standards that puts binding price floors and audited labour rights directly into the supply contract.

Without a chain-of-custody standard, a brand can legitimately market "organic cotton" even if the fabric was processed using toxic dyes and bleaches. GOTS closes this gap: if the label is on the product, every step of its journey has been certified.

Conventional textiles commonly contain chemical residues absorbed through skin contact throughout the product's life. OEKO-TEX gives consumers independently verified assurance — especially important for products worn close to the skin or used by children.

Recycled materials reduce demand for virgin resources, divert waste from landfill, and typically require significantly less energy and water in production. Without third-party verification, recycled content claims are impossible for consumers to confirm.

Animal agriculture is a major driver of habitat destruction, greenhouse gas emissions, and water use. Vegan-certified products offer a verified alternative that removes demand for animal exploitation at every supply chain step.

Effective non-animal testing methods — including cell-based assays, computer modelling, and human tissue equivalents — are widely available and often more predictive than animal models. Cruelty Free certification creates a market incentive to adopt them.

Carbon offsetting alone is not a solution to climate change, but certification ensures brands are at minimum accountable for their full footprint rather than ignoring it. The regular re-measurement requirement also tracks whether absolute emissions are declining over time.

Textile dyeing and finishing generates 17–20% of global industrial water pollution. Bluesign addresses this at the factory level — where the most impact can be made — rather than just at the brand or retail end.

Thousands of ingredients used in cosmetics and personal care products are inadequately assessed for safety. EWG Verified gives consumers a clear, independently maintained signal that a product's formulation has been reviewed against up-to-date toxicological evidence.

Agricultural expansion is the primary driver of tropical deforestation. Rainforest Alliance certification creates a financial incentive for farms to maintain forest cover and biodiversity, while ensuring the workers producing those crops are treated fairly and safely.

Illegal logging and unsustainable forestry are among the leading causes of deforestation globally. FSC is the most widely recognised and independently audited standard for ensuring that wood, paper, and packaging materials come from forests that will still exist for future generations.

Conventional wool production can involve mulesing and poor land stewardship, contributing to soil degradation and animal suffering. RWS gives brands and consumers a verified way to source wool that respects both the animals and the landscapes they depend on.

The terms "natural" and "organic" on cosmetics are largely unregulated in most markets. COSMOS Organic provides a harmonised, independently audited standard that consumers across Europe can trust — and that holds the entire supply chain to traceable, verifiable standards.

Many brands make vague environmental commitments without accountability. 1% for the Planet is one of the few programmes that ties giving directly to revenue — meaning the more a company earns, the more it contributes — and verifies those contributions through independent audits every year.