Global Standard is the latest signatory to the Make the Label Count coalition
Global Standard, the non-profit that owns and operates the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), has joined the “Make the Label Count” coalition, which is working towards ensuring a fair and credible European Union textile labelling scheme.
Specifically, the MTLC is pushing for changes to the EU’s Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) approach, which, the coalition warns, runs the risk of simplifying sustainability claims excessively and favouring synthetic fibres over natural ones.
The PEF rules are currently being used as the basis for draft EU legislation on life cycle assessments which, the MTLC says, ignores important factors such as plastic waste, microplastics and the full environmental impact of fossil-fuel fibres.
They also fail to recognise the positive impact of natural fibres such as cotton, which are biodegradable, recyclable and renewable, it says.
Global Standard says that in the coalition, it will work to ensure that textile sustainability claims in the EU are credible and substantiated, while ensuring that voices from every segment of the value chain are heard.
Marie-Luise Pörtner, global regulations specialist at Global Standard, said: “GOTS, with more than 16,000 certified facilities, shows that businesses want to prove their sustainability efforts, and that people want to buy more environmentally friendly textiles, provided that the labels and claims are accurate and credible.
“Consumers can trust the GOTS label because of robust, verifiable ecological and human rights criteria throughout the textile production value chain, a strong due diligence commitment and sustainability claims backed by independent third-party certification bodies.”
The PEF tool taps into various product lifecycle data sources for sectors including textiles. Through a single consolidated platform, industry stakeholders can be made aware of an item’s impact, from its use of water, energy and chemicals to its associated carbon emissions.
It has been the subject of other criticism such as the fact it doesn’t encompass indicators on the social aspects – such as factory wages – of fashion supply chains.
The MTLC coalition has more than 30 members including the ICA, Cotton USA, Australia Wool Innovation, John Smedley, the US Cotton Trust Protocol, Modiano and Sourcery.
Source: https://www.ecotextile.com/