Certificates get waved around as magic words. Each one answers a narrow, specific question about a specific facility — and knowing which question is the difference between real assurance and logo decoration on a supplier's homepage.
The short answer
- Each certificate answers one narrow question about one named holder. OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 certifies an article: "Every item bearing the STANDARD 100 label is certified as having passed safety tests for the presence of harmful substances" [1], and the certificate is issued for one year [1].
- amfori BSCI is a social audit of one production site, driven by suppliers signing the amfori BSCI Code of Conduct [4]. It says nothing about chemistry.
- The Global Recycled Standard covers recycled content plus social, environmental and chemical requirements, and "Chemicals with harmful potential aren't allowed to be used on GRS products" [5]. A consumer-facing GRS claim needs at least 50% recycled content; 20% is enough for business-to-business use [5].
- None of the three is held by a brand or by a sourcing company. They are held by facilities, and the only safe way to read one is to check the number against the issuer's own database — OEKO-TEX's instruction is simply "enter the label number below. All our label numbers are case sensitive." [2]
OEKO-TEX®: chemical safety of the material
OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certifies that a textile product — fiber, fabric, trims, or finished garment depending on the certificate — has been tested against a list of harmful substances, with stricter limits for products touching skin (activewear's class) and stricter still for babywear.
What it does not cover: how the fabric was made socially or environmentally, or anything about factories not named in the certificate. Check the certificate number in the OEKO-TEX validity database, and check the holder: a mill certificate covers that mill's fabric, not everything a merchant sells.
The class matters for activewear specifically. STANDARD 100 sorts products by how much skin contact they have: Class 1 is products for babies and children up to three years, Class 2 is products with direct skin contact, Class 3 is products without direct skin contact, and Class 4 is decoration materials [1]. Leggings and bras sit in Class 2, so the limits applied are stricter than for a jacket shell. Ask which class the certificate was issued under, not just whether one exists.
The three OEKO-TEX labels are not interchangeable
| Label | What is certified | Who holds it | Renewal |
|---|---|---|---|
| STANDARD 100 | An article — yarn, fabric, trim or finished garment — tested against limits for harmful substances [1] | The company that had that article tested | Certificate issued for one year [1] |
| STeP | A production facility. "Certification for all facility types in the entire textile and leather production" [3] | The mill, dyehouse, laundry or sewing facility itself | Facility audit cycle |
| MADE IN GREEN | A product label combining harmful-substance testing with production in audited facilities; items "are traceable and tested for harmful substances" [6] | The company placing the product on the market, built on certified facilities | Product label with a traceable ID |
BSCI / amfori: social compliance of the factory
BSCI is an audit framework for working conditions — hours, wages, safety, no child or forced labor — producing an audit result (letter grades) for one specific production site. European retailers commonly require a current BSCI audit or equivalent (SMETA/Sedex is the parallel system) before onboarding.
Scope is the whole game: the audit belongs to the sewing factory that will actually make your goods. A trading company cannot 'be' BSCI for its network — which is why at SEAMDANCE, partner selection filters by which facilities hold current audits matching your market's requirement, and the facility's own report is what you receive.
The mechanics are worth knowing before you ask for the report. amfori's own description of the process starts with the buyer: "Engage with your suppliers to make sure they sign the amfori BSCI Code of Conduct" [4], then map the supply chain and monitor the sites in it. The audit is an output of that relationship at one address. It does not travel to a second factory, to a subcontracted sewing line, or to whoever sold you the goods.
GRS: the recycled content chain
The Global Recycled Standard certifies recycled content and tracks it through every stage — fiber, spinning, knitting, dyeing, sewing — via transaction certificates per order. Every link must be certified for the final claim to stand; one uncertified stage breaks the chain.
For the claim on your hangtag to be safe, you want copies of scope certificates for the chain plus the transaction certificates for your specific lots. Marketing language should mirror the paperwork: percentage, fiber, standard.
Get the percentage right in your own marketing, because the standard sets two different bars. Textile Exchange states that for consumer-facing labelling "there is a higher minimum content percentage (50%)", while "You can use the GRS as a business-to-business tool for any products that contain at least 20% recycled content" [5]. A hangtag claiming GRS on a 30% recycled fabric is a claim the standard does not support, even when every scope certificate in the chain is genuine.
Recycled claims: which threshold applies where
| Use | Minimum recycled content | What else the standard requires |
|---|---|---|
| Consumer-facing GRS label | 50% [5] | Social, environmental and chemical requirements at every certified site; restricted chemicals are not permitted on GRS products [5] |
| Business-to-business GRS use | 20% [5] | The same certified chain; the claim stays between companies rather than on the hangtag |
| Any GRS claim on your product | Backed by transaction certificates for your lots | Every stage certified — one uncertified link breaks the chain |
How to read any certificate in 30 seconds
Four lines tell the story: holder name (matches the facility making your goods?), scope (which processes and products?), validity dates (current?), and the issuing body (verifiable database?). Anything failing those four is decoration.
The honest structural point: certifications belong to facilities, not to middlemen and not to brands. SEAMDANCE holds the matching responsibility — routing your program through partner facilities whose certificates fit your market — and shares facility-specific documents per project, because that is how the system actually works.
One more line belongs on that checklist, and it is the one that catches the most fakes: verify the number at the issuer, not on the supplier's PDF. OEKO-TEX runs a public label check and tells you exactly what to enter — "Simply enter the label number below. All our label numbers are case sensitive." [2] A certificate that does not resolve in the issuer's own database is not a certificate.
Read any of the three in four lines
| Certificate | The question it answers | Who legitimately holds it | Where to verify |
|---|---|---|---|
| OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 | Has this article been tested against limits for harmful substances, at the right skin-contact class? [1] | The company that had the article tested | OEKO-TEX Label Check, by label number [2] |
| OEKO-TEX STeP | Is this production facility audited on social and environmental criteria? [3] | The facility | OEKO-TEX buying guide of certified partners [3] |
| amfori BSCI | What were the working conditions at this one production site at audit time? [4] | The production site | The site's own current audit report, via the amfori platform [4] |
| GRS | Is the recycled content real and tracked through every stage? [5] | Each certified site in the chain | Scope certificates plus transaction certificates for your lots [5] |
| US fibre content and care claims | Is the label lawful in the US market? | The party placing the product on the market — you | 16 CFR 303 [7] and 16 CFR 423 [8] |
Quick answers
Which certifications do I need to sell in the EU or US?
Legally, product-safety and labeling rules apply rather than these voluntary standards — but EU retailers frequently require BSCI/SMETA social audits, and OEKO-TEX or GRS strengthen consumer trust and green claims. Match the set to your channel's demands.
Can SEAMDANCE guarantee certified production?
We match projects to partner facilities holding the required current certificates and provide those documents per project. What we do not do is claim facility certificates as our own — distrust anyone who does.
A supplier sent a certificate with another company's name on it. Is that normal?
It is common and it is not automatically wrong — a sewing factory may legitimately show the mill's STANDARD 100 certificate for the fabric it buys. What matters is that the certificate covers the article and the stage it is being offered for. A mill certificate covers that mill's fabric; it does not cover the sewing, the trims or anything else the supplier sells.
Does a certificate make my product legal to sell?
No. These are voluntary standards. Legal admissibility is a separate test: in the United States, fibre content must be disclosed using the established generic names [7], and you must hold a reasonable basis for the care instructions you print before the item is sold [8]. In Europe the five care symbols are licensed trademarks recognised by ISO 3758 and cannot be used without a licence agreement [9].
How long is an OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 certificate valid?
One year — the certification pathway ends with "Issue of certificate for one year" [1]. Ask for the current one before every season, not once at onboarding, and check the number against the issuer's database [2].
Sources
- OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 — what is certified, the four product classes and the one-year certificate
- OEKO-TEX® Label Check — verify a label or certificate number
- OEKO-TEX® STeP — certification for facilities in textile and leather production
- amfori BSCI — how the system works, starting from the amfori BSCI Code of Conduct
- Textile Exchange — Global Recycled Standard and Recycled Claim Standard: content thresholds and requirements
- OEKO-TEX® MADE IN GREEN — traceable product label built on tested articles and audited facilities
- 16 CFR Part 303 — Rules and Regulations Under the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act (eCFR)
- 16 CFR Part 423 — Care Labeling of Textile Wearing Apparel and Certain Piece Goods (eCFR)
- GINETEX — Care labelling: the five symbols, ISO 3758 and the trademark licence
Certified programs run through facilities whose certificates actually cover the order.
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