Sustainability certifications are a crucial tool for quickly and easily identifying sustainable materials, especially under time pressure and client expectations. However, not all certifications are equal, and understanding their differences is key to making genuine sustainable choices.
An Abundance of Certifications
The number of certification schemes has expanded significantly in the last ten years, but this growth comes with a caveat. While some certifications maintain high, rigorous standards, others have lower benchmarks and limited oversight. It’s important to recognise that not all certifications guarantee comprehensive social & environmental outcomes.
Are They Necessary?
Certifications can help a product meet green building requirements, but aren’t essential to prove high sustainability standards. Most suppliers, including Instyle’s, meet stringent social and environmental safety requirements through tests, audits and risk assessments mandated by local laws.
Certifications can be expensive, favouring larger organisations and burdening small and medium businesses. Additionally, Australian Consumer Laws protect against greenwashing, with the ACCC enforcing regulations to prevent misleading claims.
Not All Certifications Are Equal
Certifications vary in approaches and standards, often confusing consumers about what they represent. Those that only aim to limit negative environmental impacts during one stage of the lifecycle are insufficient. For instance, the GECA Textile & Leather Standard and EU Ecolabel focus on minimising toxicity and reducing pollutants during production but neglect other critical lifecycle issues like renewable material use, land and biodiversity impacts, circularity and product stewardship.
Synthetic textiles like polyester, nylon, acrylic and polypropylene can easily achieve these certifications despite being made from non-renewable petroleum resources and posing health risks through microplastic leaching. This highlights the need for comprehensive, transparent, lifecycle-based assessments to ensure genuine sustainable progress.
Which Ones Should You Trust?
For a product to genuinely enhance environmental performance, certifications should comprehensively address the entire lifecycle. The most trustworthy certifications evaluate multiple stages, from raw material extraction to product use and disposal, following a cradle-to-grave model. To guide you, here is a simple overview of the lifecycle stages addressed by various certifications on the market.
![Product certifications generally list specific hazardous substances that are prohibited during production of a product Product Certifications](https://instyle.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Green-Guide-v3-0.jpg)
![Greentag
Lifecycle Based Product Standard](https://instyle.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Green-Guide-v3-2-0.jpg)
![Cradle to Cradle Innovation Institute
Lifecycle Based Product Standard](https://instyle.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Green-Guide-v4-p3-0.jpg)
![European Union (EU) Standard
Single Issue Approach - Production](https://instyle.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Green-Guide-v3-4-0.jpg)
![GECA Textile Standard
Single Issue Approach - Production](https://instyle.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Green-Guide-v3-5-0.jpg)
![ECNZ Textile
Single Issue Approach - Production](https://instyle.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Green-Guide-v3-6-0.jpg)
![Oeko Tex
Human Ecology Approach - Use
Oeko Tex addresses the level of chemical residues contained in the final product to minimise hazardous substances being in contact with our skin.
It does not address chemicals that may be harmful to the environment.
Oeko Tex can certify non-environmental, oil-based textiles such as virgin polyester, nylon + acrylic](https://instyle.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Green-Guide-v3-7-0.jpg)
![As the name suggests, Material Transparency certifications show what chemicals are used. Material Transparency Certifications](https://instyle.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Green-Guide-v32-0.jpg)
![EPD
Environmental Product Declaration
Quantifies environmental impacts over lifecycle of a product
Main purpose is a comparison tool between products fulfilling the same function
EPD is recognised in Green Stay, LEED + WELL building standards](https://instyle.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Green-Guide-v33-0.jpg)
![Declare
A transparency label similar to an ingredient list in food
Where does the product come from?
What is it made of?
Where does it go at the end of its life?
Declare is recognised in LEED + WELL building standards](https://instyle.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Green-Guide-v34-0.jpg)
![HPD
Health Product Declaration
Discloses ingredients + any health hazards associated with these ingredients
Similar to MSDS
HPD is recognised in LEED + WELL building standards](https://instyle.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Green-Guide-v35-0.jpg)