OEKO-TEX, GOTS, BSCI, ISO: what each certification on our towels actually means for you
Certification logos appear on nearly every serious textile exporter's website, ours included, and they tend to be read the same way regardless of which one it is — as a general seal of approval. That is not quite what any of them are. Each one verifies something specific, and knowing which is which tells you what you can actually rely on a supplier for.
OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100
This one is about the finished product, not the factory. It tests the towel itself for harmful substances — certain dyes, heavy metals, formaldehyde, pesticide residues — against limits that get stricter the closer the product sits to skin. A towel is tested at the strictest level, the same one used for baby products.
What it tells you: the specific towel you receive has been tested and is free of the substances on that list, at that limit.
What it does not tell you: anything about the factory's labour practices, environmental record, or organic status. It is a product safety certificate, not a social or environmental one.
OEKO-TEX MADE IN GREEN
This one traces the product back through its supply chain and confirms it was made in facilities that are themselves audited for environmentally responsible production and safe, socially responsible working conditions — on top of the STANDARD 100 substance testing.
What it tells you: both the product and the facilities that made it meet the criteria, and the certificate carries a traceable product ID you can look up.
What it does not tell you: that the raw cotton itself is organic — that is a separate claim (see GOTS below), unless specifically stated.
GRS — Global Recycled Standard
This one verifies recycled content. A product carrying it contains a verified percentage of recycled material, tracked through the supply chain from the recycling facility to the finished product, alongside social and environmental production criteria similar to MADE IN GREEN.
What it tells you: the recycled content claim is real and has been checked, not asserted.
What it does not tell you: anything about a product that contains no recycled content at all — GRS only applies to the recycled portion.
GOTS — Global Organic Textile Standard
This is the organic certification, and it applies to our organic cotton linen rather than the cotton towel range. It certifies the fibre itself was grown organically and tracks that fibre through spinning, weaving, dyeing and finishing, with restrictions on chemical inputs at every stage.
What it tells you: the organic claim is verified from farm to finished product, not just at one stage.
What it does not tell you: it says nothing about a non-organic product — a GOTS certificate for one range does not extend to another.
amfori BSCI
This is a social compliance audit, not a product certificate. It assesses the factory's working conditions — wages, working hours, health and safety, freedom of association — against an internationally recognised code of conduct.
What it tells you: the facility has been audited against that code and the audit findings are on record.
What it does not tell you: anything about the product itself. A factory can hold BSCI certification and still make a product with no other certification at all — they answer different questions.
ISO 9001:2015
This is a quality management system certification, and it is the odd one out: it does not certify the product or the workers, it certifies that the factory has a documented, consistently followed process for controlling quality, tracking non-conformities and improving over time.
What it tells you: the mill runs production against a documented, audited quality system, not an ad hoc one.
What it does not tell you: nothing about what that quality standard is set to — a mill can run an audited process and still set its own quality bar.
Why this matters when comparing suppliers
A supplier that lists certifications without saying which product or facility they apply to is not necessarily hiding anything, but it is worth asking. A social compliance certificate on the factory says nothing about the product's substance safety, and a product safety certificate says nothing about the working conditions that made it — a serious buyer usually wants to know about both.
Ask us which certifications apply to the specific product you are ordering, and we will confirm the scope in writing before you commit.