Green On the Outside – Certificates for “Green Textiles”
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Tested and found to be environmentally sound: the demand for certificates for ‘green textiles’ is growing, but legislators have yet to take action. Nine-year-olds who sew sequins onto T-shirts in sweatshops. Cotton-pickers who suffer serious health problems due to the pesticides used on plantations. Young women who sit at sewing machines for 14 hours a day. In particular reports like these about inhumane working conditions have shaken the German public. They concern cheap goods as well as brand name products – the whole textiles sector actually, which is now a globalised industry. Nowadays, because of its high labour costs, there are next to no textile manufacturers in Germany, so production is no longer subject to the control of the German authorities. However, many consumers in Germany would still like to know that minimum social standards are being respected by those making their jeans, skirts and blouses, and that they do not contain residues of environmentally harmful substances. Lack of monitoring possibilities
In many regards Germany is a pioneer in environmental protection and organic foods. Standards and seals were developed for organic vegetables and bread, and animal welfare standards for meat were established in order to monitor production and gain the trust of consumers. Eco-fashion, however, is lagging well behind. There aren’t even any figures on how much of the German clothing industry it accounts for. “When is an item of clothing a natural textile? When is it an organic product?” Heike Scheuer from the International Association Textile Industry (IVN) describes one of the problems associated with this question. “Foodstuffs are easier to classify because the channels of distribution are clearer.” An organic egg ends up in a health-food shop or the organic section of a supermarket, whereas shirts made of organic cotton hang on the racks next to shirts produced according to conventional methods and shirts containing a mix of synthetic fibres. And even when the raw materials come from the organic farming sector, there’s a long way between the field and the customer. The textiles are dyed, sewn, printed on or mercerized – many opportunities for chemical substances, environmentally-unfriendly transport and unfair production conditions.
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But even within the eco-fashion sector, which complies with the minimum standards in all stages of the production process, companies position themselves very differently on the market.
On the one hand there are the brands that have committed themselves 100% to products that are ecologically sound and made according to the principle of sustainability. Germany has a long tradition of natural textile producers such as Hess Natur, which goes for a more cross-seasonal and enduring look. In addition, in the last two years a good dozen young fashion labels with an ecological orientation have been set up.
Chains and brand names follow suit
On the other hand there are the eco offshoots of major brands and the eco lines within international brands. H&M, for example, made the headlines with its Organic Cotton Collection and Levi’s offers eco-jeans made of organic cotton and dyed with natural indigo instead of chemicals. Eco products – especially when they look good – are very much in demand with consumers at the moment. As a result, some have called these initiatives by the major fashion chains “green-washing”, image campaigns that play a negligible role in overall turnover.
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Nevertheless, the big names are important for the global development of a sustainability-conscious fashion market because of the large quantities they sell. Otto, for example, a large German mail-order company, won a prize for the best German sustainability report in November 2007. Nearly 100 percent of its clothing is now tested for harmful substances, and textiles containing the company’s own “Pure Wear” logo are made from organically certified cotton. Otto also has a “Cotton made in Africa” line, which not only takes account of the environment, but of fair trade, too. C&A is also a pioneer in the clothes market. Since September 2007 the clothing chain has offered a wide range of organic cotton in 204 European stores and intends to expand this range significantly in March 2008.
Certificates for textile products needed
Labels like “Pure Wear” are the manufacturers’ own creations. Yet, according to Alexandra Perschau of PAN Germany, the pesticide campaign network, the information provided by Otto and C&A about these labels is accurate. However, she is justifiably more doubtful in the case of other companies who refuse to give PAN more detailed information on the manufacture of their textiles. Yet the commercial use of terms such as ‘organic cotton’ is not legally restricted, she explains, which obviously makes some manufacturers creative. “It would therefore be a good idea for policy-makers to introduce certification for textile products similar to the organic certification for foods”, Ms Perschau says. So far, it is the associations that have been issuing these certificates. For example, four large textiles associations from Germany, the UK, the USA and Japan established the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) together. The International Association Textile Industry (IVN) also issues two quality seals: Naturtextil IVN and Naturtextil IVN best, which is currently the certificate with the highest standards in terms of environmentally friendly and socially responsible production. “Demand within the clothing industry for our certifications is growing”, Heike Scheuer from IVN says. For more and more people are becoming aware that health and well-being do not just depend on what you put in your stomach, but also what you put on your skin. Stefanie Dörre
is an editor with the Berlin city magazine tip Copyright: Goethe-Institut e.V., Online-Redaktion February 2008 Any questions about this article? Please write to us!  online-redaktion@goethe.de
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