O’DONNELL, Texas — September 12, 2012 — Over a year in the making, the Content Claim Standard
(CCS), written by Textile Exchange, gives companies a tool to establish a chain of custody for the
materials in their products. The standard sets requirements to ensure that the identity and
integrity of the ‘claimed’ materials are protected as material flows from source to finished
product. The standard makes use of transaction certificates (TC’s) which track the input and output
at each step, allowing for a mass balance calculation that will ensure the accuracy of percentage
claims. Because there are no restrictions on the material to be tracked, the standard has a wide
range of application beyond textiles.
Textile Exchange has partnered with Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) to give the standard a
thorough review from a variety of stakeholders via the Materials Traceability Working Group (MTWG).
The MTWG is co-led by TE and OIA and is a subset of the broader OIA Sustainability Working Group
(SWG).
The standard is largely based on the work of the OE standards, developed in 2004 as a means
to track organic cotton through the supply chain. The OE standards have been highly successful in
supporting the production of organic cotton, without making restrictions on the processing of the
products. The CCS has the potential to support the growth of a variety of raw materials, by
allowing companies to accurately and confidently label the content of their products. As a chain of
custody standard, the CCS provides a greater level of transparency into supply chains, and is a
flexible tool that can be easily combined with other social and/or environmental standards.
“To back up a claim to something with the CCS gives us better footing to know that what we
are claiming is valid, and that’s a real competitive advantage. Additionally, it’s a platform from
which you’re having a discussion with your supplier. If we’re doing it alone, and not to a standard
that other people are using, then it doesn’t influence much broad change. But if everyone is
carrying that same flag, then the supplier has a greater reason to perform to the level we’re
asking.” -Sarah Kelley, Econscious
Textile Exchange and OIA members, via the MTWG, are now working on leveraging the CCS and
existing organic farming standards to create an Organic Content Standard that will replace the
current OE standards and will apply to a full range of organic inputs. The MTWG is also exploring
the possibility of using a similar approach with other materials categories relevant to the outdoor
and broader apparel and footwear industries, including recycled inputs, wool, and down.
Participation in the MTWG and these efforts is open to everyone; if interested, please contact Beth
Jensen with OIA: bjensen@outdoorindustry.org.
The CCS is now open to certification bodies for accreditation. As soon as the accreditation
process has been completed by the certification bodies, companies may begin the process of
third-party certification to the standard. To read through the Standard, Implementation Manual, and
additional information, visit: http://textileexchange.org/content/content-claim-standard.
Posted on September 25, 2012
Source: Textile Exchange
