Meeting Consumer Demand: the Importance of Recycled Polyester & Organic Cotton

The fashion and retail landscape has changed greatly in the last few years because the end consumers have grown more ecologically and socially aware. Many have learned just how unfair and polluted the textile industry can be. This is why sustainable fabrics and practices have become increasingly desirable in the apparel market.

FUSH˚’s experience confirms this. We’ve seen a sharp rise in demand for recycled polyester and organic cotton clothing. So much so that we decided to get certification that will help us prove we manufacture goods with genuine recycled and/or organic origin.

Why are recycled polyester and organic cotton important?

According to the Materials Market Report 2023 by Textile Exchange, polyester and cotton represented 88.8% of all fibres produced in 2022. Therefore, the way we manufacture them is extremely important.

Source: Textile Exchange

We can make them conventionally or we can make recycled polyester and organic cotton. Choosing one or the other comes with start differences in CO2 emissions, energy and chemical usage during their creation. But to what extent?

Ecological advantages of organic cotton and recycled polyester

When you manufacture organic cotton and recycled polyester instead of their conventional counterparts, the savings on energy and chemicals are incredible.

In addition to being sustainably made, organic cotton and recycled polyester come from supply chains with significantly higher transparency and social responsibility. This is because to become a part of a certified supply chain of recycled polyester and/or organic cotton, a company must pass through a rigorous social responsibility audit as part of its certification process.

What are the best certificates for organic cotton and recycled polyester?

The two certificates that are the most demanding when it comes to organic and recycled content are:

• Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) – requires at least 70% of certified organic cotton in a finished product
• Global Recycled Standard (GRS) – requires at least 50% of certified recycled polyester in a finished product

They both have strict social responsibility audit elements that ensure full transparency of the supply chain and adherence to the human rights principles outlined by the International Labour Organization.

You must work with a certified supply chain to have a GOTS or GRS certificate label on your collection. So not just a manufacturer that will handle garment production but a farmer who harvests organic cotton or the company that collects and turns plastic water bottles into pellets. The entire journey.

Thankfully, that pressure is not on you as a clothing brand, it’s on the manufacturers to find partners in the certified supplier databases. We advise you to regularly check these databases so you know which of the potential manufacturers can supply you with labels and hang tags from the two organisations listed below.

• Global Organic Textile Standard database (GOTS certificate)
• Textile Exchange database (GRS certificate)

If you were to look for FUSH˚ in any of the two, you’d find us. We’ve passed audits and became members of GOTS and Textile Exchange in the first quarter of 2024.

The growing popularity of organic cotton and recycled polyester

According to the study by Industry Research Co, the organic cotton market share will rise by 800% in 2028. On the other hand, recycled polyester’s market size is estimated to reach $12.3 billion by 2027, as reported by Industry Arc. Both fabrics are seeing extreme rise in demand and it will continue to grow.

Especially in the EU, where demand for more eco-friendly products will become compulsory due to laws already in place and the laws that are set to arrive in the near future.

EU laws that will make GOTS and GRS almost compulsory

There is active and pending legislation that does and will greatly change the landscape of the retail industry in the EU.

1. German Due Diligence in the Supply Chain Act (SCDDA)
2. The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)
3. The Digital Product Passport (DPP) initiative

The German Due Diligence in the Supply Chain Act is already in power and it mandates companies to identify and mitigate any risks of human rights violations or environmental damage. Certificates like GOTS and GRS, which have a strong social policy and serve as proof of a significant decrease in energy and chemical usage are a great way to adhere to this act’s demands. However, it only has power in the German market.

From 2028, the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive will affect the entire EU and comes with fines and penalties for companies that fail to adhere to its social and ecological demands. It is a bit stricter on the environmental front, as companies covered by the directive will have to ensure their business models can limit global warming to 1.5°C. Again, working with GOTS and GRS-certified supply chains facilitates reaching that goal.

The Digital Product Passport initiative comes into power the latest – in 2030. By then, each piece of clothing you intend to sell in the EU will come with a QR code taking consumers to a page that shows:

• • The entire supply chain
• • The full ecological footprint of the product:
  • • CO2 emissions
  • • Energy usage
  • • Energy type
  • • Water usage
  • • Chemical usage
  • • Ecological certification labels of the product

Again, for your customers to have a positive experience with your digital product passport, GOTS and GRS-certified manufacturers are the way to go.

What’s next?

Now that you know why GOTS and GRS certificates, labels, and hang tags are important for your bottom line, it’s prime time you either:

• • Demand from your existing supplier(s) to get certified
• • Find a new supplier

As we said earlier, you can consult databases of the Global Organic Textile Standard and Textile Exchange to find GOTS and/or GRS-certified suppliers. Or, even simpler, email us and let’s discuss potential cooperation. To ensure corporations with robust CSR policies can contact us too, we passed the 4-pillar SMETA social responsibility audit.