GreenBlue is currently working with academic, non-profit, and industry partners to develop a shared, comprehensive, cradle-to-cradle Sustainable Textile Standard (STS) for application in all aspects of the textile industry.

Textiles are the inaugural technology of industrial production. The Industrial Revolution began in the textile mills of 18th-century England and the United States, and today's industrializing economies follow this early lead. Typically requiring low initial capital investments and a large, low-wage workforce, industrial textile production has proved an easy first step on the road to industrial development, and has brought with it all of the mixed blessings of large-scale industry.

The development of a Sustainable Textile Standard (STS) therefore signals GreenBlue's intention to fundamentally recreate the way that goods and services are provided in industrialized and industrializing societies. The Standard offers a framework with which to asses and analyze the latent assumptions of the first industrial revolution, in order to make informed decisions about the future of textile manufacturing, and enabling sustainable textiles to lead the way toward a new paradigm of industry - the next industrial revolution.

The Sustainable Textile Standard offers an ambitious paradigm for textiles of the future. To attain the highest level of achievement described by the STS, a truly sustainable textile would meet or exceeds all industry performance and cost requirements, delight the end user through pleasing aesthetic and tactile qualities, and would meet the following enhanced quality profile:

  • All materials and process inputs are safe for human and ecological health in all phases of the product life cycle
  •  All energy, material, and process inputs come from renewable sources  
  •  All materials are capable of returning safely to either natural (biological nutrient) or industrial (technical nutrient) systems  
  • All stages in the product lifecycle actively support the reuse or recycling of these materials at the highest possible level of quality  
  • All persons involved with the creation of textiles are treated fairly with respect to human rights and given training to increase their mastery of this craft  

The GreenBlue Sustainable Textile Standard proposes five distinct metrics that form a composite view of sustainability. Levels of achievement within each category involve in-depth analysis of processes that are distinct to the textile industry and benchmarking of industry average performance, ensuring that all metrics are specific and directly relevant to the current practices of the textile industry.

  • Safety of chemical and material inputs
  •  Energy efficiency and mix  
  •  Water efficiency and effluent quality  
  • Recycling and actual reclamation  
  • Social equity for workers  

The Standard ranks achievement in these areas along a scale of performance, measuring steady progress toward the goal of truly sustainable textile products and processes. This multi-tiered structure offers low barriers of participation for companies that have little experience in sustainability initiatives, while also providing ambitious challenges for companies with a well-developed sustainability orientation.

GreenBlue's initiation of the Sustainable Textile Standard is founded on strong connections to academic, non-profit, and industry partners, all of whom are vital to the successful integration of cradle-to-cradle principles in a useful, living document. In addition to these informal alliances, the Standard also benefits from the structured input of a core group of academic advisors who actively consult on efficiency and waste prevention strategies in the textile industry. After initial draft development, the Standard will be peer reviewed by a panel of experts representing a broad cross-section from industry, non-governmental organizations, and academia. A final version of the Sustainable Textile Standard will be made available for industry review and certification before the completion of the review process and ultimate publication.

Please check back periodically for updates on the introduction of the GreenBlue Sustainable Textile Standard, or sign up for regular email updates. Questions may be directed to: info@greenblue.org