Common Certificates in Webbing Industry

    As the improvement of people's awareness of environmental protection and improvement of the pursuit of quality, more and more major international brands pay attention to the webbing's aspect of green, environmental protection and organic. Below are main certificates in webbing industry.

1. GRS (Global Recycling Standard For Textile And Apparel)

The Global Recycling Standard (GRS) is a product standard of voluntary, use for tracking and verifying the content of recycled materials in final products. This standard applies to the whole supply chain, referring to covering traceability, environmental principles, social requirements, chemical composition and labeling. GRS covers the processing, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, trade and distribution of all products that use at least 20% recycled materials. GRS is designed to meet the requirements of companies that hope to verify the recycled content of their products (finished and intermediate products) and verify responsible social, environmental and chemical practices in their production. The goal of the GRS is that define requirements to ensure accurate content claims and good working conditions, and to drop harmful environmental and chemical impacts to the lowest. This includes more than 50 countries companies of ginning, spinning, weaving and knitting, dyeing and sewing. The expectation effect of GRS is to provide a more accurate labeling tool for brands, encourage the innovation using recycled materials, establish more transparency in the supply chain, and provide better information for consumers.

Certification cycle：1~2 moths

Validity period：1 year

Cost：USD3,000~7,000

2. OEKO Standard 100

The STANDARD 100 of OEKO-TEX® is one of the world's most famous textiles labeling for hazardous substances testing. It stands for customer confidence and a high level of product safety. The standards of OEKO-TEX Standard 100 specified are based on the latest scientific knowledge to specify limits for the content of harmful substances in yarns, fibers and various types of textiles. Only manufacturers who provide a provable quality guarantee following strict testing and inspection procedures are permitted to use the OEKO-TEX labeling on their products.

In principle, from thread to finished webbing and finished product, all textiles of every stage of processing are apply to STANDARD 100 certification. According to the modular system, we test every component and ingredient before final product to be permitted labeling STANDARD 100. This includes threads, buttons, zippers and linings. Prints and coatings of outer material are also tested for hazardous substances based on applicable standards. Whether baby textiles, clothing, home textiles or upholstery, products with the STANDARD 100 labeling are trusted.

Certification cycle：2~3 moths

Validity period：1 year

Cost：Based on certified ingredients, fabric, number of dyes. Usually around USD6,500.

3. CE

The CE marking is the manufacturer's conformity mark, indicating meet all current directives. For most products sold to the EU, the use of CE marking and the declaration of product conformity are mandatory legal provisions. With this mark of conformity, the product can be circulated in EU member states freely. The CE marking must be marked on the product device, or displayed on the packaging. However, this CE marking does not exempt the action that national law enforcement agencies against products that do not meet the marking.

The six steps for CE certification:

1. Determine which directives apply to your product

2. Meet the basic requirements

3. Establish monitor system

4. Establish an accident reporting system

5. Declaration of Conformity

6. Keep documents for 10 years after the product is launched on the market

7. Registered with the appropriate regulatory body in Europe

Certification cycle：Based on products

Validity period：Usually around 5 year

Cost：Based on products

4. UL

        UL or Underwriters Laboratories is an independent scientific company that creates and maintains safety standards of industry range for mechanical, electrical and chemical products. Since 1894, UL's safety standards have provided design advice and testing/construction requirements for different products. UL is also a Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) , according to UL's website, it is the single most recognized certification mark in the United States, appearing on 22,000,000,000 products each year.

Certification cycle：Around 6 moths

Validity period：5 year

Cost：USD5,000~15,000

5. GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard)

The GOTS standard was jointly formulated by the International Working Group IWG of GOTS that composed of the International Natural Textiles Association (IVN), Japan Organic Cotton Association (JOCA), the American Organic Trade Association (OTA) and the British Soil Association (SA).It was officially promulgated and implementation in September 2006.

The purpose of GOTS standard certification is to ensure the compliance of organic textiles from harvesting, to raw materials, to processing and to final product packaging, in order to bring a reliable product to end consumer.

The GOTS standard covers the processing, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, trade and distribution activities of all textiles containing organic natural certified fiber content not lower than 70%.End products may include (but are not limited to) fiber products, yarns, fabrics, apparel, textile fashion (wear) accessories, textile toys, home textiles, mattresses and bedding and textile personal care products. Standard content includes: raw materials, production process, packaging and transportation, inputs (including auxiliary materials, dyes, processing aids, etc.), production records, social guidelines, environmental management, quality control (including technical quality parameters and residue testing) etc.

Certification cycle：Around 3 moths

Validity period：1 year

Cost：1,200 ~ 3,000 Euro

6. BCI (Better Cotton Initiative)

The certification is committed to improving cotton growing methods, promoting the sustainable development of the cotton industry, and making Better Cotton a mainstream sustainable commodity on a global scale. Track the movement of Better Cotton through the supply chain by certifying cotton growers and enforcing supply chain governance.The participant of every stage in supply chain can sell better cotton products: farmers - raw cotton, ginners - lint, cotton merchants - lint, spinners - yarn, manufacturers - fabrics, and garment factories - garments.

Certification cycle：Around 1 month

Validity period：1 year

Cost：USD2,750~3,600