Eco-labelling and certification

Like many other industries, there is an urgent need for the textile and apparel sectors to follow environmental standards and regulations for preventing environmental damage. This chapter will first discuss the current environmental situation and life cycle analysis of the textile and clothing industry. Then environmental standards and environmental management systems wiU be discussed briefly. The chapter concludes with a discussion of eco-labelling and certification of textiles and apparel. 

Today consumers and producers have started to be more aware of protecting the environment by preferring more environmentally friendly products and production methods. Many textile and clothing brands have started to promote their goods or services with eco-labels around the world. LCA methodology can be used as one of the objective processes to define key impact areas, evaluate potential environmental threats, make environmental decisions and ensure eco-labelling and certification of textiles. 

Apart from organic certifications, there are also a number of competing certifications, labels, and brands that contend for the same consumer s attention. Some of these are, like organic, also cause-related and may have been successful in part because they respond to perceived shortcomings in the standards for organic certification. The two most popular are a) Fair trade — more foeused on the human socio-economic aspects of agriculture and b) Eco-friendly — typically more comprehensive in their support for biodiversity and ecological processes. 

Several of these motivators have translated to increased consumer demand for bio-based and eco-friendly products, motivating surfactant producers and suppliers to seek certification for the labels bio-based or green or eco-friendly or sustainable (McCoy, 2008 Hayes, 2009). Of note, the feedstock costs will serve as the main economic motivator for manufacturing bio-based surfactants, since the production cost per mass for bio-based is roughly equivalent to petroleum-based (US Department of Energy, 1999). Furthermore, bio-based feedstocks for surfactants must possess reduced price fluctuations and increased... 

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