Why is Textile Exchange moving towards a unified standards system?

The Materials Matter Standard, previously known as the unified standard, aims to meaningfully embed the Climate+ goal into the raw material scope for all materials included in our certification. An additional objective is to harmonize systems across the full scope of our current standards and to create stronger communication at the consumer-facing level.

Textile Exchange’s current material-specific standards – including the Global Recycled Standard (GRS), Recycled Claim Standard (RCS), Responsible Wool Standard (RWS), Responsible Mohair Standard (RMS), Responsible Alpaca Standard (RAS), and Responsible Down Standard (RDS) – were developed separately and operate uniquely in terms of structure and reach. Each standard also incorporates its unique focus areas. While standards like the RWS, RMS, and RAS all contain land management and social criteria, the RDS does not include those attributes. For this reason, the journey towards unifying Textile Exchange’s standards system has focused on exploring where it is relevant and meaningful to incorporate climate and nature impact areas across all materials in scope, addressing how the material is managed on the ground as well as in the first processing stage.

Materials certified to the Materials Matter Standard as well as future recognized standards will be tracked through the supply chain with our pre-existing chain of custody standard: the Content Claim Standard (CCS).