What is the Materials Matter Standard?
The Materials Matter Standard is a voluntary sustainability standard for the production and primary processing of raw materials used in the fashion, textile, and apparel industry.
It sets out to incentivize a world in which the materials in our clothing and textiles are produced in a way that respects climate, nature, people, and animals.
For over a decade, Textile Exchange’s system of material-specific standards has guided the fashion, textile, and apparel industry toward more sustainable production. Materials Matter unifies and simplifies this approach, building on the strengths of what came before while offering a more streamlined pathway forward.
At the heart of this global certification system, the Materials Matter Standard represents a significant evolution of Textile Exchange’s standards system. It sets detailed requirements for the production and primary processing of raw materials—from how land, water, and energy are used, to how working conditions, animal welfare, emissions, chemicals, and waste are managed. Its purpose is to provide a common language and shared direction for the industry, while recognizing the unique contexts of different material producers processors, and the communities and landscapes they depend on.
By focusing on the earliest stages of the supply chain, the standard helps clarify both the risks and opportunities related to raw material production. Combining practice-based and outcome-based criteria, it recognizes the work of participating organizations that meet its requirements and ensures fairness and consistency between them.
Certification also provides brands and retailers with an accessible and transparent framework for substantiating claims about their materials.
In the long term, the Materials Matter Standard is designed as a practical tool for producers and primary processors, helping them to better understand how their activities affect people and ecosystems, take action to manage and mitigate risks, and identify opportunities to deliver beneficial outcomes. Through partnering with programs that share our vision for climate, nature, people, and animals, we aim to accelerate measurable progress across the industry, while reducing duplication and easing the burden on suppliers