Why is Textile Exchange moving towards the Materials Matter Standard?

For two decades, Textile Exchange’s system of material-specific standards has guided the fashion, textile, and apparel industry toward more sustainable production.  

Textile Exchange began developing the new framework in 2021 with a clear goal: to align the ambition, rigor, and expected results across its material-specific standards and transition the industry into a more coherent, science-aligned way to measure and verify impact. 

Since then, the organization has worked closely with stakeholders from across the supply system to design and test a framework that is both robust and workable in real-world production systems. 

Built on a combination of practice-based and outcome-based expectations, the standard includes comprehensive criteria for land management, animal welfare, human rights and livelihoods, and primary processing, which covers water, chemical, and energy use, as well as waste and emissions management. 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.