Sustainable Threads: The Impact of Sustainability Certifications in Apparel

[00:00:00] I think brands are out there trying to be more sustainable, using more sustainable products because the retail industry, especially apparel, is one of the worst polluters in the world. From how they even make their materials to scraps, but even just how much apparel ends up in landfills. So I think the industry itself has kind of come together and said we need to be more sustainable in how we do it. And using organic cotton actually is more sustainable. It's a better way to farm, but it does cost more.

[00:00:27] Hello and welcome to the Next Level Supply Chain with GS1 US, a podcast in which we explore the mind bending world of global supply chains, covering topics such as automation, innovation, unique identity, and more. I'm your co-host Reed. And I'm Liz. And welcome to the show. Hello and welcome. Thank you for joining us today. We hope that you're having a great day and you're in for a great conversation. Today our guest is Amy Ryder.

[00:00:55] She's the Senior Director of Customer Success here at GS1 US. And in today's conversation, we're going to be focusing on the apparel industry and specifically sustainability certifications. Amy has a wealth of experience dealing with the apparel and general merchandise space. And she shares a lot of great knowledge and insight with us in our conversation today. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

[00:01:20] Amy, we are so excited that you're here and you're going to talk to us about apparel and certifications and all the things that people should really be thinking about because we all wear clothes. So before we dive into it, introduce yourself to us and our listeners and tell us a little about your role. Thank you so much for having me. I'm Amy Ryder. I am Senior Director of Customer Success for the Apparel and General Merchandise Initiative.

[00:01:48] So that's a lot of words. But what that means is I work with brands and retailers in the apparel and general merchandise space to help them use GS1 standards to solve their supply chain issues. And I'm super excited to talk about sustainability certifications today with you guys. Yeah, yeah. So let's jump right into that, Amy. You know, there's so much involved around sustainability and certifications in the apparel industry.

[00:02:13] Can you kind of lead us into what are some of the main certification the apparel industry is focusing on and why that's important today? It's been a journey. So I've been here at GS1 US for four years, and it has gone from almost nothing to constant in the past four years. And the journey started back when I first started, I said to everyone, hey, what are we doing around sustainability?

[00:02:36] And there were like crickets, nothing. And so where we started back then was like, well, do we even know what certifications exist for a product? Let's talk about that. So I had a work group around images and attributes, sharing data between brands and retailers. And we started there and said, hey, are there certifications that we should just label on a product? And four years ago, when we started talking about that, it was like, well, maybe.

[00:03:02] So we started with very simple, like, is there a certification on this sweater, just raw material certification? Yes or no? And so we updated that into our GS1 US guideline. And it was really just a start because we didn't have the expertise to say, what are the certifications? What's the list that exists? So that was step one of starting with certifications. Just say, yes, no. Is it sustainable? Really not enough.

[00:03:29] Where we moved after that was we partnered with another not-for-profit called Fashion Makes Change. And they had been working with a greater part of the industry, more brands and retailers that even we talked to. And they kind of gave us a list of certifications. There were over 70 certifications that we were able to add to your guideline by working with this group.

[00:03:50] And so some of those certifications, like our Global Organic Textile Certification or Organic Cotton Standard or my favorite, the Responsible Alpaca Standard. But these are all just lists of certifications that we were able to add to our guidelines. So then a brand can say, hey, yes, this sweater has the OCS standard. And then they can tell a retailer, yes, there is a certification on that product.

[00:04:19] So that's like where we started. And that was kind of like step one and 1A. We took that and we were working with our executive leadership committee. And they're like, that's great. And that's a start. But what really part of the problem is, is that once a brand says that this is organic cotton, the retailer needs like the actual information to say, okay, prove it to me that it actually does have that certification.

[00:04:45] That's been the genesis from nothing to where we are now is how can brands and retailers share this data more efficiently? Because right now it's all being managed in Excel. It's being sent through emails with PDF. I mean, the biggest retailers in the world, that's how they're handling it. PDFs and Excel. So we've been like, what's a better way to do that? So there's 70-ish certifications that right now. And who knows, right? What else is out there?

[00:05:15] Okay. So I wrote down organic cotton because that is basic enough for me to understand. Who certifies? How does a certification work? And then how is it attached, in air quotes, to a product so that a brand can tell a retailer? And that's actually part of the complication because there's different types of certifications for a different product.

[00:05:37] So one sweater, it had two certifications on just one sweater for that type of organic cotton. One was like how it was made and one was the actual materials. And that was just on one sweater. So it is very complicated. So there's certifying bodies that go through the process and certify the product. And there's different types of certifications.

[00:06:00] So there's the scope, which is like, let's call it the factory, which is you can certify this factory does this and the whole factory for anything they make is certified. But there's also the transaction. And that's where we've been working more is on the transaction side. Is this sweater, this specific sweater certified? And like I said earlier, it's all done at the item level, but with like a stamp on it that says this product certified.

[00:06:29] What it doesn't have on it is a GTIN. So it doesn't go back and say that this sweater with GTIN, 80, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, is certified with organic cotton standard. It's just saying that here is a sweater. It is certified brand. Now you do it and give that data to your retailer. Is that because you may have manufacturers that are creating similar products that are going to different brands?

[00:06:58] So they're going to get different GTINs eventually? Or is it because it could be the same sweater and it's getting a GTIN for large, it's getting a GTIN for small, it's getting a GTIN for all these different reasons. So it doesn't have any GTINs associated with it. I'm just curious to that. I think it's both or all of it or that the certifying bodies are almost outside of the process, right? Yeah, it's upstream. Obviously, right. It's the brand who owns the GTIN, right?

[00:07:26] So what we've been looking at is that whole process of when do you apply the GTIN and how do you get that data to the certifying body so they can share it? It's like a loop that we've been working on. And the certifying body, it's kind of a new step, right, to say that they need this GTIN. And so the global office had done some research and only 10% of certifications have a GTIN on them. I actually thought 10% was actually pretty high.

[00:07:51] But when you think about how many, every GTIN on every product too, that also complicates it too. Because this sweater, yes, could come in five sizes. You still need one certification for the sweater. But where you could get a different certification, is it a different color? Does the dye change the certification? There's so many complications to it, which is why it's been a journey over four years to get where we are now. I'm curious. Is it really the consumer that's driving this or is it regulation that's driving this?

[00:08:19] Are we seeing consumer behavior change because of this positively or negatively? What insights can you share from that perspective? Hey, everyone. Welcome to the Next Level Supply Chain with GS1 US. Today, we have a special exciting news to share with you. A special podcast discount for our favorite event of the year. GS1 Connect. You got it, Liz.

[00:08:46] This is our annual supply chain focused conference. And in 2025, it's in Nashville. Yeah. Music City. I cannot wait. And I can actually drive there, which is amazing. Reid, how many GS1 Connects have you been to? I've been to six. This will be my seventh. Awesome. I've been coming to GS1 Connect before it was called GS1 Connect. And I do love meeting all of our attendees every single year who bring so many great examples

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[00:10:10] So mark your calendars for June 10th through 12th and join us at GS1 Connect. It's time to take your supply chain game to the next level. And as a podcast listener, we are able to extend a special discount. Yeah, that's right, Liz. As a podcast listener, you can get a 10% off the registration price. Simply go to gs1connect.org to register and enter the promo code 25podcast10 to take advantage of this offer.

[00:10:39] If you've never gone to GS1 Connect before or have gone a dozen times, there's always something new to learn and new people to meet. Again, the website is gs1connect.org and the promo code is 25podcast10. See you there. What I've seen in my research and what I'm hearing in the industry, Gen Z really is driving this. They actually do look at the eco label.

[00:11:05] So a product that's labeled on a website, is this organic cotton? Is this made sustainably? Is it made of recycled content? And they are making purchasing decisions based on that. Me, I'm more attuned to it now than I used to be. And I do look and I see labels. Does that tag say it's organic cotton? And it changes my thinking now because I've been more involved with it for the past five years. But it's Gen Z who's driving it.

[00:11:31] You know, and so I think that's also making the retailers want to put more data on their, you know, especially on websites, right? On the product page. Does this product have that eco label? Then they want to prove that eco label. So it's definitely a push. I do think though that I think there needs to be more research on when push comes to shove. If there's two similar items and on price, what are you going to do? Especially, you know, with economic changes, like if a shirt is double in price, but it's

[00:12:00] more sustainable, is someone going to buy it? I'm not so sure. But Gen Z is definitely pushing it. Yeah, I appreciate that validation because we are seeing it like, you know, college kids that we're family friends with, they're coming home and asking for products I've never heard of before. And I'm like, is that just like a, you know, like a generational thing? And they're like, no, they really like, this just happened last week, but they don't want deodorant with aluminum in it. And aluminum has been in deodorant for years. People just didn't think about it.

[00:12:26] But, and now you're seeing more and more with like all the additives and like the red dye that was just discussed at the federal level and those things. So yeah, it's, I think it's for the better in the long run. So retailers are going to benefit from having the information because they can provide it to consumers. But it sounds like it's challenging. I'll just say for retailers to get that kind of information. So how are they going about getting the information? I guess you talked about sharing.

[00:12:56] Can you tell us a little bit more about what the goals are around sharing this information back to the retailers can put it on the website so that people can have the information to make decisions? Yeah, absolutely. And that's what we've been piloting for, I would say 18 months on like how to make this sharing more efficient between the brand and the retailer. We've heard from so many people, like we were in one of our committee meetings and we had a brand like pointing at the retailer, but you're asking for this in different ways.

[00:13:24] It's a challenge on the brands too, because they have to share the same data with multiple retailers. Reed, you mentioned earlier, right? Like you could sell this sweater in four different stores. It's the same sweater. And those four different retailers may even ask for the data differently. But the point is how can we share that data in a seamless way? So what we've been piloting is, can we just use a machine readable format to share this data? So it's not a PDF going back and forth.

[00:13:53] And using GS1 web vocabulary like the GTIN, but also an expiration date, a certificate number, and putting it in a format that can be read machine to machine using API. Just things that we've been doing in, you know, I've been in the retail industry for 20 some years. And, you know, we've used EDI that whole time. This isn't a new concept of sharing this back and forth, but it's just different data. And it's data that exists. It just needs to be put into a format that they can use.

[00:14:20] Are the discussions also including this link registries and, you know, leveraging like 2D barcodes and, you know, where it's like I'm getting this and then I can leverage a web interface and say, hey, okay, I want to know about upstream or recycling downstream and all these link registries. And, oh, okay, let me take this to the certifications. Like that's where my head was going when you mentioned machine readable. So it's interesting.

[00:14:47] That's where we started this process was how can a brand put the certification out into the link and the retailer can grab it in like the most untechnical way to say that. What we found was that we actually had to take a step back and say, you know what? The certifications themselves are so not standard. We need to standardize cert first. Do that. Work on that process. And then the next step will actually be now putting that standard certification into the link registry.

[00:15:15] It was actually a really good lesson in learning failure and how to like switch. Yeah, that's what it sounds like. Yeah. We need to actually change our thinking and our methodology and our pilot method. We've had more success on this second try of like just sharing the machine readable format. Organic Cotton is actually, like I said, that's actually pretty complicated. So we started with an electronics company that certifies. And the retailer would take two weeks to validate the certification. And doing machine to machine is like seconds.

[00:15:45] You're just sharing data in a format that's easy to read. And then they can just say, oh, G1012345. Let me pull that into my system. Check. It's good. We can throw the eco label on our website and you can search by that eco label. That's what Gen Z is looking for. Is this certified? Yeah. Okay. All this stuff takes time. It takes time. And then you have to have cross industry awareness and learnings from cross industry. Because I was thinking of, you know, you're talking about certifications and the different retailers asking for different things.

[00:16:15] But then there's different industry. So I could see how this is really happening. I'm interested. Are there any new or emerging sustainability certificates that we should be aware of? It's not new. It's more. So the certifications that there are, it's everything. I think brands are out there trying to be more sustainable, using more sustainable products. Because, you know, the retail industry, especially apparel, is one of the worst polluters in the world.

[00:16:44] You know, from how they even make their materials to like scraps, but even just how much apparel ends up in landfills. So I think the industry itself has kind of come together and said we need to be more sustainable in how we do it. And using organic cotton actually is more sustainable. It's a better way to farm, but it does cost more. But what we're seeing is that there's just more and more of these products are being labeled sustainable. And so I was talking with a certification body and they do audits for some of the retailers.

[00:17:12] And they would get like, you know, four in a day. Now it's hundreds in a day. So there's more software out there that needs to help manage this. And that's why this pilot we're doing, I think, is so important because it's going to make this process more efficient. Because the more and more that brands are making their products more sustainable and retailers want to prove that, there has to be a better way. And it can't be done through email. Wow. So, right? Yeah, I mean, it really brings me back to some of the food traceability stuff, Liz.

[00:17:41] They're like, you know, siblings to each other with this. Yeah, they are. And actually, Amy and I are working on something for our conference that's coming up that it mirrors each other. Because there's a lot of information that goes along with food. There's a lot of information that goes along with apparel, with healthcare products. There's a lot of synergies in what we do. Okay, we're running out of time. Amy, we're going to throw you a curveball because it's not on the list of questions. This is an easy one.

[00:18:09] And Reed, you can decide if you're going to do that. What is the favorite technology in your work or your personal life that you're using right now? My favorite technology in my life. You know what I love? Is my smart light bulb. Wow. It's like this lamp. And I just talk. I love that. Does it change colors? Can you dim it? No, but if I got a cooler light bulb, it would. Yeah. My kids have that in their rooms.

[00:18:38] They have these LED strips and they've connected it to their Echo Dots. I think mine just went off. And they can tell it like moods, like evening, before bed. Wake up. It's like, yeah. Okay. My question for you is, what is something new this year for 2025 that you want to learn about? So I'm actually taking a course right now on sustainability business practices. And it's been super.

[00:19:08] And I started it actually just the beginning of the year. So it's been super interesting learning about sustainability. And I had to, like, it was interesting. The first couple of courses was around applying sustainability practices within your own company, which when I was thinking about from a GS1 perspective, I was like, well, how do we do that? But then I did. I took a GTIN all the way through what it does, like from creating a GTIN to putting it on a hang tag to disposal.

[00:19:31] And, like, thinking about how there's energy pieces in all of those steps of even just applying a GTIN to a product. That's been a great learning for me. And how to think about sustainability, even in our own GS1 business, has been super exciting. And I'm looking for it. You know, I'm taking this course all year to see where that goes. Wow, that's fantastic. And unfortunately, that's all the time we have today.

[00:19:58] This was a short episode, kind of squeeze it in, but it was very informative. And we're so thankful you carved out the time to meet with us today. And we're glad that you're out there working with industry because it's complicated and it's important, but it seems that we have the stickiness within industry where everyone's like, yeah, we need to come together and we need to do this. And I'm thankful for Gen Z pushing it. Thank you so much for having me. Thank you.