A guide to Candiani’s denim certifications

In the textile industry, certifications play a crucial role not just in complying with regulations, but also in building consumer trust. They validate ethical and environmental claims, ensure worker safety, and provide a competitive advantage by verifying responsible practices that are increasingly important to conscious consumers and investors. At Candiani, we have obtained several voluntary certifications and commitments to ensure we are moving in the right direction. Let’s review which ones.

Why are certifications important?

Certifications can enhance a brand’s reputation, credibility, and customer loyalty by demonstrating a commitment to ethical and environmentally friendly practices, including reducing chemical use, paying fair wages, ensuring traceability, and enhancing resource efficiency. They offer clear, verifiable proof of claims, helping consumers avoid greenwashing and make informed choices.

Certifications may relate to products or processes. Product certifications guarantee that raw materials are produced with a reduced environmental footprint while respecting international labor standards and human rights. At Candiani, we particularly focus on eliminating harmful chemicals to protect consumer health and the planet.

Process certifications strengthen our integrated management system. They ensure we operate in an environmentally friendly and socially responsible manner and continually improve our operations. This added layer of verified assurance means that our sustainable practices represent added value that can be easily communicated to our clients.

Cotton-related certifications

As cotton is the primary ingredient in denim, our product certifications focus mainly on this raw material. Our formal commitment to reducing the impact of cotton began in 2011, when we became the first denim mill to use cotton grown, produced, and marketed in accordance with Better Cotton standards. This cotton is cultivated through practices that reduce water consumption, promote soil health, and minimize the use of harmful chemicals and pesticides. Furthermore, the initiative supports fair labor practices and helps farmers improve their productivity and profitability.

Currently, we aim to strengthen our use of regenerative cotton, which focuses on improving and restoring ecosystems. We have chosen to work with the regenagri® Content Standard because we believe that regenerative cotton has the potential to become the industry standard and can be widely adopted and scaled. This initiative ensures that certified denim contains at least 50% regeneratively grown fibers. It also guarantees that materials are traceable and sourced from certified regenerative farms and establishes a comprehensive verification system for regenerative farming practices. The key elements of regenagri® include:

• Achieving soil health: this involves practices such as crop rotation, no-till farming, and composting, which enhance soil fertility and structure.
• Improving biodiversity: encouraging a diverse ecosystem of plants, animals, and microorganisms helps maintain natural balance and resilience.
• Enhancing carbon sequestration: implementing practices that capture and store carbon in the soil helps mitigate climate change.

We also utilize organic cotton certified by GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) or OCS (Organic Content Standard). GOTS denim must contain at least 70% organic fibers and meet strict environmental and social criteria throughout the entire supply, including ecological production methods, fair labor practices, and sustainable packaging. The OCS certifies that products contain at least 5% organic fibers, focusing on the purchase, handling, and use of certified organic materials, though it does not cover inputs and production processes.

Other product certifications

We place strong emphasis on eliminating hazardous chemicals in denim production. While this topic is often associated with process certifications, one notable standard ensures product safety: OEKO-TEX® Standard 100. We received this certification in 1996 to ensure that our products are free of harmful substances throughout all stages of production.

Additionally, we are committed to enhancing the use of recycled materials. Our denim fabrics are certified by the Global Recycled Standard (GRS) when they contain at least 20% recycled content. The GRS certification ensures traceability throughout the recycling process, addresses environmental and social criteria, and supports sustainable production practices. Additionally, the Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) certifies each stage of the manufacturing process for denim fabrics that contain at least 5% recycled materials, but it does not consider social criteria.

Finally, the compostability of fabrics made with our patented COREVA™ technology has been assessed in accordance with EN 13432. Although this standard is primarily applied to packaging, it has also been used to demonstrate the compostable properties of our COREVA™ stretch denim, as there is currently no dedicated certification process for fabrics.

Our BEST4 certification

RINA’s BEST4 certification confirms our integrated management system meets quality (ISO 9001), environmental (ISO 14001), safety (ISO 45001), and social accountability (SA 8000) standards:

• We received ISO 14001 in 2005, establishing a framework for environmental management that focuses on minimizing our carbon footprint, complying with legal requirements, and improving ecological performance through resource usage and waste management.
• In 2010, we achieved SA 8000 certification, which promotes social responsibility and ethical labor practices, addressing issues like child labor and health and safety to improve conditions in the global supply chain.
• ISO 9001 followed in 2021, ensuring our quality management systems in textile manufacturing deliver high-quality products and enhance customer satisfaction.
• Finally, in 2022, we received ISO 45001, which provides guidelines for occupational health and safety management, focusing on risk management, compliance, and continuous improvement.

Other process certifications

We have already emphasized our commitment to eliminating hazardous chemicals, which grows even stronger when it comes to processes. In 2017, we joined the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) program, and two years later, we solidified this commitment by becoming an official contributor. The ZDHC initiative prohibits the use of harmful chemicals throughout the entire textile production process. Additionally, in 2015, we became involved in the Detox My Fashion campaign launched by Greenpeace, which encourages the whole fashion industry to eliminate harmful chemicals.

Furthermore, we have received the certificate of completion for the Higg Facility Environmental Module (FEM) and Higg Facility Social & Labor Module (FSLM) verification. The FEM certification evaluates different aspects of a facility’s environmental impact to prevent significant harm to the environment. It measures factors such as gas emissions, waste generation, and water resource usage. The certification also involves planning improvement activities and demonstrating reductions in environmental impact. On the other hand, the FSLM certification assesses the social impact of manufacturing, focusing on wages, working hours, health and safety, and employee treatment.