Foreward
Textile Exchange is an international, member-supported, non-profit organization that was established in2003 under the original name of Organic Exchange. Textile Exchange operates internationally and is com-mitted to the responsible expansion of both organic cotton and all other sustainable textile value chains.
In 2007 Organic Exchange developed the OE 100 and OE Blended standards to verify the organic cottoncontent claims on products. The standards established a system for tracking and documenting the pur-chase, handling and use of certified organic cotton fiber. Since then there has been a need for a broaderorganic standard that would support content claims for all organic inputs, not just cotton. To meet thisneed, Textile Exchange has developed the Organic Content Standard (OCS), based on the generic chain ofcustody requirements of the Content Claim Standard (CCS).
The CCS and OCS were written by Textile Exchange. The first draft of the CCS was put out for review andcomment by professionals from the certification community. The final drafts of both standards werereviewed and approved by the Outdoor Industry Association Materials Traceability Working Group.
Covor photo courtesy of Jennifer Jones, MOXY Int., copyright 2012. .comOCS Logos were designed by Troy Tucker.
Introduction
The Organic Content Standard (OCS) applies to any non-food product containing 5- 100% organic mate-rial. It verifies the presence and amount of organic material in a final product. It tracks the flow of a rawmaterial from the source to the final product and this process is certified by an accredited third party. Itallows for transparent, consistent and comprehensive independent evaluation and verification of organicmaterial content claims on products. It can be used as a business-to-business tool to give companies themeans to ensure that they are getting what they are paying for and selling.
The Standard does not cover the certification of the raw material itself - that will be verified indepen-dently of the production process certification. It also does not address other inputs, environmentalaspects of processing (such as energy, water or chemical use), any social issues or legal compliance. Thebenefits of this Standard are that organic claims made on final products can be fully backed up throughthird party certification, transparency is increased, and consumer trust is improved. The Industry willhave a clear and uniform process, leading to greater consistency, efficiency and integrity.
Intended users of the OCS are manufacturers, brands and retailers, certification bodies, and organiza-tions supporting organic initiatives. This is a voluntary standard that is not intended to replace the legalor regulatory requirements of any country. It is the responsibility of each operation to demonstrate com-pliance with all applicable laws and regulations related to marketing, labor and business practices.
OCS and CCS
The OCS uses the chain of custody requirements of the Content Claim Standard (CCS), combined withclear requirements for the use of certified organic inputs and rules regarding logo use and labellingclaims. The CCS is a generic chain of custody standard being used for the chain of custody requirementsfor a number of standards, including the OCS, Recycled Content Standard (RCS) and Global RecycleStandard (GRS). By having a common set of requirements across these standards, we are contributing tothe consistency and efficiency of the certification process. Once a company has been certified to the CCSrequirements for one standard, this means that they meet the same chain of custody requirements forother standards based on the CCS.