How Textile Exchange’s standards system meets the Empowering Consumers Directive’s definition of a certification scheme - Textile Exchange All Insights 2026, Insights Series How Textile Exchange’s standards system meets the Empowering Consu
- Textile Exchange
All Insights
2026, Insights Series
How Textile Exchange’s standards system meets the Empowering Consumers Directive’s definition of a certification scheme
3 mins read
The European Union has introduced a range of
environmental legislation set to reshape the textile, fashion, and apparel industry.
This article focuses on the Empowering Consumers Directive, exploring how Textile Exchange’s standards system is well-positioned to help companies make substantiated and credible claims in alignment with the directive.
What is the Empowering Consumers Directive?
The Empowering Consumers Directive (often abbreviated to ECD, but also to EmpCo or ECGT) is already in force. It expands the list of misleading commercial practices under the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD), as well as banning unfair commercial practices, including generic environmental claims in the EU. The aim is to protect and empower consumers by providing them with accurate information so they can make informed choices.
Textile Exchange welcomes the ECD as we share the objective of empowering consumers with accurate, clear, and credible claims.
How the Textile Exchange’s standards system meets the ECD certification scheme requirements
Textile Exchange is actively aligning our standards system with the ECD, including through the adoption of the ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Sustainability Systems.
A comparative analysis by ISEAL between ECD and the ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Sustainability Systems concluded that “sustainability systems that apply the ISEAL Code of Good Practice, and that adopt third-party verification, are well positioned to support businesses in meeting the expectations of the Empowering Consumers Directive.”
Overview
Here is an overview of how Textile Exchange’s standards system meets the ECD’s definition of a certification scheme, outlined as conditions in the definition of “certification scheme” [Article 1 (b) (r) i-iv] of the ECD.
Requirement 1
[Article 1 (b) (r)]
Definition
““Certification scheme” means a third-party verification scheme that certifies that a product, process, or business complies with certain requirements, that allows for the use of a corresponding sustainability label, and the terms of which, including its requirements, are publicly available”.
How Textile Exchange’s standard system complies
Textile Exchange’s standard system includes publicly available criteria, policies, and procedures for certification and the use of sustainability labels. The conformity to the criteria is verified through certification services performed by independent third parties called certification bodies. Certification bodies also verify whether companies are eligible to use corresponding sustainability labels. For more information on certification bodies, please see Requirement 5 [Article 1 (b) (r) (iv)] below.
Requirem
