We live in a time where purpose & sustainability are en vogue. Great right?? Kind of… allow me to explain.

What’s amazing about nearly every company in fashion claiming some sort of sustainability initiative is that this is a direct reflection of shoppers’ demand. Brands are being forced to address issues of sustainability and ethics because YOU are demanding it. This is important to recognize and to celebrate… not that they are doing something about it, but that your shopping habits are forcing their hand.

Way to go!

The shadow side to this shift in thinking and action on the part of fashion brands is that many are really doing the bare minimum, while boldly claiming far greater impacts than are actually occurring. A common example: many fashion brands will launch one organic cotton collection and pat themselves on the back for how great they are at sustainability, while 95+% of the rest of what they produce has no environmental consideration (let alone any mention of the human impacts on people in their supply chain).

So where do we go from here?

Ultimately, it will be the responsibility of the brands to make the commitments that actually matter, and the shoppers to not simply take sustainability marketing phrases at face value. One of the key components to removing uncertainty is to bring in third-party certifications that independently verify the positive impacts a brand is engaging with.

We wanted to highlight four certifications that our brand partners use, and why they should give you confidence when you partner with Merchlandia on your merch. 

1) B Corp Certified

“Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.”

This certification looks at the entirety of our organization — both domestically & internationally — to assess the entire social and environmental performance of the company. They set a very high bar for qualifying organizations and they also serve as a tool to identify areas of improvement moving forward.

Additionally, the organization has advocated for new legal structures for corporations that allow purpose to be embedded as a foundational component of a company, as opposed to the old adage of “maximize shareholder value above all else”. 

2) Fair Trade Certified

This certification is many things, including consistent audits of production facilities ensuring health & safety for makers, but one of the things that gets us most excited is their facilitation of the Community Development Funds. In our years of working with marginalized groups we have seen two critical factors emerge as the most important areas of impact: 1) resources (financial and otherwise that allow for independence), and 2) agency (to empowered to make one’s own decisions).

Partner brands pay this additional premium on their products which go toward the Community Development Fund, providing additional money to be dispersed to makers by way of a vote.

3) GOTS Certified Organic Cotton

As we continue to focus our gaze on more specific areas of certification we want to shed light on the importance of GOTS Certified Organic Cotton. Let's just say, not all organic cotton is created equally.

One of the biggest criticisms of sustainable and ethical supply chain practices is that the majority of brands focus solely on production, and disregard other activities down the supply chain. One of our favorite parts about GOTS Certification is that it looks at all steps in the processing, manufacturing and trading of organic textiles and grades against strict ecological and social criteria.

This auditing throughout the supply chain gives us great confidence in providing you with the most ethical products that you can feel great about.

4) Climate Neutral Certified

This certification looks to curb climate change by the intentional tracking, carbon reduction practices, and carbon positive initiatives a company takes on to lower their overall environmental impact. As a result, this certification takes a holistic look at a businesses operations internally and alongside its global partners. We are proud to partner with brands who take thoughtful approaches to all areas of their business.