Organic Content Standard - Textile Exchange

1 Copyright: 2013 Textile ExchangeTextile ExchangeOrganicContent Standard ! Content ! Standard ! !2013! Textile ! Exchange ! ! !2!!!!!!!!!!!!Last!Update:!January!1,!20 16! 2013! Textile ! Exchange .!All!Rights!Reserv ed.!OCS,! Organic ! Content ! Standard ,!and!t he!OCS!Logo!are!trademarks!of! Textile !Ex change.!The!OCS!logo!was!designed!by!Tro y!Tucker.!Cover!photo!courtesy!of!Jennif er!Jones,!MOXY!Int.,!copyright!2012.!The !OCS!version! !replaces!OCS!version! !and!is!effective!as!of!January!1,!2016. !The!OCS!version! !was!

2 Officially! published! on! March! 4,! 2013.! Sites! certified! to! the! OCS! version! ! shall! comply! with! the! OCS!version! !by!January!1,!2017.!The!official!langua ge!of!the!OCS!is!English.!In!the!case!of !inconsistency!between!any!translated!ve rsions,!reference!shall!default!to!the!E nglish!version.!Disclaimer*Although!reas onable!care!was!taken!in!the!preparation !of!this!document,! Textile ! Exchange !and! any!other!party! involved! in! the! creation! of! the! document! HEREBY! STATE! that! the! document!

3 Is! provided! without!warranty,! either! expressed! or! implied,! of! accuracy! or! fitness! for! purpose,! AND! HEREBY! DISCLAIM! any!liability,!direct!or!indirect,!for!d amages!or!loss!relating!to!the!use!of!th is!document.!!Copyright**This!publicatio n!is!protected!by!copyright.!Information !or!material!from!this!publication!may!b e!reproduced!in!unaltered!form!for!perso nal,!nonWcommercial!use.!All!other!right s!are!reserved.!Information!or!material! from!this!publication!may!be!used!for!th e!purposes!

4 Of!private!study,!research,!criticism!or !review!permitted!under!the!Copyright!Ac t!1976.!!Any! reproduction! permitted! in! accordance! with! the! Copyright! Act! 1976!shall!acknowledge! the! Organic ! Content ! Standard !as!the!sour ce!of!any!selected!passage,!extract,!dia gram!or!other!information.!!! Organic !Con tent! Standard ! !2013! Textile ! Exchange ! ! !3!Table*of*Contents*Introduction*..*4!O CS*and*CCS*..*4!OCS*International*Workin g*Group*..*5!How*to*use*this*Document*.. *6!Section*A* *General*Information*.

5 *7!A1.*!Reference*Documents*..*7!A2.*!Pr inciples*of*OCS*Certification*..*7! !!Chain!of!Custody!..!7! !!Applicability!of!the! Standard !..!8!A3. *!OCS*Claims*..*8!Section*B* *Appendix*..*9!B1.*!Tools*and*Resources* ..*9! !! Textile ! Exchange !Certification!Toolkit !A!Essential!Series!..!9! !!Questions!and!Additional!Information!. .!9!!!* Organic ! Content ! Standard ! !2013! Textile ! Exchange ! ! !4!Introduction*The!Goal!of!the! Organic ! Content ! Standard !(OCS)!is!to!ensure!trus t!in! Organic ! Content !claims.!The! OCS! accomplishes!

6 This! goal! by! verifying!the! presence! and! amount! of! Organic ! Material!in! a! final!product.!!It!provides!a!strong!cha in!of!custody!system!from!the!source!of! the! Organic !raw!material!to!the!final!pr oduct!through!certification.!It!allows!f or!transparent,!consistent,!and!comprehe nsive!independent!evaluation! and! verification! of! Organic ! Material! Content ! claims! on! products!by! an! accredited! thirdWparty!Certification! Body!(CB).!As! a! businessWtoWbusiness! tool,!the! OCS!may!be! used!to! ensure!

7 That!products!companies!purchase!actuall y!contain! Organic !Material.!!The!Standar d!does!not!cover!the!certification!of!th e!raw!material!itself,!which!is!verified !independently!of!the! production! process! certification.! It! also! does! not! address!processing!inputs! ( ! chemicals),!environmental! aspects! of! processing! ( ! energy! or! water! usage),! social! issues,! safety! issues,! or! legal!compliance.!!Intended!users!of!the !OCS!are!processors,!manufacturers,!bran ds!and!retailers,!traders,!certification !

8 Bodies,!and!organizations!supporting!org anic!raw!material!initiatives.!!This!is! a!voluntary! Standard !that!is!not!intende d!to!replace!the!legal!or!regulatory!req uirements!of!any!country.!It!is!the!resp onsibility!of!each!operation!to!demonstr ate!compliance!with!all!applicable!laws! and!regulations! related! to! marketing,!labor!and! business! practices.!Where! local! legislation! and! the! OCS!requirements! conflict,! the! Certification! Body! shall! contact! TE! to! find! the! most! practical! solution.

9 ! When!there! is! confusion! about! the! interpretation! of! the! Standard ,! the! first! point! of! contact! shall! be! the!Certification!Body,!which!will!conta ct! Textile ! Exchange !if!further!clarifica tion!is!needed.! Textile ! Exchange !is!an!i nternational,!memberWsupported!nonWprofi t!organization!that!was!established!in!2 003! under! the! original! name! of! Organic ! Exchange .! Textile ! Exchange s! mission! is! to! inspire! and! equip!people!to!accelerate!sustainable!p ractices!in!the! Textile !value!chain.

10 !OCS*and*CCS*The!requirements!of!the!Con tent!Claim! Standard !(CCS)!are!embedded!i n!the!OCS!as!the!chain!of!custody!aspect s.!Clear!requirements!for!the!use!of!cer tified! Organic !inputs!make!up!the!remain der!of!the!OCS.!The!CCS!is!a!generic!cha in!of!custody! Standard !being!used!for!th e!chain!of!custody!requirements!for!a!nu mber!of!standards,! including! the! OCS,! RCS,!and! GRS.! ! By! having! a! common! set! of! requirements! across! these!standards,!we!are!contributing!to! the!consistency!and!efficiency!