Our Certifications Explained: What They Actually Mean
Why independent certification matters more than a sustainability claim
Walk through the fashion industry today and you'll find no shortage of words like “conscious”, “responsible”, “sustainable” and “eco-friendly”. But while brands can make claims, the important question is what sits behind them.
At Wellicious, we believe sustainability claims should be supported by evidence. Independent certification provides a way to assess products, materials and businesses against defined criteria, rather than simply taking a brand's word for it.
That's why certifications are an important part of how we design our products and operate our business.
Wellicious ambassador Sarah Heap, photographed by Rob Wilkinson
Four certifications, four different perspectives
Wellicious holds four independent certifications: Cradle to Cradle Certified® Gold, GOTS, Hohenstein and the Positive Luxury Butterfly Mark®.
Each examines a different aspect of what we do, from material health and organic fibres to textile environmental compatibility and wider business practices. There isn't one certification that can tell you everything, which is why we believe looking at them together provides a more complete picture.
Cradle to Cradle Certified® Gold
Our entire yoga and activewear collection is Cradle to Cradle Certified® Gold, with Platinum certification for Material Health.
Cradle to Cradle looks beyond what a product is made from, assessing how it is designed, manufactured, used and what can happen to its materials at the end of its life. It covers five areas: Material Health, Product Circularity, Clean Air & Climate Protection, Water & Soil Stewardship and Social Fairness.
Our Platinum rating for Material Health is particularly important to us. It means the materials, components and chemical inputs used in our products are assessed against stringent requirements. For us, knowing what goes into our clothing matters just as much as how it looks and performs.
GOTS: certified organic cotton
Our organic cotton is GOTS certified. The Global Organic Textile Standard goes beyond simply verifying that cotton is organic. It sets environmental and social criteria across the textile supply chain, from processing through to manufacturing and labelling.
This gives our organic cotton a recognised standard behind the claim, rather than relying on the word “organic” alone.
Hohenstein: our biodegradable elastane
Our biodegradable elastane has received Hohenstein certification for environmental compatibility.
Elastane is an important part of high-performance activewear, providing the stretch and recovery needed for movement, but it can be difficult to reconcile with circular design. We wanted to find an alternative that could deliver performance while better supporting our design principles.
Independent assessment by Hohenstein provides evidence for the environmental compatibility of this material.
Positive Luxury Butterfly Mark®
Our product certifications are only part of the story. The Positive Luxury Butterfly Mark® looks at the wider business, assessing sustainability performance across areas including environment, social responsibility, governance and innovation.
Wellicious achieved a certified score of 95, which was 90% above the certification standard at the time of assessment. Click here to view our Positive Luxury Digital Butterfly Passport.
Why certification matters
No single certification can prove everything about a product or a company. That's why we have chosen standards that examine different parts of our business. For us, certification isn't about collecting logos. It's about making our standards measurable, scrutinised and independently verified.
The next time you see a sustainability claim, look beyond the label. Ask what it means, who has verified it and what evidence supports it. Because sustainability shouldn't simply be something a brand says. It should be something it can demonstrate.
Shop the full Wellicious collection here.
På gensyn,
Dit Wellicious-team