Hangtags collect logos. Most of them are private schemes, not laws. GRS, GOTS, OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 and bluesign answer different questions. Printing all four next to a zinc snap is how a brand invents a claim the mill never certified.
This note is buyer education, not legal advice. Scheme rules and on-product logo licences change; verify the current certificate on the issuer’s public database.
Four tickets, four jobs
GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) is the organic natural-fibre processing standard: cotton, wool, linen and the chain that dyes and sews them, plus social and chemical criteria. A GOTS garment is mostly organic fibre (the well-known threshold is 70% for the standard’s organic product). GOTS does not certify polyester tape or a metal button. A GOTS icon on a satin polyester care label is a misuse.
GRS (Global Recycled Standard) and the lighter RCS verify recycled content and chain of custody. GRS adds mill environmental, chemical and social criteria. On-product GRS branding expects a high recycled share; the certified-product floor is lower. GRS does not mean the garment is recyclable at end of life, and it does not mean “no microplastics.”
OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 is a restricted-substance test on the article, by product class (I infant, II skin contact, III no skin contact, IV decoration). A fast-fashion polyester tape can pass. It does not prove organic farming, recycled content, or living wages. Validity is time-limited; annual renewal is normal. MADE IN GREEN and ECO PASSPORT are related but different OEKO-TEX products (traceable mill + chemistry; chemical inputs).
bluesign is a mill-input and chemical-management system, strong in outdoor and synthetics. It is about how the factory runs chemistry, water and exposure — not a fibre-organic mark.
| Mark | Best fit on trims | Will not, by itself, prove |
|---|---|---|
| GOTS | organic cotton tapes, some threads | metal, polyester, “zero impact” |
| GRS / RCS | rPET labels, zipper tape, recycled metal programmes where in scope | recyclability of the whole garment |
| STANDARD 100 | buttons, lace, labels as tested articles | organic / recycled / ethics |
| bluesign | synthetic mill chemistry | organic cotton origin |
Chain of custody is the whole chain
GRS and GOTS want every company in the claimed chain in scope. A GRS yarn certificate does not cover an uncertified weaver. Buyers collect SC + TC and check the scheme’s public database. The certificate’s material list must match the SKU.
No single mark covers health, labour, climate and circularity. Combine them honestly, or say less.
OCS is the thinner organic-content cousin of GOTS (content and chain, not the full GOTS processing and social package). Do not print GOTS when you only have OCS. A STANDARD 100 Class I baby button is a chemistry pass, not an organic cotton story.
Hangtag icons should match the trim article that was certified, not the shell fabric’s ticket. TrimGem University reads these marks on a one-stop accessory BOM — labels, zipper tape, buttons, prints — as the Guangzhou catalogue widens.
TrimGem will source a ticket that matches the part. We will not design a hangtag that implies a snap is organic.