1. The prohibition of a long list of chemicals, such as formaldehyde, fluorocarbons (PFC's), heavy metals (lead, cadmium, mercury), the same chemicals prohibited in the GOTS standard.

2. Basic worker rights are honored and decent working conditions provided.

3. Although it is not specifically called out in the standard, a GOTS certified fabric is the best carbon choice by far, even if manufactured overseas and shipped back to the United States (for an explanation of why this is so, click here).

The GOTS standard is completely transparent, nothing is proprietary so there is no guessing as to standards used. You can download it at: www.global-standard.org. To learn more about GOTS, why it is important for you and your Earth, please read the answer to the question: "How can we make sure a fabric is free of chemicals of concern?"

To be clear: When we say that the fabric is produced in compliance with GOTS, we mean that we adhere to the GOTS standard even though we cannot prove it to you because someone in the chain of custody has dropped their GOTS certification. We know that we advise you to avoid suppliers who claim to be safe but do not have the certificates to prove it (putting us in a rather awkward position!) so if this makes you uncomfortable, please select a different fabric which has GOTS or Oeko Tex certification. We promise that we are converting to all third party certifications as soon as humanly possible.

¹For a discussion of what the abrasion ratings mean, please click here.