Glossary of Terms - Policy

A

AGEC LAW

The anti-waste law for a circular economy (AGEC) aims to accelerate the change of production and consumption model to limit waste and preserve natural resources, biodiversity and climate.

B

BIODIVERSITY
Biodiversity is the natural world around us, and the variety of all of the different kinds of organisms - the plants, animals, insects and microorganisms that live on our planet. Every one of these live and work together in ecosystems to maintain and support life on earth, and exist in delicate balance.

BLUESIGN
Every item carrying a Bluesign  product or approved label has been manufactured to strict safety and environmental requirements. Known as the Bluesign criteria, these are the highest standards in the industry.

C

CIRCULAR ECONOMY ACTION PLAN (CEAP)
The EU's Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP) was a comprehensive body of legislative and non-legislative actions adopted in 2015, which aimed to transition the European economy from a linear to a circular model.

CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY DUE DILIGENCE DIRECTIVE (CSDDD)
If adopted, the CSDDD would introduce requirements for companies to identify and prevent, bring to an end, or mitigate the actual and potential impacts of their activities on the environment and on human rights abuses.

CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING DIRECTIVE (CSRD)
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) requires companies to report on the impact of corporate activities on the environment and society, and requires the audit (assurance) of reported information

D

DECARBONISATION
Decarbonisation is the term used for removal or reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) output into the atmosphere. Decarbonisation is achieved by switching to usage of low carbon energy sources.

DIGITAL PRODUCT PASSPORT (DPPs)
Digital Product Passport (DPPs) form part of the Eco Design for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). Digital product passports are unique product tags that allow any interested party to access the information about the product's sustainability across the whole value chain

DOUBLE MATERIALITY (DMA)
Double materiality is a concept in which companies must consider how their actions impact both people and the planet, but also how sustainability issues can affect their financial-wellbeing. It's basically about looking at the big picture from two different angles.

DUE DILIGENCE
Due Diligence is a process that involves risk and compliance check, conducting an investigation, review, or audit to verify facts and information about a particular subject

E

ECODESIGN FOR SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS REGULATION (ESPR)
ESPR is an ambitious EU initiative to make sustainable products the norm in the EU and boost Europe's resource independence

EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY (EPR)
EPR is an environmental policy that makes producers responsible for the entire life cycle of the products. It encourages companies to design more sustainable and recyclable products and manufacturing processes.

G

GREEN CLAIMS GUIDE (UK)
The purpose of the guidance is to promote the use of clear, accurate and relevant environmental claims in marketing and advertising. Good environmental claims that accurately convey the environmental attributes of products help consumers to make informed choices.

GREEN CLAIMS DIRECTIVE (EU)
The Directive aims to provide consumers with reliable environmental claims and labels, helping them make informed purchasing decisions. Additionally, the Directive contributes to a more level playing field in the internal market, offering cost-saving opportunities for businesses trading across borders

GREEN HUSHING
Greenhushing is when organisations deliberately choose to under-report or hide their green or ESG credentials from public view to avoid scrutiny.

GREENWASHING
Greenwashing involves making an unsubstantiated claim to deceive consumers into believing that a company's products are environmentally friendly or have a greater positive environmental impact than they actually do.

J

JUST TRANSITION
A Just Transition means greening the economy in a way that is as fair and inclusive as possible to everyone concerned, creating decent work opportunities and leaving no one behind.

L

LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT (LCA)
Life cycle assessment or LCA is a methodology for assessing environmental impacts associated with all the stages of the life cycle of a commercial product, process, or service

M

MRSL
MRSL stands for Manufacturing Restricted Substance List, and provides manufacturers, suppliers, brands and retailers with acceptable limits of restricted substances in chemical formulations, which are used in the material and product manufacturing processes.

O

OEKO-TEX
Developed in the 1990s by the International Oeko-Tex Association, the Standard 100 is the most well-known and trusted certification for product safety. It is granted to articles tested free of high levels of over 100 toxic substances.

ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION & DEVELOPMENT (OECD)
The countries within OECD are often called OECD countries and can be grouped together because their economic infrastructure is fundamentally more extensive than countries that don't participate directly in OECD (called non-OECD countries, also called developing economies or modernizing economies).

P

PRODUCT ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT (PEF)
The Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) is a multi-criteria measure of the environmental performance of a good or service throughout its life cycle. The objective of PEF information is to seek a reduction of the environmental impact of goods and services taking into consideration end-to-end Supply Chain activities.

PFAS
Comprising more than 4 700 chemicals, perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of widely used, man-made chemicals that accumulate over time in humans and in the environment. They are known as 'forever chemicals' as they are extremely persistent in our environment and bodies.

R

RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION (RFID)
Radio-frequency identification uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder, a radio receiver and transmitter.

REGISTRATION, EVALUATION, AUTHORISATION AND RESTRICTION OF CHEMICALS (REACH)
REACH compliance deals with the regulations that were created to improve the environment and protect human health. REACH addresses the risks associated with chemicals and promotes alternative methods for the hazard assessment of substances.

S

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDG’s)
The Sustainable Development Goals or Global Goals are a collection of seventeen interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future."

SVHC
A substance of very high concern is a chemical substance concerning which it has been proposed that use within the European Union be subject to authorisation under the REACH Regulation

SCOPE 1,2,3 EMISSIONS
Essentially, scope 1 are those direct emissions that are owned or controlled by a company, whereas scope 2 and 3 indirect emissions are a consequence of the activities of the company but occur from sources not owned or controlled by it.

T

TEXTILE LABELLING REGULATION (TLR)
The revision aims to introduce new guidelines encompassing both physical and digital labelling for textiles, including specifications related to sustainability and circularity, in alignment with the Eco Design for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR)

THE FABRIC ACT
The FABRIC Act is a game-changing bill that aims to end the wage theft of U.S. garment workers while incentivizing U.S. clothing manufacturing

THE FASHION ACT
The Act aims to hold fashion retail sellers and manufacturers accountable for their social and environmental impacts through broad supply chain due diligence and public reporting requirements

THE GREEN DEAL
The European Green Deal, approved in 2020, is a set of policy initiatives by the European Commission with the overarching aim of making the European Union climate neutral in 2050.

THE PARIS AGREEMENT
The Paris Agreement provides a durable framework guiding global efforts to reduce the impact of climate change. The agreement covers climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance

TIER 1,2,3
Suppliers can be broken down into three tiers:
Tier 1 Suppliers are your direct suppliers.
Tier 2 suppliers are your suppliers' suppliers or companies that subcontract to your direct suppliers.
Tier 3 suppliers are the suppliers or subcontractors of your tier 2 suppliers.

TAXONOMY
Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organised into groups or types.

V

VALUE CHAIN
A value chain is a progression of activities that a firm operating in a specific industry performs in order to deliver a valuable product to the end customer.

W

WASTE FRAME DIRECTIVE (WFD)
The Waste Framework Directive lays down some basic waste management principles. It requires that waste be managed without endangering human health and harming the environment. without risk to water, air, soil, plants or animals. without causing a nuisance through noise or odours.

WASTE SHIPMENT REGULATION (WSR)
It defines the rules for controlling waste shipments within the EU and with non-EU countries ensuring adequate protection of human health and the environment.

Z

ZERO DISCHARGE OF HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS (ZDHC)
The ZDHC aims to restrict the use of hazardous substances at the time of manufacturing textile, leather and footwear value chain.