Manufacturing of textiles, hides/skins and leather
Nordic Swan Ecolabelled clothes and textiles has documented good quality and must have a reduced environmental impact throughout the life cycle of the textile. UN’s International Labour Conventions (ILO) on workers’ rights must be complied with in the production.
The requirements include products of textile fibers, hides and leather. Clothing, accessories, home textiles and textile fibers, yarn and fabrics for clothing or furnishings textiles can be certified with the Nordic Swan Ecolabel.
Accessories: Hat, cap, scarf, belt, bag, handbag, and backpack.
Home textiles: Duvet, pillow, towels, bed linen, curtains, tablecloths and upholstery fabrics.
Baby products made of textiles that also contain other materials such as strollers and car seats are covered by the requirements for baby products with textiles.
The requirements include:
Use of fibers that are either organic, recycled or based on renewable resources and meet specific environmental requirements.
Environmental and health properties of all chemicals used in the textile production. Among other things, the Nordic Swan Ecolabel forbids the use of substances that are carcinogenic, toxic to reproduction or can damage genetic material. Halogenated flame retardants fluorinated, and antibacterial additives incl. nanoparticles are also forbidden.
Implementation of a minimum of BAT (best available technology) water and energy efficiency techniques or local production of solar energy in textile production.
Test of the quality of the textile, e.g., dimensional change, color fastness and abrasion resistance.
Compliance with UN’s International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions on workers’ rights.
Two types of licence: Manufacturing and Product
As of version 5.0 of the requirements (valid as of March 1, 2022), there are two licence types:
Product licence
Manufacturing licence
Each licencetype requires a separate application. Fees are calculated per licence type. To get a Nordic Swan Ecolabelled product, you must have a product licence.
Product licence for product/brand owners
If you want to Nordic Ecolabel a garment or another textile product, you must apply for a product licence. In the application process, you must answer all product licence requirements for the products you want to ecolabel in the Nordic Ecolabelling Portal. You must also state which production licence(s) the product licence is to build on.
Manufacturing licence for manufacturers
Generally it will be the factory where the textiles are manufactured that applies for a manufacturing licence. A manufacturing licence gives the right to produce for product licences within the product area specified in the manufacturing licence. A manufacturing licence does not give the right to communicate that any product is Nordic Swan Ecolabelled or meets the requirements of the Nordic Swan Ecolabel.
Requirements related to manufacturing facilities and processes are answered by the applicant in the Nordic Ecolabelling Portal. The product area the applicant wants to get the right to produce within is specified by declaring «textile items» in the Supply Chain Declaration Portal. The product area is defined by, among other things, product type, materials and other input factors such as buttons and colors.
In the declaration of a «textile item», the applicant states which components the specific «textile item» uses. The following components can be declared in the Supply Chain Portal by the applicant and/or relevant subcontractors: Chemicals, fiber, yarn, fabric, accessories such as buttons, padding materials, and leather.
0,15% of the products turnover in the Nordic countries up to 30 million EUR.
0,05% of the turnover that exceeds 30 million EUR
Minimum fee
2 000 EUR + VAT per year
Fees for sale outside the Nordic region
(Only if turnover > EUR 300,000 per year)
2 000 EUR + VAT per year
* When both the applicant and the manufacturer are micro-enterprises, the fee is reduced by 50%. A micro-enterprise is in this context defined as an enterprise with less than 10 employees and an annual turnover (of both ecolabelled and not ecolabelled products) below 2 million EUR.
** Where audits requires more than one day away from the office including travelling, Nordic Ecolabelling can invoice an additional fee of 1 000 EUR per extra day. Other extraordinary costs induced by the audit can also be invoiced the applicant.
*** As for an extension of or amendments to a licence, time consumed in connection with the review process will be invoiced according to the extent of the required task. We make a distinction between entirely administrative tasks that last less than 1 hour, and all other tasks that last between 1 and 4 hours, between 4 and 8 hours and more than 8 hours.
The recipient is liable for the VAT according to article 56 of the Council Directive 2006/112/EC. All information given on this site is subject to a disclaimer for errors and omissions