UPPS Standard
UPPS-TEX: Textile Product Disclosures
Establishes textile-specific disclosure requirements for material composition, environmental impact, chemical use, and supply chain traceability.
Version 1.0 — Draft
UPPS-TEX defines the textile-specific disclosures that organizations shall provide to ensure consistent, comparable, and decision-useful product-level information.
1. Introduction
UPPS-TEX establishes disclosure requirements specific to textile products.
This Standard defines additional disclosures necessary to enable consistent, comparable, and decision-useful information regarding the environmental impact, material composition, chemical usage, and supply chain characteristics of textile products.
Textiles are characterized by complex, multi-tier global supply chains and significant environmental and social impacts. Production processes often involve intensive water and energy use, chemical treatments, and geographically distributed manufacturing stages.
Increasing regulatory and market requirements require organizations to disclose detailed information on fiber composition, chemical use, traceability, and circularity.
UPPS-TEX extends the core UPPS standards by introducing textile-specific disclosure requirements and guidance.
2. Objective
The objective of UPPS-TEX is to ensure that organizations disclose information that enables users to:
- Understand fiber composition and material sourcing
- Assess environmental impacts across the textile lifecycle
- Evaluate chemical usage and associated risks
- Analyze supply chain traceability across multiple tiers
- Assess circularity, durability, and end-of-life potential
UPPS-TEX establishes consistent requirements for textile-specific disclosures that support transparency, comparability, and regulatory alignment.
3. Scope
UPPS-TEX applies to textile products, including:
- Apparel
- Footwear
- Home textiles
- Technical textiles
Organizations shall apply this Standard in conjunction with:
- UPPS 101 — General Product Disclosures
- UPPS 201 — Environmental Product Disclosures
- UPPS 301 — Circularity Product Disclosures
- UPPS 401 — Supply Chain and Traceability Disclosures
Where textile products contain non-textile components, organizations shall disclose relevant information for those components where material to the overall product.
4. Industry Context
The textile industry involves complex and fragmented supply chains, often spanning multiple countries and production stages.
Key characteristics include:
- Multi-tier supply chains (fiber → yarn → fabric → garment)
- High water consumption and wastewater generation
- Extensive use of chemicals in dyeing, finishing, and treatment
- Dependence on both natural and synthetic fibers
- Significant challenges in recycling and circularity
Regulatory frameworks increasingly require transparency in textile composition, chemical use, and traceability, making standardized disclosure critical.
5. Textile-Specific Disclosures
Organizations shall disclose the following additional information for each textile product.
5.1 Fiber Composition
Disclosure Requirement
Organizations shall disclose detailed information on the fiber composition of the textile product.
Required Disclosures
- Types of fibers used (e.g., cotton, polyester, wool, viscose)
- Percentage composition of each fiber
- Distinction between natural, synthetic, and regenerated fibers
Guidance
Fiber composition disclosures should enable accurate identification of material characteristics and support environmental and circularity assessments.
5.2 Chemical Use
Disclosure Requirement
Organizations shall disclose information relating to chemicals used in textile processing.
Required Disclosures
- Types of chemicals used in dyeing, finishing, and treatment
- Presence of restricted or hazardous substances
- Compliance with applicable chemical standards
Guidance
Chemical disclosures should reflect substances used across key processing stages and support risk assessment and regulatory alignment.
Chemical usage in textile processing presents significant environmental and health risks. Transparent disclosure of chemical types, compliance status, and hazardous substance presence enables risk assessment and supports regulatory requirements for chemical safety and environmental protection.
5.3 Water and Energy Intensity
Disclosure Requirement
Organizations shall disclose resource use associated with textile production.
Required Disclosures
- Water consumption per product
- Energy consumption across production stages
- Key processes contributing to resource intensity
Guidance
Disclosures should reflect lifecycle stages with significant environmental impact, particularly wet processing stages.
5.4 Supply Chain Traceability
Disclosure Requirement
Organizations shall disclose traceability of textile supply chains.
Required Disclosures
- Origin of fibers (country or region)
- Processing stages (spinning, weaving, dyeing, finishing)
- Supplier tiers covered
Guidance
Traceability disclosures should reflect actual supply chain visibility and identify gaps where full traceability is not achieved.
Textile supply chains are characterized by multi-tier complexity spanning fiber production, yarn spinning, fabric manufacturing, and garment assembly. Full traceability across these stages presents significant challenges but is essential for transparency, risk management, and regulatory compliance.
5.5 Circularity and Recyclability
Disclosure Requirement
Organizations shall disclose circularity characteristics of textile products.
Required Disclosures
- Recyclability of the product
- Use of recycled fibers
- Limitations to recycling (e.g., blended materials)
Guidance
Disclosures should reflect real-world recycling constraints and material recovery potential.
Textile circularity faces significant challenges due to blended fiber compositions, chemical treatments, and lack of standardized recycling infrastructure. Transparent disclosure of recyclability limitations and material recovery potential enables realistic assessment of circular economy pathways.
5.6 Durability and Care
Disclosure Requirement
Organizations shall disclose information relating to product durability and care.
Required Disclosures
- Expected product lifetime
- Care requirements (e.g., washing, drying conditions)
- Factors affecting durability
Guidance
Durability disclosures should enable assessment of product longevity and maintenance impacts.
5.7 Microfiber and Environmental Release
Disclosure Requirement
Organizations shall disclose potential environmental impacts related to microfiber release.
Required Disclosures
- Likelihood of microfiber shedding during use
- Mitigation measures, where applicable
Guidance
Disclosures should support understanding of environmental impacts during the use phase.
6. Measurement Guidance
Organizations shall apply methodologies that are consistent, transparent, and aligned with recognized industry practices.
Lifecycle-based approaches should be used where feasible, particularly for water, energy, and chemical impacts.
Assumptions, data sources, and limitations shall be disclosed.
7. Presentation of Information
Organizations shall present textile disclosures in a manner that is:
- Clear and understandable
- Comparable across products
- Consistent with UPPS core standards
Disclosures should enable users to assess both individual characteristics and overall product performance.
8. Relationship with UPPS Standards
UPPS-TEX extends:
- UPPS 101 — General Product Disclosures
- UPPS 201 — Environmental Product Disclosures
- UPPS 301 — Circularity Product Disclosures
- UPPS 401 — Supply Chain and Traceability Disclosures
It does not replace these standards.
9. Regulatory Alignment
UPPS-TEX is designed to support alignment with textile-related regulations and policies across jurisdictions, including:
- Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR)
- Textile sustainability and circularity regulations
UPPS-TEX enables structured disclosures that can be mapped to regulatory requirements, supporting multi-jurisdiction compliance and reducing reporting burden through a unified disclosure framework.
10. Transition Provisions
Organizations may adopt UPPS-TEX progressively.
Where full data is not available, organizations shall disclose:
- Data availability
- Limitations
- Plans for improvement