UPPS Standard

UPPS 602: Textile Product Disclosures

Industry-specific standard for disclosing textile and apparel product information, including fiber composition, chemical use, water impact, and labor conditions.

Version 1.0 | Effective: May 2026

What this standard does: UPPS 602 tells clothing and textile manufacturers what information they must share about their products so that consumers, regulators, and retailers can make informed decisions. This includes details about what fibers are used, which chemicals were applied, how much water was consumed, where the garment was made, and whether workers were treated fairly.

1. Introduction

Why textiles need their own disclosure standard: The fashion and textile industry is one of the world's most polluting and opaque industries. A single t-shirt might be made from cotton grown in India, spun into yarn in Vietnam, woven into fabric in Bangladesh, dyed in China, and sewn in Cambodia. Each step involves different chemicals, water use, energy consumption, and labor practices and most of this information is hidden from consumers.

What makes textiles unique: Unlike most products, textiles undergo multiple chemical treatments (bleaching, dyeing, finishing) that can release toxic substances into water systems. The industry is also notorious for labor exploitation, with garment workers often earning poverty wages in unsafe conditions. And textiles are incredibly wasteful the average person throws away 37 kg of clothing per year, most of which ends up in landfills.

The regulatory context: The European Union's Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), France's Anti-Waste Law, and similar regulations worldwide now require detailed "digital product passports" for textiles. These must include information about materials, chemicals, repairability, and recyclability. UPPS 602 provides a universal framework that works across all these regulations.

How this standard helps: UPPS 602 extends the core UPPS standards (101, 201, 301, 401, 501) by adding textile-specific requirements. Instead of creating separate disclosures for each country or retailer, manufacturers can use UPPS 602 to create one comprehensive textile passport that satisfies multiple regulatory and market requirements.

2. Objective

The goal of this standard: UPPS 602 ensures that anyone who needs to make a decision about a textile product whether they're buying it, regulating it, recycling it, or investing in the company that makes it has access to the information they need.

Specifically, this standard enables users to:

  • Understand what it's made of: Know exactly which fibers are in the garment (cotton, polyester, viscose, etc.), where they came from, and whether they're organic, recycled, or virgin materials
  • Assess environmental impact: Understand water consumption, chemical pollution, carbon emissions, and microplastic shedding from synthetic fabrics
  • Evaluate chemical safety: Know which chemicals were used in dyeing and finishing, whether they're toxic, and if they comply with safety standards like ZDHC or REACH
  • Trace the supply chain: Follow the garment from cotton field to finished product, identifying every factory and subcontractor involved
  • Assess labor conditions: Verify whether workers were paid fair wages, worked in safe conditions, and had their rights respected
  • Determine circularity: Understand whether the garment can be repaired, resold, or recycled and what happens to it at end of life

In plain language: This standard forces fashion brands to be honest about their products. No more vague claims like "eco-friendly" or "sustainable" without proof. UPPS 602 requires specific, measurable disclosures that can be verified and compared.

3. Scope

UPPS 602 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.

5.1Fiber CompositionUPPS 602.5.1

What You Must Disclose

Manufacturers must provide a complete breakdown of every fiber in the garment, including percentages and whether materials are virgin, recycled, or organic.

Required Information

  • Fiber types and percentages: Exact composition by weight. Example: "65% organic cotton, 30% recycled polyester, 5% elastane."
  • Fiber origin: Whether each fiber is natural (cotton, wool, linen), synthetic (polyester, nylon, acrylic), or regenerated (viscose, modal, lyocell).
  • Recycled content: What percentage of each fiber came from recycled materials versus virgin production. Example: "Polyester is 100% recycled from post-consumer plastic bottles."
  • Certifications: Whether fibers are certified organic (GOTS), responsibly sourced (BCI for cotton), or meet other standards.

Why This Matters

Fiber composition determines everything about a garment's environmental impact and recyclability. Synthetic fibers like polyester shed microplastics when washed. Cotton requires massive amounts of water and pesticides (unless organic). Viscose production can destroy forests. By requiring detailed fiber disclosure, this standard helps consumers choose lower-impact materials and enables proper recycling at end of life.

5.2Chemical UseUPPS 602.5.2

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.

5.3Water and Energy IntensityUPPS 602.5.3

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.

5.4Supply Chain TraceabilityUPPS 602.5.4

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.

5.5Circularity and RecyclabilityUPPS 602.5.5

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.

5.6Durability and CareUPPS 602.5.6

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.

5.7Microfiber and Environmental ReleaseUPPS 602.5.7

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 602 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 602 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 602 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 602 progressively.

Where full data is not available, organizations shall disclose:

  • Data availability
  • Limitations
  • Plans for improvement