Certificates get waved around in sourcing conversations as if they were interchangeable. They are not. Each of the four below answers a different question about the garment — and relying on the wrong one leaves a real gap in your compliance file.
Four certificates get treated as interchangeable in sourcing calls. They are not. OEKO-TEX answers what is in the fabric, GRS answers how much is recycled, EN 343 answers rain protection, and EN ISO 20471 answers visibility.
The One-Paragraph Map
| Certificate | Question it answers | What it actually tests |
|---|---|---|
| OEKO-TEX Standard 100 | Is the material safe against skin? | Harmful substances in every component — fabric, thread, zips, prints. A product certificate, renewed annually. |
| GRS (Global Recycled Standard) | Is the recycled content real? | Chain of custody for recycled material (minimum 50% for the logo), plus social, environmental and chemical requirements at the facility. |
| EN 343 | Does the garment keep rain out? | Waterproofness of fabric and seams, plus breathability, on the finished garment. Class ratings from 1 to 4 for each property. |
| EN ISO 20471 | Is the wearer visible? | Minimum areas of fluorescent background material and retroreflective tape, their placement, colour and performance after washing. Classes 1–3. |
OEKO-TEX Standard 100: Material Safety
OEKO-TEX 100 certifies that every component of the finished product has been tested for harmful substances — azo dyes, formaldehyde, heavy metals, phthalates and several hundred others. It says nothing about waterproofing, visibility or recycled content.
Two practical points for buyers: the certificate belongs to the specific product, not the factory, and it expires. Ask for the certificate number and verify it in the public OEKO-TEX database — entries list the exact article description and validity date.
GRS: Verifying Recycled Content
GRS is a chain-of-custody standard. Its purpose is to prove that recycled polyester (or other recycled fibre) in your garment actually came from recycled feedstock, tracked through every step from recycler to finished product. Facilities handling GRS material must be certified — a fabric mill's certificate does not automatically cover the garment factory.
The document that matters at order level is the Transaction Certificate (TC): issued per shipment, it ties your specific purchase order to certified material. If a supplier cannot produce a TC for your order, the recycled claim for that order is unsupported.
EN 343: Rain Protection on the Finished Garment
EN 343 is the European standard for protective clothing against rain. It tests the finished garment, not just the fabric — a waterproof fabric with unsealed seams fails. Ratings are given as classes: waterproofness (up to class 4) and breathability (up to class 4), shown as e.g. EN 343 4-4.
What EN 343 does not measure: durability of the water-repellent finish after washing, windproofing as a separate rating, or thermal performance. Those need their own specifications in your tech pack.
EN ISO 20471: High Visibility
EN ISO 20471 governs high-visibility clothing for professional use. It sets minimum areas of fluorescent background material and retroreflective tape by class (Class 3 being the highest), dictates where tape must be placed, and requires performance to survive a stated number of wash cycles. Those Class 3 requirements — minimum areas, tape placement and wash-cycle durability — are exactly what the standard enforces.
Two common failure modes in sourcing: designs that meet the area minimums on paper but lose compliance when a pocket or logo print covers background material, and certificates that cover the fabric but not the finished garment design. The certificate must reference the garment style, and any design change — even a pocket — can invalidate it.
Certificates are per design, not per factory. A factory holding an EN ISO 20471 certificate for one hi-vis jacket does not mean your design is certified. Your style needs its own certification, or a documented assessment against an existing certified design.
How to Verify Any Certificate
- Get the certificate number, not a logo image. Every legitimate scheme has a public verification database.
- Check the scope. The certificate must name the product, material or process you are buying — not an unrelated article from the same supplier.
- Check the date. Product certificates expire; an expired certificate proves nothing about current production.
- Match the legal entity. The certificate holder should be the entity you are contracting with, or a documented member of its supply chain.
What We Hold and How We Work With Yours
LYTH operates a BSCI-audited facility and works routinely with EN ISO 20471 and EN 343 test houses for garment certification, OEKO-TEX-certified materials, and GRS transaction certificates for recycled programmes. Where your market requires a specific certificate, we build the testing into the sampling calendar from day one — rather than treating it as an afterthought once bulk is already booked.
Which certificate belongs on which purchase order
Certificates are often requested as a bundle, which is how compliance files end up thick and still incomplete. A more useful approach is to map each certificate to the question it answers on a specific product.
| Product | Usually required | Often added |
|---|---|---|
| Hi-vis workwear | EN ISO 20471, CE marking under EU 2016/425 where PPE applies | OEKO-TEX, EN 343 if rain protection is claimed |
| Rainwear | EN 343 | OEKO-TEX, PFAS-free declaration |
| General outdoor shells | None mandatory outside PPE | OEKO-TEX, GRS if recycled content is marketed |
| Kids’ outdoor | General product safety, plus OEKO-TEX Class I | EN 14682 for cords where applicable |
| Any recycled claim | GRS with transaction certificates | OEKO-TEX for material safety |
Two patterns cause most of the trouble we see. The first is a recycled claim on a hangtag with no transaction certificate behind it, which is the fastest way to lose a retail listing. The second is a PPE garment sold with a fabric certificate only, when the regulation requires certification of the finished product. Ask which of the two you are buying.
Frequently asked questions
Is OEKO-TEX the same as GRS?
No. OEKO-TEX Standard 100 tests the finished material for harmful substances, which is a human safety question. GRS verifies recycled content and chain of custody, which is a sourcing claim. A garment can hold one, both, or neither, and the two are frequently confused in tender documents.
Does EN 343 cover high visibility?
No. EN 343 covers protection against rain, measured as water penetration resistance and water vapour resistance on the finished garment. High visibility is EN ISO 20471. A garment that needs both must be certified to both, which is common for road and rail workwear.
How do I verify a certificate is genuine?
Check three things: the certificate number against the issuing body's online register, that the scope names the actual product category, and that the expiry date has not passed. Most problems come from valid certificates being used outside their stated scope rather than from outright forgery.
Which certification do European tenders actually require?
It depends on the end use. Hi-vis workwear needs EN ISO 20471 and, where PPE applies, CE marking under EU 2016/425. Many tenders add OEKO-TEX as a baseline for material safety and GRS where recycled content is claimed. Read the tender rather than assuming.