// Guest post on Fashion United

The topic of sustainability and verifiability in companies is becoming increasingly important. At the same time, it is difficult to keep track of the abundance of certifications, labels and promises. It is therefore important to the Fashion Council Germany to bring clarity to the world of supposedly sustainable certificates, starting with the Green Button. ‍

As the first state seal, the Green Button also tries to include the supply chain in the assessment and thus ensure ecological and social sustainability. Nevertheless, some questions still remain unanswered. In order to better understand the Green Button, we spoke to one of our members and asked them about their experiences with the seal.‍

The sustainable fashion label Phyne has been certified with the seal for several years and is committed to environmentally conscious and socially responsible actions. For the company, the state seal for sustainable fashion is an important guiding principle. In an interview, managing director Andri Stocker reports how the Green Button determines their everyday life.

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Fashion Council Germany: Why did you choose the Green Button and how long have you been using the seal?

Andri Stocker: We founded Phyne over four years ago with one goal: to accelerate the change towards more sustainability (in fashion). This works best when everyone participates. Accordingly, it was natural for us to take part in the Green Button and help shape the change. ‍ ‍

Fashion Council Germany: How much does it cost to get a license with the Green Button?

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Andri Stocker: Since we pursued a very high standard of sustainability right from the start, we only had to change very little when it came to our processes in the value chain. The effort for us was primarily in understanding the OECD guidelines, analytically processing the different specifications and the documentation. ‍

Fashion Council Germany: What are the OECD guidelines? ‍ Andri Stocker: The OECD is an international organization for economic cooperation and development. This has developed global guidelines that companies can follow in order to build a sustainable supply chain and design all areas in an ecologically and socially responsible manner.

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Fashion Council Germany: How did the audit for the Green Button go? Were there any challenges and how did Phyne overcome them? ‍

Andri Stocker: Since the Green Button was new territory for the examiners, there were of course questions here and there that could only be clarified afterwards. Overall, the process was very understandable and the support from the testing institute was very helpful. ‍ ‍

Fashion Council Germany: How did you prepare for the audit, what helped with your preparation? ‍

Andri Stocker: First of all, we looked intensively at the OECD guidelines in order to understand the exact requirements. This was very helpful for us, as we were ultimately able to estimate exactly where we still had to “catch up” on what work. We also took advantage of the offer from the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) to discuss our status in advance in order to go into the exam well prepared.

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‍Fashion Council Germany: What were the most important findings when dealing with the topic of due diligence? Maybe also insights from the risk analysis?

Andri Stocker: Our most important finding was understanding the connections between the different requirements. If we had not dealt intensively with the OECD guidelines beforehand, these connections would probably not have been clear to us. Due diligence without a basic understanding of these guidelines would be neither productive nor useful. ‍ ‍

Fashion Council Germany: What added value does the Green Button offer your company? ‍

Andri Stocker: We see the added value primarily in the textile industry itself, rather than in the sale of our products. The Green Button offers us the opportunity to positively influence business decisions together with larger market participants - such as Tchibo or Aldi - and thus accelerate the change towards more sustainability.‍

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Fashion Council Germany: What would you recommend to companies that choose the Green Button?

Andri Stocker: It's better to invest a little more time at the beginning to understand the connections than to try to fulfill a jumble of requirements afterwards. ‍ ‍

Fashion Council Germany: Where do you still see gaps, what should the Green Button improve? ‍

Andri Stocker: I see great opportunities in internationalization. The Green Button is the first “seal” that essentially bears the stamp and thus the trust of a state, not just a private organization. “German Sustainability Approved” could be recognized internationally in the same way as “Made in Germany”. (laughs)‍

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In order to cover the topic in more depth, open the conversation and allow questions, we are hosting a free webinar on the topic of “Green Button” on June 22nd, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. In this, Silke Langer, consultant in the Grüner Knopf office, will explain the general conditions and Andri Stocker will report on his experiences.

Questions about the Green Button can be directed to us in advance: edu@fashion-council-germany.org

Register here: https://bit.ly/2TOx8R0

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