Three acronyms appear on almost every natural fiber garment sold. They are not interchangeable, they do not overlap as much as people assume, and each leaves a specific gap the others fill.
Short version: GOTS certifies the fiber and the supply chain. OEKO-TEX certifies the chemistry of the finished article. RWS certifies how the sheep were treated.
At a glance
| GOTS | OEKO-TEX Standard 100 | RWS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Global Organic Textile Standard | OEKO-TEX Standard 100 | Responsible Wool Standard |
| Certifies | Organic fiber content + the whole processing chain | Harmful substances in the finished article | Animal welfare + land management |
| Applies to | Natural fibers, mainly cotton | Any textile, natural or synthetic | Wool only |
| Bans PFAS | Yes — as a chemical input at every processing stage | Yes — general ban since 1 Jan 2024 | Not its scope |
| Covers labor | Yes — social criteria throughout the chain | No | Farm-level practices |
| Covers dyes/finishes | Yes | Yes — this is its core | No |
| Held by | The facility / supply chain | The certified article and its producer | The farm and supply chain |
| Verify at | Public GOTS database | OEKO-TEX Label Check | Textile Exchange |
GOTS — the fiber and everything that happens to it
GOTS certifies that a garment contains certified organic natural fiber and that every processing stage from field to finished garment met environmental and social criteria.
Two grades, and brands rarely tell you which they hold:
- "Organic" — at least 95% certified organic fiber
- "Made with organic" — at least 70%
That's a meaningful difference and it's the first thing to ask about.
What GOTS 7.0 prohibits: PFAS as a chemical input at every processing stage, including PFAS-based repellency finishes. Also formaldehyde, azo dyes that release carcinogenic amines, chlorine bleach, and heavy metals. It additionally sets wastewater treatment requirements and social criteria covering wages and working conditions.
What GOTS does not do: it doesn't certify a brand as a whole. Certification applies to fibers, facilities and supply chains, which is why the accurate phrasing is "made with GOTS-certified organic cotton."
OEKO-TEX Standard 100 — the chemistry of the thing you're actually wearing
OEKO-TEX Standard 100 tests the finished article against a list of over 1,000 harmful substances. Every component is tested — thread, buttons, zips, prints, not just the main fabric.
Four product classes, by intensity of skin contact:
- Class 1 — baby and toddler products, strictest limits
- Class 2 — direct skin contact: underwear, t-shirts, bedding
- Class 3 — minimal skin contact: jackets, outerwear
- Class 4 — furnishing: curtains, upholstery
Activewear worn against skin should be Class 2. Ask which class a garment holds; it's on the certificate.
The PFAS change most people missed. Since 1 January 2024, OEKO-TEX has applied a general ban on per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances across Standard 100, ECO PASSPORT, Leather Standard and Organic Cotton. The assessment method moved from extractable organic fluorine to total fluorine, with a limit of 100 mg/kg. Annex 4 sets individual limits for PFOS and related substances, PFHxA, PFHxS and C9–C14 PFCAs.
This matters more than most brands are saying: an OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified garment has already been third-party tested for PFAS. It isn't a marketing claim, it's a test result with a certificate number you can look up.
Made in Green is the tier above. It requires Standard 100 compliance plus manufacture in a STeP-certified facility, so it covers both the chemistry and the production conditions.
What OEKO-TEX does not do: it says nothing about whether the fiber is organic, or where it came from. A fully synthetic polyester garment can hold Standard 100 — it means the polyester has been tested for harmful substances, not that it isn't plastic. This is the most common misreading of the label.
RWS — the animals and the land
The Responsible Wool Standard certifies that wool comes from farms meeting animal welfare requirements — including a prohibition on mulesing — and land management practices protecting soil health and biodiversity. It follows the wool through the supply chain with a chain-of-custody requirement.
What RWS does not do: it makes no claim about chemistry. RWS wool can still be dyed and finished with whatever the processor chooses, which is why RWS and OEKO-TEX belong together on a wool garment.
The gaps none of them close
- None certifies durability. No standard here tells you whether the garment survives fifty washes.
- None certifies trims. Waistband elastane is near-universal, including in GOTS-certified garments, which permit a small synthetic allowance. Nor does any of them cover whether tags, labels and drawcords are natural fiber or printed polyester.
- None certifies the brand. All three attach to facilities, articles and supply chains.
- None means "non-toxic." That word has no regulatory definition anywhere.
What actually matters for activewear
Activewear is a harder case than a t-shirt, for three reasons: it's worn against skin over large surface area, it's worn during heat and heavy blood flow to the skin, and it's the category where chemical performance finishes are most common.
So the useful order:
- OEKO-TEX Standard 100, Class 2 or better — this is the one covering what's actually on the fabric touching you, and since 2024 it's a PFAS test.
- GOTS — for cotton, if you want the fiber organic and the supply chain audited too.
- RWS — for wool, on animal welfare grounds.
- No functional finishes — no DWR, no antimicrobial, no stain-resistance. Certification catches the dangerous ones, but the better answer is a garment that didn't need a finish. Merino manages odor and temperature because that's what the fiber does.
How to verify any of them in under a minute
- GOTS — public database at global-standard.org, searchable by certificate number or company
- OEKO-TEX — Label Check at oeko-tex.com, by certificate number or QR scan
- RWS — Textile Exchange's certified-site directory
If a brand names a standard but won't give you the number, you've learned what you needed.
Where Wayve sits
The Quad Short, Only Tee and Classic Short are made with GOTS-certified organic cotton and OEKO-TEX Standard 100 low-impact dyes. The Flow Set is made with RWS-certified merino wool and OEKO-TEX Standard 100 dyes — not GOTS, because GOTS is an organic fiber standard and doesn't apply to wool the way it applies to cotton. Brands conflate those two constantly; we won't.
No Wayve product carries a DWR, antimicrobial, stain-resistant or moisture-wicking finish. The merino liner in the Quad Short handles odor and temperature regulation structurally — that's the entire reason it's there, and it's why nothing has to be sprayed on afterward.
FAQ
Which is better, GOTS or OEKO-TEX?
They answer different questions. GOTS tells you the fiber is organic and the supply chain was audited. OEKO-TEX tells you the finished garment was tested for harmful substances. For something worn against skin during exercise, you want both.
Can a polyester garment be OEKO-TEX certified?
Yes. Standard 100 tests for harmful substances, not for whether the fiber is plastic. A certified polyester legging has passed a chemical panel and is still polyester — it will still shed microplastics.
Does OEKO-TEX test for PFAS?
Yes. A general PFAS ban has applied since 1 January 2024, assessed by total fluorine at a 100 mg/kg limit, with individual limits in Annex 4 for PFOS, PFHxA, PFHxS and C9–C14 PFCAs.
What's the difference between "organic" and "made with organic" on a GOTS label?
95% minimum certified organic fiber versus 70%. Both are GOTS. They are not the same claim.
Is RWS the same as organic wool?
No. RWS covers animal welfare and land management. It makes no claim about the chemistry of dyes or finishes, and it is not an organic fiber standard.
Why do brands say "made with GOTS-certified cotton" instead of "GOTS certified"?
Because certification attaches to fibers, facilities and supply chains rather than to a company as a whole. The longer phrasing is the accurate one.