GOTS, OEKO-TEX, MADE SAFE: What Baby Product Certifications Actually Mean

GOTS is the most comprehensive certification for organic textiles. It covers the entire supply chain, from the farm where the cotton is grown, through spinning, dyeing, and finishing, to the finished garment. For a product labeled "organic" under GOTS, at least 95% of fibers must be certified organic. For "made with organic," it's 70%. The standard also bans toxic heavy metals, formaldehyde, and chlorine bleach, and requires wastewater treatment and fair labor practices throughout the supply chain.[1]

OEKO-TEX Standard 100 takes a different approach: it tests the finished product rather than the supply chain. Every component, including threads, buttons, and zippers, is tested for over 100 harmful substances. Importantly, a product can be OEKO-TEX certified without being organic, as long as chemical residues in the final item fall below safety thresholds.[1] The highest product class (Class I) applies to items intended for babies and toddlers.

This is the standard to look for in nursery furniture, crib mattresses, and paint. GREENGUARD Gold tests finished products for more than 10,000 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and chemical emissions, against standards specifically designed for sensitive populations, including infants.[2] Infants breathe more air per pound of body weight than adults, and they spend most of their time in close contact with mattress and furniture surfaces. VOC off-gassing in a small, enclosed room compounds over time.

MADE SAFE screens every ingredient in a product's formulation, including trace processing aids and adhesives that often don't appear on labels, against a banned list of over 15,000 toxic substances.[3] It explicitly prohibits carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, neurotoxins, and chemical flame retardants. For baby skincare and personal care products, this is the most thorough certification available. It also applies to textiles and household items.

Cradle to Cradle is the most advanced sustainability certification currently available. Rather than just measuring how "less bad" a product is, it evaluates whether a product is designed to be fully circular, materials that can be safely reused, composted, or recycled. The standard covers five categories: Material Health, Product Circularity, Clean Air & Climate, Water & Soil Stewardship, and Social Fairness. A product's overall score is determined by its lowest-performing category, which encourages genuine improvement across all areas rather than compensating with a high score in one.[4] Achievement levels run from Bronze to Platinum.