... still not allowed to call it a bag full of good things? Ok, it could be a bit tricky to make the bridge from bag to certification, but there might be some parallels (and I couldn't find another picture this morning to post 😉 )
What I want to refer to is a complication I've been facing recently. All of the components of my nookees product are highly certified. From GOTS to IVN Best either the fabrics or the buttons or the waistband or any other little yarn that is involved, got an amazing organic certification. So I was sharing exactly all of this on my website: being proud that I sourced all of it on my own and can sleep great at night as I know everybody who and everything that is involved in nookees in any shape or form comes from a great origin and has been treated in a god way.
Big mistake, because I got in trouble due to that. It is obviously not allowed to say that the pieces of a product are specifically certified as long as the whole product is not certified as well. Means: As long as I don't certify nookees itself, I can't even say that the fabrics I am using or the factory where they are made are certified with several (organic) labels. What?
Yes, it blew my mind when I got the first email and the first more or less gentle notice, that I would need to change the wording. To make it more clear again: It is not just about the ingredients, it is about the product itself. And guess what, those certificates are not cheap at all.
I started to reflect on this story and remembered some chats I had along the way. When I was looking for a fair and certified garment factory to produce my period underwear. Certificates are not everything, it is more about the personal relationships and insights into the creating process. There are so many factories all over the world who got certificates, but don't do anything good at all. And others who really walk the talk, but don't get certificates due to stupid reasons.
That changed my perspective a bit and I try to not let myself be blinded by certifications anymore, but by figuring out stuff for real. And it is a no-brainer that e.g. bio certificates at big supermarkets are less worth it than an old farmer women at the local market who never used any pesticides at all and is picking the lettuce she sell by hand, but can't afford an expensive certificate.
