Sustainability data at Fashion Cloud can refer to a range of different things such as country of origin, or to other sustainability-related features like certifications, standards, and trademarked materials. With support for over 100 data points, brands can effectively communicate their sustainability efforts on an article level to their retail partners through Fashion Cloud.

What is our definition of Sustainability Data?

​Sustainable data refers to single sustainability-related characteristics or features of a product. While we are not the party to judge, we have a minimum criteria to be met: it must apply on product level, be relevant to the fashion/shoe/bag wholesale community, and be issued by an independent third party.

Widely used examples are: Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), MADE IN GREEN by OEKO-TEX®, Cradle to Cradle Certified™, bluesign®, Global Recycled Standard, Leather Working Group, LENZING™ ECOVERO™ and many others.

Which Sustainability Data points are accepted?

You can find a list of all currently accepted Sustainability Attributes here.
Your products accommodate a Sustainability Attribute that fits our criteria, but is not yet on the list? Just get in touch with us.

How is Sustainability Data structured?

Brands can share up to 4 Sustainability data points per product (EAN) with retailers. To meet the Fashion Cloud requirements, each data point reflecting a certificate or standard must include the following values:

How can I share Sustainability Data?

To effectively share sustainability data with Fashion Cloud, it is essential to include them in the same file as your other product data. Whether you use an API connection or a CSV file (other formats like XML, JSON, or EDIFACT are also supported), the sustainability attributes should be integrated seamlessly.

Can I share our own (private) sustainability label via Fashion Cloud with retailers?

No, own ‘private label’ sustainability labels do not qualify as sustainability data at Fashion Cloud. Sustainability data must meet the three minimum criteria to 1) apply on product level, 2) be relevant for the fashion wholesale community, 3) be issued by an independent third party. However, you can include your own ‘private’ sustainability label e.g. in the product description.

Do I need to share proofs with every certificate I want to share as sustainability data?

No, brands cannot share proofs like pdfs of transaction or scope certificates as part of sustainability data on Fashion Cloud. However, we highly recommend for the brand to store everything in an organized way and share a sustainability contact person in your Fashion Cloud brand profile, so retailers can reach you easily with eventual requests to send evidence of a specific claim.

We have certificates only on material level - should we share this?

Yes, certification data on any level along the supply chain is relevant to your wholesale partners and will become increasingly relevant with current regulation developments. By indicating the ‘certification level’ as well as the ‘percentage’ brands provide the retailers with enough information to make good judgment of how the sustainability data can be used e.g. in what kind of green claim.

We don’t have sustainability data in the same system as the rest of product data. Can I share this data in a separate excel sheet?

No, sustainability data need to be shared integrated in the same product data export file you share with Fashion Cloud to submit the rest of your product data.

Does Fashion Cloud check the minimum criteria?

Yes, we do. Our sustainability data criteria is clear on meeting three points: applied on product level, relevant for the wholesale community and issued by an independent third party. If you want to share certificates or materials, which are currently not listed as accepted, please reach out to us and we will check, whether we can make an addition or not.

What if I have a standard or certificate or material that is not in the list?

Whenever a brand shares a new “attribute name”, we check it meets the minimum criteria and evaluate if it can be added to our Accepted Sustainability Attributes 2.0 list in the following update.

To whom is the supply chain information for?

Retailers/Fashion need(s) to meet growing consumer demand for transparency allowing customers to understand where and how products are made, and so supporting ethical and sustainable consumption. In addition, regulations such as the ESPR and its legislative tool, the Digital Product Passport, are working to ensure this type of supply chain information is included.

What would happen to brands already sharing data that wasn't mandatory before but is now?

Brands will have a grace period until the end of February 2025 to update the missing mandatory values. If, by the end of that period, the required values are still incomplete, the sustainable attributes of those products will no longer be displayed.

Where will my data go and how will it be used?

Data can be used by retailers as a base for customer communication, for reporting purposes as part of the value chain, or for internal goal setting, such as increasing the share of brands that disclose sustainability information.

Why do you ask for more mandatory values for standard or certificates now (compared to 2022-mid 2024)?

Transparency is increasingly demanded, but it’s also an evolving process. New legal requirements are pushing for sustainability claims to be backed by reliable data. It's no longer enough to simply claim a product is sustainable; the industry needs to align to address issues like greenwashing.

How do you handle different laws in various countries, such as France?

We closely monitor all laws that impact our customers and product data specifically, whether at the EU level or within specific countries, such as France's Anti-Waste Law (Loi AGEC) or Germany's Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG). Our dataset will continually be updated to stay aligned with regulatory changes while staying feasible for brands and relevant for retailers

Do retailers need to pay for sustainability data?

Currently sustainability data is an integrated part of product data on Fashion Cloud. Hence, retailers who access their brands product data can additionally access sustainability data without an extra fee.

When I update the information, how fast will this be online?

Please inform a data integration manager so they can proceed. Our data integration managers will review and integrate new product data including sustainability data as soon as possible after receiving it. Depending on their capacity this can take 1 day to 2 weeks. The more standardized the data is, the quicker the processes.

When a brand makes changes to sustainability data, how will the retailers get informed?

Retailers who receive product data from Fashion Cloud in automated ways (via API), get regular updates - practically in real time. Old data is simply overwritten by the updated version, just like Fashion Cloud does it with updated data sets from brands.

Do you have an example of how the CSV should look like?

Yes, you can find a step by step explanation of how to share sustainability data and how the file should look like above in section 3, “How to share sustainability data?”.

What if I have complementary information for licensed or trademarked materials, can I show my data?

Yes. If you have further values to share corresponding to licensed or trademarked materials, please do so. We are able to share attribute names, certification/license numbers, certifying institutes, certification levels, percentages, visibility on product and expiration dates.

​You have any further question about sustainability data at Fashion Cloud? Get in Contact with us: clara.walter@fashion.cloud