Who holds what: the first compliance question
Compliance paperwork in this category fails for a boring reason: everyone assumed someone else held the document. The rule this desk works to is simple. Certificates belong to the partner plants - the OEKO-TEX article to the fabric supplier or plant holding the lot, the test reports to the order that commissioned them. Lissea holds no certificates and issues none; what the desk does is verification, per project: reading each document, matching it to the fabric and dye lots actually booked, checking dates and scope, and filing copies with the program record. A brand can only name a certificate on a listing when that chain is intact.
The six routes a program usually touches
| Route | Covers | Held by |
|---|---|---|
| OEKO-TEX Standard 100 | 300-plus harmful substances, yarn to finished product | Partner plant or fabric mill, per certificate per lot |
| Textile Fiber Products Identification Act | Fiber content, origin and RN number on US-bound labels | The brand's label files, built from the bill of materials |
| FTC Care Labeling Rule | Care wording on the label or package for the US | The brand's label files, per fabric's care properties |
| 16 CFR 1610 | Flammability of general wearing apparel textiles | Applies to the garment; exemption per fabric tested |
| CPSIA | Children's product rules when the line covers children | Tracking label, lead and phthalate limits per the rules |
| REACH | Substance of very high concern screening for the EU | Supplier declarations and SVHC screening per order |
Fabric safety: OEKO-TEX Standard 100
For next-to-skin goods the baseline is OEKO-TEX Standard 100, testing more than 300 harmful substances from yarn through threads and elastics to the finished piece. Two verification points matter more than the logo: the certificate article must match the fabric actually proposed - a certificate for mill A's product says nothing about mill B's lookalike - and it must be in force for the lot shipped. Where a program adds organic or better-cotton claims, GOTS or BCI documents follow the same per-lot logic. The testing behind these documents is laid out on the testing and inspection page, and the longer explanation of what the standard covers is in the fabric certifications guide.
US labeling: fiber content, care and flammability
United States labeling runs on two statutes and one rule. The Textile Fiber Products Identification Act requires fiber content in descending order, country of origin and an RN number or company name on the label. The FTC Care Labeling Rule requires care instructions that work for the fabric - a care word chosen because it reads well, not because the fiber tolerates it, is the common cause of care claims. Flammability under 16 CFR 1610 applies to general wearing apparel, with exemptions where the fabric's construction qualifies; exemption or not is decided by the fabric's test record, never assumed. The desk drafts label wording for review, but the brand signs it - the label is a legal statement in the brand's name.
Children's lines and the EU route
Two further routes appear conditionally. A line that includes children's underwear brings CPSIA into scope: tracking labels, lead content limits and phthalate limits, with the document trail extending to the trims. Programs entering the European Union work through REACH, screening for substances of very high concern and collecting supplier declarations per order; for EU imports the paperwork set is broader still, and the EU import article walks it. Neither route is optional once the market is chosen, and both are cheaper to plan at spec stage than to retrofit at shipment.
How verification runs per project
The verification pass is the same regardless of market: collect the certificate and report set, match each document to the fabric articles and dye lots in the program, check dates and scopes, and file the copies where the shipment record lives. Gaps come back as questions, not as silence - a lapsed article, a scope that misses the proposed fabric, a report without lot traceability. The gate is described in the audit routine on the factory audit page, and the checklist by market is in the certifications checklist.
Start the document set with the brief
Tell the desk the intended market and channel in the quote form and the returned program plan names the routes that apply, who holds each document and what verification will ask for - so the certificate conversation happens before the first sample, not at the container gate. For the US side in detail, see importing intimates into the US; for how fiber and care labels are drafted, see care labeling rules explained.