IVALO.COM
OUR SUSTAINABILITY CRITERIA
Humanity is living through a time of dramatic changes. Climate change. Digitalisation. Nature cover and biodiversity collapse. The imperative to curb overconsumption. Circular economy. It is necessary and urgent for each of us to respond to systemic changes. One way is to vote with your money - with your everyday choices.
Sustainable values live in the small moments of our every day, in every cup of coffee, in our daily commute and in each piece of clothing in our wardrobes. Our decisions and choices have great power as a key to change and a different future.
IVALO.COM SUSTAINABILITY CRITERIA
Why?
Cheap and disposable clothing, an
exploitative and polluting garment industry, massive overproduction and textile waste have to come to an end. Many of us want to make value-based choices, but it is hard to know what is behind a product.
That is why every brand on IVALO.COM has to meet our sustainability criteria. We check brands against a clear set of
requirements, not a score. A brand either meets every requirement that applies
to its products, or it isn't listed.
This is our own review, based on a detailed questionnaire and supporting documents from each brand, and every brand signs our Brand Commitment. It is not a third-party certification, and we don't claim that any brand is fully sustainable. Below you can see exactly what we check.
What we look at
Materials and chemical safety
Every brand confirms the chemical safety of its materials, and fur, angora and exotic skins are never listed.
Brands confirm REACH compliance as a baseline, and we ask what they do beyond it, such as restricted-substance lists or third-party chemical testing. We don't list products made from fur, angora or exotic animal skins.
Why it matters: chemicals are used in fibre production, dyeing and finishing, and can end up in wastewater and on skin. REACH restricts the most hazardous ones in the EU; certifications such as OEKO-TEX or bluesign go further.
Origin and transparency
Every brand can tell us in which countries its materials are processed and its products are made.
Brands must know, and be able to show us, in which countries their materials are processed and their products are made.
Why it matters: 'Made in Portugal' usually means the garment was sewn there. The fabric may have been woven and dyed on another continent, and many brands don't know where. We ask about both, because most of a product's environmental impact and labour risk sits in those earlier stages, not in the sewing.
Labour and wages
Every brand confirms legal minimum wages and safe working conditions for the people making its products.
Brands confirm that everyone making their products is paid at least the legal minimum wage and works in safe conditions. Production in countries with known labour-rights risks goes through extra checks.
Why it matters: the biggest risks in garment production are physical: unsafe buildings, blocked fire exits, chemical exposure and excessive hours. Where production is in the EU, labour law and inspections cover much of this. Where it isn't, we ask brands how they know their factories are safe: an audit, a certification such as amfori BSCI or Fair Wear, or their own visits. In countries with known labour-rights risks, a brand's own word is not enough.
Animal welfare
Wool, mohair, cashmere, alpaca and down need welfare evidence for that specific material.
Where wool, mohair, cashmere, alpaca or down is used, we require welfare evidence specific to that material: a relevant certification or a documented supplier assurance.
Why it matters: each animal material has its own welfare risk. Mulesing is a sheep-wool issue, live plucking a down issue. A general "responsibly sourced" line doesn't tell us which risk was addressed.
No destroying unsold stock
Every brand commits to not destroying usable unsold or returned products.
Every brand commits to not destroying usable unsold or returned products. Brands commit to not destroying or landfilling usable unsold or returned products. The only exception is a product that can't be sold, donated or recycled for hygiene, safety or legal reasons.
Why it matters: the most sustainable product is the one that stays in use. Destroying unsold clothes wastes everything that went into making them.
Honest marketing
Every sustainability claim a brand makes has to hold up against evidence, or it is corrected or removed.
We check brands' sustainability claims against the evidence they give us. Claims such as recycled or organic content must be backed by a certificate or equivalent evidence. Claims that don't hold up have to be corrected or removed.
The same applies to us. If you see a claim on IVALO.COM that you think doesn't hold up, email us at info@ivalo.com.
How we keep this up to date
Until 2026, brands joining IVALO.COM were assessed with the IVALO 360 validation, a scored review of their sustainability work across eight areas. In 2026 we replaced the score with the criteria on this page: a clear set of requirements that every brand has to meet, checked against a questionnaire and supporting documents. The change also lines up with new EU rules on sustainability claims.
New brands are checked against these criteria before listing. Brands that joined earlier were assessed under IVALO 360 and reconfirm against the current criteria.
A brand that no longer meets a requirement is removed from IVALO.COM, or the products concerned are.
We keep developing how we check our brands and will update this page as the criteria evolve.
Criteria last updated September 2026.
Want to know more about sustainability in fashion?
Check our pages for materials, certifications and download our Sustainability report.
