ZDHC
ZDHC MRSL ZDHC Manufacturing Restricted Substances List
Restricts substances in the chemical formulations used to make a textile, rather than in the textile that results. A programme requirement rather than a test method. Conformance is demonstrated through the ZDHC platform - chemical inventories, wastewater results and supplier assessments - rather than by a single certificate on a product.
- Number
- ZDHC MRSL
- Edition
- ZDHC MRSL V3.1
- Status
- active
Equivalents
| Body | Number | Equivalence | Deviation |
|---|---|---|---|
| OEKO-TEX | OEKO-TEX ECO PASSPORT | NEQ | ZDHC names ECO PASSPORT among its published Accepted Certification Standards, so a chemical certified under it can be used to demonstrate MRSL conformance. Recognition by the publisher, not equivalence: the two set their requirements independently and a change to one does not move the other. |
| bluesign | bluesign BSSL | NEQ | ZDHC names bluesign among its published Accepted Certification Standards, reached through the bluefinder listing of approved chemical products. Recognition of the route, not agreement between the two lists. |
| GOTS | GOTS | NEQ | ZDHC names GOTS among its published Accepted Certification Standards. Worth noting how little the two otherwise have in common: one governs process chemistry across any fibre, the other governs organic fibre across a whole supply chain, and they meet only at chemical conformance. |
What this standard is for
Where it is used
Named in brand chemical policies and cascaded to dyehouses and finishers as a condition of doing business.
Why it matters
The difference from every other restricted substances list in this register, and the one people get wrong: a product list asks what remains in the article, and this asks what was allowed into the process. An article can satisfy a product limit while having been made with chemistry this forbids, so a mill cannot substitute one conformance for the other.
What to watch for
The edition here is inferred, not stated. No ZDHC page gives a current version; V3.1 is taken from the title of their own document "Appendix A: Smart testing grid for ZDHC MRSL V3.1 conformance", and references to the older V2.0 are more numerous on the same pages. The list itself now sits behind the Implementation Hub and was not read for this record. Confirm the version against the document before relying on it. Republishing the values, as opposed to citing the list, is governed by ZDHC's IP licensing and is not currently possible: their licensing programme is under development, and its stated terms allow licensed non-participants "policy and alignment statements only - no performance or quantitative claims". A limit value is a quantitative claim. That is why this register describes what the list governs and sends you to ZDHC for the numbers.
Buy the official copy from ZDHC
Metadata only — purchase the standard from the issuing body.
Report incorrect information on this page
Tell us what is wrong and we will check it against the source. Reports are private, are never published, and go to an editor rather than into a comment thread.