Behind the Seams 2026: Unravelling What’s Really in Our Textiles

Global Standards, the non-profit organisation behind the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), has launched #BehindTheSeams 2026, its annual awareness campaign helping consumers better understand what goes into the textiles they bring into their homes and use every day.

For the first time, #BehindTheSeams will shine a spotlight on products used by babies, children, and families, as well as everyday home and intimate essentials such as bedding, cotton pads, and period products. The campaign reflects growing consumer interest in product ingredients and manufacturing practices for direct-to-body products, including period care products, where campaigners and researchers have increasingly called for improved transparency around materials and chemicals used in production.

Through new educational resources, expert insights, and collaborations with brands around the world, including PACT, Snuggle Hunny, Lucy & Yak, King Louie, and Stanley & Stella, the campaign encourages consumers to look beyond appearance and price and ask what is happening “behind the seams” of the products they buy. It will also help consumers better understand textile certifications, what they mean in practice, and how trusted standards can support more informed purchasing decisions.

A growing focus on health, wellbeing and transparency

This year’s campaign reflects a shift towards greater scrutiny of product ingredients, sourcing, and manufacturing practices across everyday consumer goods. In personal care, for example, a 2025 NSF survey found that 74% of consumers consider organic ingredients important and 65% want a clear ingredient list to identify potentially harmful ingredients. That same scrutiny is increasingly relevant to textiles. A 2025 review of recent evidence on textile chemicals highlights concern around substances used in clothing and textile production, including dyes, plasticisers, PFAS, and metals, and notes the need for greater public awareness and stronger certification schemes to help reduce risk.

Parents, in particular, are becoming increasingly conscious of the products they and their families use, and for good reason. A 2025 study examining infant clothing highlighted that babies and young children are particularly vulnerable because of prolonged contact with textiles and greater sensitivity to chemical exposure.

The campaign responds to this growing interest by helping consumers understand how textile products are made, what materials and chemicals may be used during production, and how certification schemes can provide greater transparency.

Commenting on this year’s campaign, Holger Stripf, Head of Marketing, Global Standards, said: “Consumers today have more information than ever about the food they eat and the cosmetics they use, and increasingly want the same level of transparency from the textile products they bring into their homes. Yet many people still know very little about where these products come from, how they are made, or what standards sit behind them.”

“Behind the Seams exists to help close that knowledge gap. This year’s campaign is focused on providing practical, accessible information that helps people make informed purchasing decisions based on reliable information. Whether it is a baby’s sleepsuit, bedding, period products, or the clothes we wear every day, consumers deserve clear, trustworthy and verifiable information about the products closest to their bodies.”

Lydia Coley, Managing Director, Lucy & Yak, added: “We’re delighted to be a part of the Global Standards #BehindTheSeams campaign, coming together with some brilliant like-minded businesses! Global Standards is committed to protecting both people and planet through high social and environmental standards, a commitment that has been a priority for Lucy & Yak since the very beginning. Conscious choices start with having clear, trustworthy information, and our community deserves to have confidence in the products they buy. Through increasing visibility, understanding and transparency, we hope the campaign inspires more people to make choices that reflect a more sustainable future.”

This year’s campaign content will explore textiles used by babies and children, bedding, and home products, and direct-to-body essentials. The aim is to equip consumers with information about how textiles are produced, what textile certifications mean, and how standards can help underpin trust in a complex marketplace.

Building on growing consumer engagement

The campaign builds on the success of #BehindTheSeams 2025, which reached over 290 million impressions, engaged 144 million people and brought more than 850,000 visitors to the campaign website. These figures show the scale of public appetite for accessible information about textile certifications and trusted sustainability claims.

Throughout September, Global Standards will share educational content, brand collaborations and consumer giveaways through its social media channels and campaign website. Participating brands and organisations from around the world will help bring these conversations to new audiences through locally relevant stories and resources.

If you would like to learn more, please visit: https://www.behindtheseams.eco/