Bluesign, Explained

Table of contents

What is Bluesign?

Bluesign Approved Definition

Bluesign Products

Bluesign System Partners

Bluesign Tags

Finding Bluesign Products

Impacts

It’s easy to miss, so be on the lookout: More and more outdoor gear today comes with a small blue tag attached, a physical sign of an important step forward for the gear industry. The tag might mention Bluesign-approved materials or indicate Bluesign Product certification, but with the myriad of tags marketing a product’s features, it can be hard to know what’s important. This one definitely deserves your attention. The Bluesign label isn’t a greenwashing ploy, and it indicates that a company is making a serious sustainability commitment. Here’s how Bluesign is changing the outdoor gear industry for the better.

What is Bluesign?

Bluesign Technologies is a company that provides an independent certification system for the textile industry. It focuses on sustainable chemistry and environmental impact through the production process. Founded in 2000 by a Swiss textile company, Bluesign has become a recognized leader in third-party sustainability certification.

Bluesign Technologies was ahead of the curve from its inception, recognizing the need for transparency and sustainability within the textile manufacturing supply chain. Working with top chemical suppliers, Bluesign developed the world’s first Manufacturing Restricted Substances List, which evaluates and prevents environmental and health risks by determining which chemicals should and should not be in a variety of products.

The first trademarked Bluesign Product—which we discuss in detail below—launched in 2001, and since then, the company has continued to grow. Bluesign now works with many industry partners to implement sustainable practices and proper waste and chemical management within the production process. The 2025 Bluesign System Partner list includes over 800 partners, including brands, retailers, chemical suppliers, and manufacturers.

What Does Bluesign Approved Mean?

To become Bluesign approved, a textile, accessory, or chemical substance must meet stakeholder guidelines, government regulations, and Bluesign requirements focused on consumer and workplace safety, carbon emissions, chemical use, and resource consumption. For a specific material to get approved, Bluesign conducts an on-site assessment at a factory in which experts screen the production process for hazardous materials and environmental risks in the manufacturing process. After the initial screening, Bluesign works with a company to resolve problems that arise during screening. Finally, Bluesign conducts tests and inspections to certify individual products before issuing an official certification.

Whereas other third-party certifications like Oeko-Tex conduct sample tests on the end product, Bluesign distinguishes itself by being involved from the start to ensure quality throughout the manufacturing process. Bluesign helps companies implement input stream management, which eliminates toxic substances from the beginning of the production process. That process also reduces testing costs on finished products, since Bluesign-approved materials are made from components that are also Bluesign approved.

You can find Bluesign-approved materials in many types of outdoor gear, ranging from apparel to footwear to technical products. These materials include chemical aftercare products, textiles such as fabrics or yarns, and accessories such as buttons or zippers. Major brands such as Patagonia, REI, Norrona, Outdoor Research, and Arc’teryx incorporate many Bluesign-approved materials into their products. For example, Outdoor Research’s Transcendent Down Hoodie is made with a Bluesign-approved recycled nylon shell and lining. Similarly, REI Co-op’s 650 Down Jacket uses a Bluesign-approved recycled nylon shell fabric, nylon lining fabric, and down insulation. (However, just because these items use Bluesign-approved elements does not mean they are Bluesign Products. More on that below.)

As you shop for outdoor gear, you might encounter a Bluesign label in three variations. Let’s say you’re looking to buy a backpacking pack; one of the materials used to make the pack—the plastic of a zipper, for example—could be approved by Bluesign. In this case, the hang tag might feature a “Bluesign approved” tag indicating which materials are approved. Or, if most of the components of the backpack are Bluesign approved, then the whole backpack can be labeled as a Bluesign Product. This is often indicated with a blue “Bluesign Product” hang tag. Finally, the brand that sold you the backpack could be a Bluesign System Partner—which is not always labeled on product hang tags but may be indicated somewhere on a brand’s website.

It’s easy to get confused with all the terminology—and brands are not always clear with labeling—so let’s break down what each of these Bluesign categories means. Importantly, only Bluesign System Partners can use the Bluesign Product label, but non-system partners can still use Bluesign-approved material in their products. Still, the label must clearly communicate which components are Bluesign approved.

What is a Bluesign Product?

The Bluesign Product label signifies the highest level of consumer safety that Bluesign certifies. Gear with this label is made with the minimum possible impact on people and the environment and adheres to responsible use of resources throughout the production process. To be certified as a Bluesign Product, items like apparel and sleeping bags must be made by a Bluesign System Partner (we’ll explain that shortly) and contain at least 90% Bluesign-approved fabrics and at least 30% Bluesign-approved accessories. For equipment like backpacks and tents, a Bluesign Product requires at least 90% Bluesign-approved fabrics but only 20% Bluesign-approved accessories.

Far fewer outdoor brands make Bluesign Products compared to those that make gear with Bluesign-approved materials, and of the hundreds of products reviewed by Better Trail only a handful are certified as Bluesign Products. Some brands do stand out, though: Helly Hansen makes several notable Bluesign Products that we’ve reviewed, including the Alpha 4.0 Jacket, Legendary Insulated Ski Pants, Sogn Shell Jacket (included in our Best Ski Jackets of 2025), and Lifa Stripe Base Layer (included in our Best Base Layers of 2025).

What is a Bluesign System Partner?

Companies throughout the outdoor gear supply chain can become a Bluesign System Partner. The Bluesign System Partner list includes chemical suppliers, textile and accessory manufacturers, brands, and retail providers. To be approved as a system partner, Bluesign must conduct an on-site assessment of a given manufacturer, and it reassesses the eligibility of Bluesign System Partners every two to three years.

The Bluesign System Partner criteria for brands require a company to commit to continually improving sustainable practices in its supply chain and across the organization. Brands must create a vision statement for sustainable products and aim to increase their percentage of recycled or renewable materials within a specific timeframe. Brands that are Bluesign System Partners must also commit to sustainable product design, which encompasses everything from raw material choice to product composition to material efficiency.

Bluesign also stipulates that partners accurately document their supply chain, create resource efficiency throughout their systems, and implement proper chemical management techniques. Brands must also monitor their environmental emissions (air, water, and waste) and verify that they comply with federal, state, and local regulations. Other requirements include committing to social responsibility; monitoring supplier, consumer, and workplace safety; and tracking a company’s operational footprint.

Companies can use the Bluesign System Partner label when these criteria are met. Additionally, brands get the highest level of service from Bluesign. This includes access to a comprehensive “safe chemical list,” risk analysis from on-site visits by Bluesign representatives, and a custom plan for more sustainable production methods.

The Bluesign System Partner list includes many of the most recognizable names in the outdoor gear industry. Patagonia, Arc’teryx, Norrøna, REI, and The North Face are just a few of the 89 brands that meet the Bluesign System Partner standards. Bluesign Products are offered by Bluesign System Partners Osprey, Mammut, Thule, Burton, and Nemo Equipment, among others.

How to Understand Bluesign Tags

Now that you’re familiar with Bluesign nomenclature, the next step is applying that knowledge to Bluesign tags. According to Bluesign trademark guidelines, when a brand uses the Bluesign label it must clearly specify which product element is Bluesign approved and differentiate between Bluesign-approved material and being a Bluesign Product.

Take Outdoor Research’s Cirque II Pants, which demonstrate proper use of the Bluesign-approved materials label on its website. Under the “Specs” tab on its website, Outdoor Research clearly specifies that the pants are made of Bluesign-approved fabric. Similarly, the webpage describing Patagonia’s Retro Pile Fleece Pullover states that the fleece's body fabric is Bluesign approved.

Unfortunately, brands are not always transparent when they name-check Bluesign, and during our research, the Better Trail team found that the use of the Bluesign label is often ambiguous and not in adherence with the Bluesign trademark guidelines. For example, Flylow lists its 2023 Veronica Jacket as Bluesign certified, but the company is not a Bluesign System Partner and fails to identify which components of the jacket use Bluesign-approved materials. Prana’s Encinitas Field Coat description says the product includes Bluesign “content” but does not specify which parts of the coat are Bluesign-approved materials. In marketing their Beta Jacket, Arc’teryx writes that the jacket “contains materials that meet the Bluesign criteria,” but does not provide specifics. We’ll always note these discrepancies in our product reviews, and they’re a good reminder to take a peek at a given product’s available sustainability info if you’re thinking of buying it.

How to Find Bluesign-Approved Materials and Products

If you want to look for Bluesign Products or products that contain Bluesign-approved materials, there are several tools at your disposal. The Bluesign Technologies website has a page with links to shop for Bluesign Products from various Bluesign System Partners. If you’re curious about a specific material, fabric, or textile, you can find more information in the Bluesign Guide, a publicly available database for all Bluesign-approved materials with sort functions for textiles and accessories.

Some retailers also provide sort functions on their websites, allowing you to filter products by sustainability traits. For example, REI has a “Sustainability” filter where you can select “Bluesign” as a criterion for your search. Backcountry.com offers a similar feature labeled as a “Responsibility” sort function, which allows you to select “Bluesign Approved” as a filter. (Unfortunately, Backcountry’s use of the Bluesign label is not consistent with the trademark rules and doesn’t specify which specific product components are Bluesign approved.)

The Better Trail sustainability portal is also a great resource for finding Bluesign Products and Bluesign-approved materials. On the Better Trail sustainability search page, you can filter all products to show only "Bluesign Approved" items. You can also filter by a particular activity or brand to be more specific. Additionally, each individual product review will clearly indicate whether the gear contains Bluesign-approved materials and if it qualifies as a Bluesign Product.

The Impact of Buying Third-Party Certified Gear

Third-party sustainability certifications are key to the outdoor industry’s efforts to promote a cleaner, safer environment. These independent certifications, such as Bluesign, create supply chain accountability and transparency by holding brands and their suppliers to higher standards. Third-party certifications are also a way to differentiate between brands that are greenwashing by using buzzwords such as “natural” and “eco-friendly” and brands that are committed to sustainable practices.

Third-party certifications are also a good way to find data on a brand’s sustainability performance from an unbiased source. Bluesign tracks Environmental Key Performance Indicators (eKPIs) from its system partners. These quantitative measurements can assign hard numbers to a business’ environmental track record.

Third-party certification programs help brands take consistent, collective action toward reducing environmental impact. In 2023, Bluesign System Partners cumulatively reduced water consumption by 22% compared to a 2019 baseline, and carbon emissions decreased by 37%. Bluesign calculated it saved 6,293,287,000 liters of water (around 1,662,510,542 gallons), 773,567,120 kilowatt hours of electricity and 3,268,276,695 kg of carbon last year.

If you’re looking to purchase environmentally friendly gear, Bluesign and other third-party sustainability-certified products are a good place to start. Just as in the wilderness, though, it’s good to have your head on a swivel: Be cognizant of how the brand is marketing the certification and make sure your pick is actually Bluesign worthy.