What Gore Says Its Certifications Cover: bluesign®, OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 and GRS on GORE-TEX Products, as the Brand States Them

GORE-TEX laminates appear in jackets, footwear and gloves sold under other brands, so the certification claims on the hangtag or product page trace back to Gore's Fabrics business. In a blog post dated 22 July 2025, a Gore employee writing in a supply chain sustainability role set out how the brand says its products are certified: through bluesign®, OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 and the Global Recycled Standard.

Staying close to what the brand itself states matters here. The post is Gore describing its own practices and figures; it is not an auditor's report, and the percentages it gives are brand-reported. With that framing, here is what the post says about each certification and its limits.

The three certifications, in the brand's words

Gore's post describes each standard as follows:
- bluesign®: the standard "certifies that textiles are produced with minimal environmental impact and under safe working conditions" and "verifies responsible resource use, checking that harmful chemicals are not used in production processes."
- Global Recycled Standard (GRS): it "verifies the authenticity of recycled materials used in textiles" and "certifies that every step of the supply chain upholds social, environmental, and chemical responsibility."
- OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100: it "certifies that textiles are free from harmful substances."

The figures Gore reports — and what they cover

The brand gives two numbers, both about 2024 shipment volumes in its Fabrics consumer business: "In 2024, more than 94% of total shipped product volume within our Fabrics consumer business was bluesign® APPROVED," and "more than 99% of total shipped product volume meets this standard" for OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100. Both are brand-reported shares of shipped volume, not independent audit results, and neither figure speaks to a specific garment's certification.

GRS and the manufacturing sites

For recycled content, Gore says its Fabrics business "received GRS certification for its manufacturing sites in Shenzhen, China, and Putzbrunn, Germany, since 2021." The brand says this lets it "trace recycled materials from their original source through every step of the production process" and that "it helps us confirm that our recycled content is genuinely recycled." Gore describes GRS certification as "a chain-of-custody system, preventing the mixing of virgin materials with recycled content." What this means in practice: the brand's statements about GRS concern its Fabrics manufacturing sites, so a specific jacket's recycled content is a matter of that item's own GRS claim or label.

What the brand says about upkeep of the certificates

Gore describes certification as ongoing rather than a one-off: "Maintaining these certifications is a continual process. Each year, we undergo various assessments that evaluate our manufacturing facilities and provide recommendations for further improvements." The brand also states, "We have a very close relationship with bluesign®, GRS, and OEKO-TEX®." These are Gore's own characterisations of the relationship, attributed to the brand post.

How to check a specific product

Brand-reported volume figures describe Gore's Fabrics consumer business as a whole; they are not a certification of any individual item. Before assuming a specific item carries a given certificate, the following steps are advice from the editors of this guide:
- Look for the certification label on the product itself or in its product listing, where the brand lists which certifications apply.
- Ask the selling brand about the certifications that apply to the specific product you are considering, rather than relying on the brand's general volume percentages.
- Treat Gore's 2024 figures as a dated snapshot of its Fabrics consumer business; they can change and do not certify the specific garment or shoe in front of you.

Gore presents certifications as its way of "driv[ing] transparency," calling them "objective validation of our commitment to sustainability and responsible practices across our supply chain." To weigh those statements yourself, read the brand's 22 July 2025 post, then check what each certification label says on the product you are buying and ask the selling brand for the documentation behind its certification claims.