Quality Assurance: Audits, Accreditations and Product Certifications

At Exceptio we are passionate about our products and take pride in ensuring our practices and responsibilities, as a trusted partner, go beyond providing customers with socks that offer excellent quality, high design and great value. Our culture embraces social responsibility, and we understand that the choices we make have a genuine impact on the people and the environment around us.

Along with our associates, SMETA 4-Pillar status, BSCI overall A rating and ISO 9001:2015 certification all come as standard. Covering environmental, health & safety, social and ethical behaviour and the proactive working towards sustainability, our socks are created by our dedicated team, working with state-of-the-art knitting technology, located in Portugal and in the UK. We lead by example and our industry accreditations are your guarantee of high quality, high standards of service, integrity and best practice conformity.

Awarded by third-party auditors, following a thorough assessment of our business practices, accreditations are an important tool for authenticating sustainability claims and represent a recognised indicator of good practice. Learn more below about our accreditations and compliance certifications, responsible raw material choices and the member-based bodies we belong to – so you know that by working with us, you’re working with the right people who align with your values.

Quality Management System standard ISO9001:2015

The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) ISO 9001 is a globally recognised standard for quality management. It helps organisations to improve their performance, meet customer expectations and demonstrate their commitment to quality. Its requirements define how to establish, implement, maintain, and continually improve a quality management system.

Via the independent IQNet Certified Management System, Exceptio has in place through our Portuguese partners, ISO 9001:2015 certified management practices in all facilities confirming effective processes in efficiency, waste reduction and confidence in our trained staff to deliver flawless products and service time after time - all of which help us to create a trusted, sustainable and reliable supply chain. IQNet train, audit and verify our ISO 9001:2015 standards and certification is valid for three years. ISO 9001 provides stakeholder assurance that all aspects of our environmental, health and safety, social and ethical behaviour is measured, and ensures our processes conform to all ethical, sustainable and quality standards. We are supported in our pursuit of continual improvement of our organisation's systems and our approach to environmental concerns by measuring, maintaining and improving these systems on an ongoing basis.

Sedex

Sedex is an internationally recognised organisation which aims to improve ethical business practices, allowing information to be shared and managed in four key areas:
•Labour standards •Health and safety
•The environment • Business ethics
Our customers benefit as Sedex collects and analyses information regarding the ethical and responsible business practices in our supply chain - meaning you can keep track of our performance.

For Exceptio (Company Ref. ZC1067665) Sedex safely manages this confidential data and provides an efficient and cost-effective way to share information with buyers and other Sedex members and helps to reduce time-consuming audits. As members we comply with its social and ethical trading standards and are audited on an annual basis via SMETA audit (Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit) and the Ethical Trading Initiative's (ETI) code. Conducted by independent affiliate auditors, Exceptio comply with the more extensive SMETA 4-Pillar audit which includes two additional requirements, Business Ethics and Environmental management. Our facilities SMETA 4-Pillar status confirms the audit was passed at the highest level as we adhere to the highest levels of compliance regarding working conditions, health and safety, minimum age and working hours.

Business Social Compliance Initiative

The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) ISO 9001 is a globally recognised standard for quality management. It helps organisations to improve their performance, meet customer expectations and demonstrate their commitment to quality. Its requirements define how to establish, implement, maintain, and continually improve a quality management system.

Based on International Labour Organisation (ILO) labour standards and international regulations such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the system consists of 13 audit performance areas. Externally audited against these areas to verify social compliance, building trust and confirmation of directed, and dedicated, responsible and ethical business practice, the Exceptio group of partners are proud to hold an overall A rated BSCI accreditation.

Global Organic Textile Standard

GOTS is a textile processing standard for organic fibres, including ecological and social criteria.

The standard is backed up by independent certification of the entire textile supply chain, verifying that organic production is based on a system of farming that maintains and replenishes soil fertility without the use of toxic, persistent pesticides or synthetic fertilisers.

The GOTS standard stipulates requirements throughout the full supply chain for both ecological and labour conditions in textile and apparel manufacturing using organically produced raw materials. Third-party certification bodies regularly audit all parties involved in the manufacturing of GOTS-certified textiles through comprehensive on-site inspections, to verify that all GOTS requirements are met. A textile product carrying the GOTS label must contain a minimum of 70% certified organic fibres.

Our Portuguese plant is GOTS certified, Peúgas Carlos Maia, Lda. Scope Certificate Number CTV-970435-GOTS-0062023-25.00.

Oeko Tex Standard 100

OEKO-TEX Standard 100 is an independent testing and certification system for textiles

The standard endorses adherence to the specifications of the OEKO-TEX Association, aimed at limiting detrimental chemicals, and ensuring that, where present, those substances remain below established limits. STANDARD 100 sets the benchmark for textile safety, from yarn to finished product and every item bearing the STANDARD 100 label is certified as having passed safety tests for the presence of harmful substances, informing and enabling everyone to make responsible decisions and protect natural resources.

OEKO-TEX confidence in textiles standard 100 (certified against harmful substances to protect us and our planet) confirms that all yarns conform under certificate number 1440CIT.

Global Recycle Standard

Owned and managed by Textile Exchange, this international standard sets and verifies recycled content, social and environmental production practices and chemical restrictions.

GRS, via a chain of custody supported by certificates, tracks input materials and provides assurance that materials in a final product really are recycled. The minimum recycled content stipulation is 50%, and additional processing requirements (social, environmental, and chemical) must also be met.

Our certified GRS Hydrocycled yarn were developed to accelerate the innovation of sustainable materials, to reduce the amount of materials going to landfill and to reject unnecessary single use plastics.

Our Portugese Plant is GRS certified, Peúgas Carlos Maia, Lda. Scope Certificate Number CTV-00015811-GRS-0062023-25.00.

Oeko Tex Detox to Zero

OEKO-TEX® DETOX TO ZERO is based on the DETOX campaign launched by Greenpeace in 2011. The goal of the campaign is to exclude hazardous chemicals from textile production. With DETOX TO ZERO, OEKO-TEX® provides textile producers with a practical and usable analysis and assessment tool to create transparency and control in chemicals management and wastewater quality.

Compostable Bags

Forestry Stewardship Council

Our compostable per pair bags conform to EN13432 and AS 4736/5810 certification and breakdown organically (within approximately 2 months on a compost heap) - protecting not only your socks but the planet too.

FSC-
Their certification system, which covers more than 200 million hectares of forest, confirms that a forest is being managed in a way that preserves biological diversity and benefits the lives of local people and workers. All of our board-based packaging uses FSC-certified materials that support responsible forestry and are recyclable.

Green Cone

Our range of Green Cone® yarns create a more eco-friendly sock.
Our certified GRS Hydrocycled yarn were developed to accelerate the innovation of sustainable materials, to reduce the amount of materials going to landfill and to reject unnecessary single use plastics.

At Exceptio we are dedicated to driving improvements in responsible, sustainable and ethical business practices and we require all partners to operate with the same high principles. This is far from lip service as these goals form the foundation of our business values. We take full accountability of our product conformity, economic, social and operational codes of conduct and uphold the highest level of integrity and professionalism – ensuring trust and confidence in our service and products and allowing everyone the opportunity to make responsible decisions.