Re:Nova Switzerland · How We Work

Clarity before
certification.

We don't issue certificates. We give brands a map. Our assessment tells each brand exactly which frameworks are relevant to them — and precisely how far they are from each one.

"We don't certify brands.
We show them the truth about where they stand."
Our Role

Not an auditor.
Not another
compliance burden.

The brands we work with are small, resource-constrained, and already doing more than most. What they often lack is not commitment — it is a map.


Our assessment tells each brand exactly which frameworks are relevant to them specifically, and how far they are from each one. Not a generic checklist. A personalised readiness picture, built from what they already do.


The result is a brand profile that consumers and buyers can trust — because it is built on structured evidence, analyst review, and a clear separation between what is verified and what is not.

"Most small sustainable brands are doing genuine work. The problem is that the vocabulary of sustainability has no shared standard behind it. Re:Nova's assessment was built to answer exactly that question."
Re:Nova is not

An independent certification body granting marks that carry legal weight

Re:Nova is

A structured readiness assessment with analyst review — showing brands where they stand against 26 global frameworks

Not

A self-certification tool that passes every brand automatically

But

A two-stage process where "not yet" is a valid, honest, and respected answer

Not

A compliance audit with pass/fail outcomes

But

A personalised map from where you are to where you could go — with the specific gaps identified

The Re:Nova Readiness Check

Two stages. Four outputs.

Every brand on the platform completes both stages before their public profile goes live. No stage is optional. No output is automated without analyst review.

01
Stage 1 · Onboarding
The Onboarding Assessment
21 questions · No document upload required · Completed in ~30 minutes

Covers company mission, existing certifications, marketing claims, materials, supply chain structure, geography, and financial practices. Used to personalise the assessment — only the frameworks relevant to this specific brand proceed to Stage 2.

Certification Relevance Map
Initial Greenwashing Risk Assessment · Internal
02
Stage 2 · Deep Dive
The Deep Dive
39 questions · Document upload required · Analyst review before publication

Covers the 35 evidence points across all six dimensions in detail. Uploaded documents are reviewed by the Re:Nova sustainability team. Scoring is provisional until evidence is accepted by an analyst.

Brand Sustainability Profile · Public
Certification Readiness Report · Brand-facing
Re:Nova Verified Designation

Awarded on platform to brands that complete Stage 2 and pass the analyst review. It signals that a brand has provided sufficient evidence across the six dimensions to support the claims made in their public profile — not that they hold any specific certification.

The Assessment Framework

Every brand is evaluated
across six dimensions.

D
Product Design
How is the product designed?
M
Materials
What is the product made from?
SC
Supply Chain
Who makes it?
P
Production
How is it made?
G
Governance
How does the company operate?
F
Financial & Commercial
How do the economics work?
Readiness of Brands

The readiness % maps to one of four bands per framework. Each band carries a specific action implication — not just a label.

80%+ Ready to Apply
The brand could submit a certification application today. Minor document gaps may remain but do not prevent application.
60–79% Strong Foundation
2–4 targeted actions would bring the brand to application-ready within approximately 6 months.
40–59% Emerging
Genuine sustainability commitment is evident. A 12–18 month development path is realistic with the gap report as a guide.
<40% Early Stage
Significant gaps remain. The gap report identifies the highest-priority starting points — these brands are not excluded, they are directed to a development path.
What Makes This Credible

The assessment is structured.
The judgement is human.

Automated scoring and flagging are inputs to analyst review — not the final word. Every brand profile is reviewed by the Re:Nova sustainability team before it goes live. This is what separates a readiness check from a self-certification tool.

01
Evidence Review

Uploaded documents are reviewed individually. Analysts accept or reject each document for the question it supports. A score of 0.6 (full answer, no evidence) becomes 1.0 only when the document is accepted — or drops to a lower score if the evidence doesn't support the claim.

02
Score Adjustment

Automated readiness scores are analyst-adjustable where the evidence warrants a different assessment. The scoring algorithm sets the starting point — the analyst makes the final call. This is documented in the internal assessment record for each brand.

03
Greenwashing Flags

The system flags contradictions between Stage 1 claims (O-1.4) and questionnaire responses elsewhere. Analysts determine the appropriate response: conversation, evidence request, or platform access restriction. Critical flags are resolved before a profile can be published.

04
Profile Approval

The public-facing Sustainability Profile is approved by an analyst before it goes live. Only claims supported by accepted evidence appear in the public profile. Unverified claims are excluded entirely — not labelled as unverified, excluded.

05
Re:Nova Verified

The Verified designation on the platform is assigned by an analyst after Stage 2 completion and profile review. It is not automatic. It can be withdrawn if a brand's live profile is contradicted by new information — a failed audit, a public controversy, or a withdrawn certification.

06
Independent Estimates

Carbon, water risk, living wage gap, and chemical risk are estimated by analysts using published tools (Higg MSI, WRI Aqueduct, Anker Institute, ZDHC). These estimates are labelled as Re:Nova estimates on the platform — clearly separated from brand-reported data.

Platform Access

Three things that cannot be waived.

Re:Nova's assessment is built on the principle that honest answers are rewarded and "not yet" is a valid, respected response. But three specific findings trigger a review that may result in platform access being withheld or withdrawn.

Critical Flag · Platform Review

Unsubstantiated labour risk

A "No" or "Unsure" response on child or forced labour risk — with no supporting evidence — triggers the highest-priority flag and blocks platform access pending analyst review. This is the only true hard stop in the current framework.

Contradicted · Not flagged — Active contradiction

Directly contradicted claims

If a marketing claim (e.g. "organic cotton," "Fair Trade," "zero waste") is directly contradicted by questionnaire responses — no farm certificate for organic, no producer relationship for Fair Trade — the claim is rated Contradicted, not just Unsubstantiated. Contradicted claims cannot appear in any public profile.

Implicit Exclusion

Zero supply chain visibility

A brand that cannot name a single Tier 1 supplier cannot complete Stage 1 meaningfully. Without a named supply chain, the six-dimension framework cannot be assessed. This is an implicit exclusion — the questionnaire cannot proceed to Stage 2 without at least one named production relationship.

A note on honesty: Re:Nova's framework is deliberately designed to reward transparency over performance. A brand that scores 35% and discloses exactly where it stands is more valuable to our platform than a brand that claims 90% with no evidence. "Not yet" is a valid answer at every stage. The gap report exists precisely to make "not yet" the beginning of a path, not the end of a conversation.

Third-Party Standards

The standards behind the scores.

Re:Nova maps to 26 global frameworks across four categories. We do not grant these certifications — they are issued by independent bodies. Our role is to tell brands which ones are relevant to them, and how far they are from each one. Not all 26 apply to every brand; relevance is determined in Stage 1.

Product
9 standards
GOTSGlobal Organic Textile Standard
GRSGlobal Recycled Standard
Oeko-Tex 100Oeko-Tex Standard 100
Oeko-Tex STePOeko-Tex STeP (Sustainable Textile Production)
ZDHCZero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals
India Organic / NPOPIndia Organic / National Programme for Organic Production
Handloom MarkHandloom Mark (India)
CraftmarkCraftmark (India)
FSCForest Stewardship Council
Supply Chain
9 standards
Fair TradeFair Trade Certification
WFTOWorld Fair Trade Organization
NestNest Ethical Handcraft Standard
SA8000Social Accountability Standard
Sedex / SMETASedex / SMETA Audit
BSCIBusiness Social Compliance Initiative
LWGLeather Working Group
Rainforest AllianceRainforest Alliance
Leaping BunnyLeaping Bunny / PETA Vegan
Company
5 standards
B CorpB Corporation Certification
Fashion RevolutionFashion Revolution Transparency Index
C2CCradle to Cradle
ZWIAZero Waste International Alliance
Non-GMONon-GMO Project Verified
Regulatory
5 frameworks
Green Claims Dir.EU Green Claims Directive (2024/825/EU) · In force from March 2026
CSRDCorporate Sustainability Reporting Directive
CSDDDCorporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive
ESPR / DPPEcodesign for Sustainable Products / Digital Product Passport
USDA OrganicUSDA Organic
Not all 26 frameworks apply to every brand. Relevance is determined in Stage 1 based on product type, fibre composition, production method, geographic market, and supply chain structure. A brand producing handloom cotton scarves in Rajasthan selling into Switzerland will receive a different relevance map than a brand producing upcycled garments in Mumbai for a European market. This is by design — a generic checklist applied to every brand produces generic results that help nobody.
Re:Nova Verified

Are you a brand ready to know where you stand?

The Re:Nova Readiness Check takes 30 minutes for Stage 1. It costs nothing. It tells you exactly which certifications are relevant to your business — and your specific gaps for each one. No obligations. No surprises.

Begin the Assessment