Woolmark

The product is made from pure new wool and meets the Woolmark performance specifications.

What it looks like

A ball of yarn drawn as several interlocking curved black strands.

What it means

Three marks in the family and the difference is the fibre content: Woolmark is pure new wool, Woolmark Blend is 50% or more new wool, and Wool Blend is 30 to 49%. New wool means not reprocessed from existing garments. Licensing also requires the product to pass performance testing for things like shrinkage and colourfastness, so it is a quality mark as well as a content one. Designed in 1964 and still one of the most recognised marks in the world.

Defined by The Woolmark Company licence specifications. Where a symbol differs between standards, the difference is described above rather than resolved — both versions are in circulation on real labels.

Other certification marks symbols

Symbol	Means
Energy Star	The product meets US Environmental Protection Agency efficiency criteria for its category.
Fairtrade Mark	The certified ingredients were bought on Fairtrade terms, including a minimum price and a premium paid to the producer organisation.
OEKO-TEX Standard 100	Every component of the textile was tested for harmful substances and passed.
NSF certification	Tested and certified by NSF against a public health or food equipment standard.
BSI Kitemark	BSI has tested the product and audits the factory that makes it.
GS mark (Geprüfte Sicherheit)	Tested safety — a German voluntary mark requiring independent testing and factory surveillance.
Kosher certification (OU and others)	A certifying agency attests that the product is kosher, often with a letter alongside for the category.
Halal certification	A certifying body attests that the product complies with Islamic dietary rules.
USDA Organic seal	At least 95% of the ingredients are certified organic under the US National Organic Program.
EU organic leaf	At least 95% of the agricultural ingredients are organic under EU rules.
Crossed grain (certified gluten free)	Independently certified to contain no more than 20 parts per million of gluten.
Vegan Society sunflower	Registered with the Vegan Society: no animal ingredients and no animal testing at any stage.
Leaping Bunny	Certified cruelty free: no animal testing by the company, its suppliers or third parties after a fixed cut-off date.

Common questions

What does the woolmark symbol mean?: The product is made from pure new wool and meets the Woolmark performance specifications.
What does it look like?: A ball of yarn drawn as several interlocking curved black strands.

OEKO-TEX Standard 100 Every component of the textile was tested for harmful substances and passed.
Very mild wash — two bars under the tub Wash at the stated temperature on the gentlest machine cycle, with a much reduced load and spin.
Energy Star The product meets US Environmental Protection Agency efficiency criteria for its category.
Fairtrade Mark The certified ingredients were bought on Fairtrade terms, including a minimum price and a premium paid to the producer organisation.
OEKO-TEX Standard 100 Every component of the textile was tested for harmful substances and passed.
NSF certification Tested and certified by NSF against a public health or food equipment standard.
BSI Kitemark BSI has tested the product and audits the factory that makes it.
GS mark (Geprüfte Sicherheit) Tested safety — a German voluntary mark requiring independent testing and factory surveillance.
Kosher certification (OU and others) A certifying agency attests that the product is kosher, often with a letter alongside for the category.
Halal certification A certifying body attests that the product complies with Islamic dietary rules.
USDA Organic seal At least 95% of the ingredients are certified organic under the US National Organic Program.
EU organic leaf At least 95% of the agricultural ingredients are organic under EU rules.

Sources

Official vendor product documentation — At One Place

How these figures are compiled and checked