How to become Masters of LINEN™ certified?

Eligibility to Masters of LINEN™ Certification

The Masters of LINEN™ certification is open to European spinners, fancy spinners, weavers and knitters who meet the criteria of the four principles of the standard.

A clearly defined geographical criterion

Certified companies must be European (headquarters and certified sites), as must all stages of cultivation and processing of Masters of LINEN™ products, including subcontractors, from the Masters of FLAX FIBRE™ certified fibre to yarn and finished fabric.

Notes: The selected countries include the countries of the European Union, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. One Tunisian site belonging to a founding spinner of Masters of LINEN™ is the only exception

 Expertise and know-how in linen at the heart of the reference framework

Masters of LINEN™ certified companies must demonstrate the highest levels of expertise and know-how in spinning, fancy spinning, weaving and/or knitting Linen. This requires, in particular, that headquarters and sites have a certain number of years of existence and of experience in processing Linen. They shall also have their own production sites in Europe for spinning, fancy spinning, weaving or knitting Flax-Linen.

They shall also have their own production sites in Europe for spinning, fancy spinning, weaving or knitting Flax-Linen:

• The head office must have been established in Europe for at least 15 years.
• The sites must have at least 5 years' experience in one of the certified activities
  (spinning, fancy spinning, weaving, knitting of Linen) in Europe.
• This period is reduced to 3 years for sites that are part of a company/group that has at least 5 years' experience in Linen processing in Europe.
• These periods do not apply to new European sites belonging to a Masters of LINEN™ certified company, which are immediately certifiable.

Support for the European flax industry

Masters of LINEN™ companies chose to support the European Linen industry by prioritizing European Linen supplies.

As a result, spinners source 70% minimum of their total Linen supplies from Masters of FLAX FIBRE™ certified fibres.

Fancy spinners, weavers and knitters source at least 55% of their total Linen supplies from Masters of LINEN™ certified yarns and fabrics.

Strict and verified Traceability

Masters of LINEN™ is aimed at companies committed to implementing strict traceability and to undergoing annual verification audits.

The Chain of Custody principle

Masters of LINEN™ certification guarantees the traceability of Linen products based on the Chain of Custody principle.

This principle requires that each link in the value chain that is the owner of the certified material must be certified until the last business-to-business transaction.

To ensure the traceability of a Masters of LINEN™ certified product from the Masters of FLAX FIBRE™ certified fibre to the finished product:

• All stages of trading and processing, including subcontracted, shall be carried out in Europe, from fibre to finished fabric.
  NB: with the exception of the Tunisian site of a founding spinner.
• The spinning, fancy spinning, weaving or knitting activities must be Masters of LINEN™ certified.
• All other stakeholders in the value chain that own the certified material must be certified to Masters of FLAX FIBRE™ or Masters of LINEN™ Chain of Custody.

Notes: Masters of LINEN™ only certifies the spinning, fancy spinning, weaving and knitting activities of European companies with Linen recognised expertise (“essential” activities).
All other Linen-related activities carried out by Masters of LINEN™ companies must nevertheless also be covered by a European Linen traceability certification scheme, to guarantee traceability from fibre to finished product.

The Masters of LINEN™ Chain of Custody (CoC) certification is a variation of Masters of LINEN™ that focuses solely on verifying the traceability of Masters of LINEN™ materials and products. It allows to extend the scope and traceability of Masters of LINEN™ to these associated activities of certified companies. In addition, Masters of LINEN™ companies may also choose to obtain the Masters of FLAX FIBRE™ certification for these associated activities.

Download the Masters of LINEN™ traceability chain

Subcontracting:

• Subcontractors of Masters of LINEN™ companies must be located in Europe
• Spinning, fancy spinning, weaving and knitting may only be subcontracted by Masters of LINEN™ companies to Masters of LINEN™ certified companies.
• All the other activities subcontracted by Masters of LINEN™ companies do not require subcontractors to be certified. Their activities will be declared within the scope of the Masters of LINEN™ company’s certification and will nevertheless be verified.

Download the Masters of LINEN™ Traceability Chain (with subcontracting)

Brands and specifiers

For traceability reasons, when involved in the processing of their certified products (directly or via subcontractors), and when there are subsequent business-to-business transactions, brands and specifiers may be required to become certified according to Masters of LINEN™ CoC, which ensures verification of the traceability of Masters of LINEN™ materials and products.

For full details of the requirements, please refer to the Masters of LINEN™ standard.

Masters of LINEN™ Certification process

All technical requirements and criteria related to obtaining the certification are detailed in the Masters of LINEN™ Reference Documents.

The Masters of LINEN™ certification is intended for European spinners, fancy spinners, weavers and knitters transforming European certified Linen, according to the following requirements:

Download the Masters of LINEN™ certification options per activity

Brands and specifiers wishing to sell Masters of LINEN™ certified Linen products must follow the requirements below:

Download the Masters of LINEN™ certification options for brands and specifiers

Masters of LINEN™ Reference Documents

The Masters of LINEN™ certification system is based on a structured set of technical reference documents.

• The Masters of LINEN™ Standard: describes the fundamental principles, scope, intent and essential commitments. By laying the essential foundations, the Standard provides the guiding framework from which the criteria were developed, ensuring consistency with industry best practices.

• The Masters of LINEN™ Criteria Guidelines: provides a comprehensive explanation of each criterion included in the Masters of LINEN™ Checklist. The document details the context, rationale and interpretation of each criterion to ensure a consistent understanding and application. It defines the technical criteria against which the organization will be verified during the audit.
  Information available soon

• The Masters of LINEN™ Checklist: A structured tool in the form of a list, used by certified companies for their internal audits, and by certification bodies for the audits of companies applying to or already certified to Masters of LINEN™. It lists all the compliance criteria for a systematic assessment of compliance with the Standard.
  Information available soon

• The Masters of LINEN™ Audit Protocol: Intended for those responsible for implementing the Masters of LINEN™ certification and for certification bodies. It defines the rules and procedures for conducting audits, the audit methodology, their frequency and reporting requirements, and provides a clear definition of the Masters of LINEN™ certification process.
  Information available soon

In addition to these Reference Documents, there are several supplementary documents:

• The Masters of LINEN™ Application Form: Document gathering information about the company's head office, potential sites/activities and other relevant details. It must be completed when a company wishes to obtain Masters of LINEN™ certification, as well as before certification renewal, and be sent to the Alliance for authentication.
  

• The Masters of LINEN™ Trademark Use Authorization Agreement (TUAA): Formal agreement authorizing a certified company or a brand/dsitributor to use the Masters of LINEN™ trademark under defined conditions. It is valid for three years from the date of countersignature by the Alliance and, for Masters of LINEN™ certified companies, subject to the validity of their certificate.
  

• The Masters of LINEN™ templates: Document templates designed to facilitate the implementation of specific criteria of the Masters of LINEN™ Standard.

• The Masters of LINEN™ Graphic Charter: A document providing guidelines on the correct use of the Masters of LINEN™ visual identity, ensuring consistent branding and communication.

• The Masters of LINEN™ Audit Closure Statement: The audit is officially closed upon signature of this document, in which the audited company acknowledges the non-conformities identified during the audit, if any.
  

All Reference Documents and additional documents will soon be available on our Technical Documents page.