Oeko-Tex is a registered trade mark, representing the product labels and company certifications issued and other services provided by the International Association for Research and Testing in the Field of Textile and Leather Ecology (which also calls itself Oeko-Tex for short).
The Oeko-Tex Association issues the product-related labels Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex (formerly Oeko-Tex Standard 100), Made in Green by Oeko-Tex (formerly Oeko-Tex Standard 100plus) and Leather Standard by Oeko-Tex, the label Eco Passport by Oeko-Tex for chemicals to be used in textile production, and the STeP by Oeko-Tex label (formerly Oeko-Tex Standard 1000) and the Detox to Zero status report for production facilities.
Oeko-Tex labels and certificates confirm the human-ecological safety of textile products and leather articles from all stages of production (raw materials and fibres, yarns, fabrics, ready-to-use end products) along the textile value chain. Some also attest to socially and environmentally sound conditions in production facilities.
Organization
The International Association for Research and Testing in the Field of Textile and Leather Ecology (Oeko-Tex) with headquarters in Zürich (Switzerland) was founded in 1992. Founding members were the German Hohenstein Institute and the Austrian Textile Research Institute (OETI). Currently, the Oeko-Tex Association includes 18 neutral test and research institutes in Europe and Japan with contact offices in over 70 countries around the world.
Oeko-Tex Certificates
Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex
The Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex product label, introduced (as Oeko-Tex Standard 100) in 1992, certifies adherence to the specifications of the standard by the same name, a document of testing methods and limit values for potentially harmful chemicals. This independent testing and certification system may be applied to textile materials, intermediate products at all stages of production and ready-made textile articles. Examples of eligible items for certification are raw and dyed finished yarns, raw and dyed finished fabrics and knits, and consumer goods (all types of clothing, home and household textiles, bed linen, terry cloth items, textile toys and more).
Objective
The Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex aims at making it obvious to consumers that the labeled textile products have undergone laboratory testing for a wide range of harmful substances, and that the content of those substances remains below the limit values established by the Oeko-Tex Association.
The introduction of the standard established a globally standardized quality assurance system for manufacturers and retailers, taking into account the decreased vertical range of manufacture in the individual facilities of the textile and clothing industry, and compensating for regionally different evaluation standards for the risk potential of harmful substances. Use of the Oeko-Tex certificate documents compliance with human-ecological requirements to subsequent production levels and consumers. The requirements for obtaining the certificate are updated at least once a year based on new scientific information.
Prerequisites
Textile products can only be certified according to the Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex if all components comply with the required criteria – for an item of clothing, in addition to the outer fabric, this might include threads, linings, prints as well as non-textile accessories such as buttons, zip fasteners, rivets or any other accessory parts.
Extent and requirements of Oeko-Tex testing for harmful substances depend on the intended use of a textile product. There are four product classes: Product class I – Items for babies and infants (up to 36 months of age) Product class II – Items with direct prolonged or large-area skin contact Product class III – Textiles without or with little skin contact Product class IV – Furnishing materials for decorative purposes (curtains, table linen, carpets, etc.)
Product class I requirements are more rigorous for most potentially harmful substances, and there is an additional test for saliva resistance.
Laboratory tests
Test criteria and limit values are globally binding and are updated and expanded each year. The current version of the Standard 100 is available at the official website. Test parameters include substances banned or regulated by law as well as yet unregulated substances that are known to be problematic.