What is Oeko Tex Certificate ?

Oeko Tex Certificate
"Oeko Tex"  is a registered trade mark, representing the products labels & company certifications issued for other services provided by the International Association for Research & Testing in the Field of Textile & Leather Ecology.

"Oeko Tex" textiles & fabrics are certified free of harmful chemicals and are sare for human use. Organic certification means hat textile and fabric products are grown according to strict guidelines on the use of petroleum based fertilizers pesticides and synthetic product.

In this article , we answer some of the most common questions about of Oeko Tex.

What is Oeko Tex Standard 100?

Oeko Tex Standard is an International lab testing & textile certification system, applicable to both fabrics and finished clothing.

Oeko Tex which is an independent organization based in Switzerland created the 100 Standard as collection of several International Regulatory Framework.

However, Oeko Tex steb by step takes it one step further han the US & EU, as the 100 Standard also included the following:

• Important Legal Regulation such as banned Azo coloring, formaldehyde, phentachlorophenal, cadmium, nickel.
• Numerous harmful chemicals, even if they are not yet legally regulated.
• Numerous also environmentally relevant substance classes.

Notice: Reach is an EU regulation that restricts hundreds of chemical & heavy metals in textile CPSIA, which is only required for children products in the US, restricted lead content in textile.

Which Products Does Oeko Tex Standard 100 Apply ?

Its applicable to most type of textile products and not only clothing textiles.

Oeko Tex separates products into 4 classes:

• Class 1 : Textiles for babies (0-3 years)
• Class 2 : Underwear, T-Shirt, Socks & Bedding's (Direct Skin Contact)
• Class 3 : Jacket, Coats & other clothing (Not Direct Skin Contact)
• Class 4 : Furniture & Home Textiles (Curtains, Sofa, Covers, Cloths etc)

Where Can I Find a List of Oeko Tex Standard 100 Suppliers ?

Oeko Tex Standard 100 is only applicable to the tested product samples. Hence a textiles supplier cannot be Oeko Tex Standard 100 Certified.

With that being said suppliers can still be divided into two categories:

1. Suppliers making apparel and textile that can pass Oeko Tex Standard 100.
2. Suppliers making apparel and or textiles that can not pass Oeko Tex Standard 100.

You can also use the Buyer Guide - on Oeko Tex that allows you to search companies worldwide with valid Oeko Tex caerficate.
Oeko Tex provieds the following details for each listed supplier

• Company Name
• Address
• Contact Person
• Email
• Product Level
• Usage 
• Materials
• Standard 100 Product Classes

How to Know if  a Manufacturer is Oeko Tex Standard 100 Certified ?

Actually mentioned an Oeko Tex Standard 100 test report is only applicable to the tested samples. The test report is not valid for an entire factory.

So, as such there are no Oeko Tex Standard 100 Certificate suppliers. At best  a supplier can provide a few test report, demonstrating that they can either product Oeko Tex Standard 100 compliant fabrics or at least they know where to procure them.

However you should not expect to find a supplier that can provide test reports for every fabrics & color in their catalog.