OEKO-TEX announces brand-new regulations for 2021

OEKO-TEX, the overseas independent textile tests institute, has reviewed their merchandise requirements and published fresh regulations for 2021 on Tuesday. The adjustments will affect recycled components in Normal 100, the Leather Common, Manufactured in Green and Stage, audits and the OEKO-TEX limit values. The new regulations will come into effect on 1st April 2021 after a three-months transition period. Right here they are at a glance:

Below, the testing institute is rolling out a uniform method of integrate recycled products for greater sustainability within its Standard 100 and also to meet up with the industry’s demand for employed materials. This involves the very least amount of recycled supplies in an article, different check programs depending on the foundation of the material and this is of the necessary background information. A hangtag should inform consumers about recycling in conditions of a circular economy.

“Recycled materials are difficult to certify. With their past life, recycled products pose different challenges than virgin materials. For this reason, they are cared for differently within the Standard 100 by OEKO-TEX and receive a special point out in the scope of the certificate,” clarifies OEKO-TEX.

As part of this normal, OEKO-TEX partner institutes will in the future also certify chrome- and metal-free tanned household leather. “These natural products are analyzed for tanning metals with several limit values and get a special talk about in the scope of the certificate,” elaborates OEKO-TEX.

OEKO-TEX’s objective for Manufactured in Green, the sustainable label for textiles and leather articles, in 2021 may be the systemic integration of the carbon and water footprint, which permit consumers to learn directly, by scanning the label of each product, what impact the manufacture of the particular article is wearing the ecosystem.

In order to measure the feasibility and examine the way the carbon and water footprint could be incorporated as a fundamental element of the OEKO-TEX portfolio, the screening institute has launched a pilot task already at the end of 2019 in cooperation with Calida, a globally effective supplier of underwear and nightwear clothing, and Quantis, a respected international sustainability company noted for their metrics-based method of sustainability.

Manufactured in Green is once more the strongest-growing OEKO-TEX merchandise. Compared to the previous year, the quantity of valid labels rose by 267 percent from 1093 to 4010 (by 31/12/2020). “Product labels such as Made in Green permit consumers to make informed purchasing decisions through transparency and traceability of the source chain, consequently encouraging the utilization of climate-friendly and sustainable alternatives.”

In conditions of audits, OEKO-TEX verified that it has introduced virtual assessments of production sites because of travel and contact restrictions imposed by Covid-19. This pertains to assessments for Common 100 and Leather Normal by OEKO-TEX together with virtual on-site appointments for Stage and Eco Passport certifications.

Based on a recent EU risk evaluation, OEKO-TEX has also changed their limit values intended for PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and salts and PFOA-related chemicals. For Eco Passport by OEKO-TEX, titanium dioxide (TiO2) has been put into the CAS amount screening for respirable size contaminants as well for STep by OEKO-TEX. Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) are industrial chemical substances that are mainly utilized in coatings for textiles such as outdoor clothing.

OEKO-TEX in addition has been part of a good ZHDC staff that recently published the first of all ZDHC White paper on oxygen emissions. As part of the harmonisation method, OEKO-TEX has tightened the Sulphur dioxide (SO2) limits for atmosphere emissions from sound and liquid fuels within STeP by OEKO-TEX. Overall, the tight requirements for residues in textile materials are designed to lead to less impact on the environment, employees and consumers.

In 2021, OEKO-TEX can be observing various substances predicated on the most recent scientific findings and conformity with relevant specifications. This primarily concerns some substances recently classified as SVHC, which, in line with the REACH regulation for the cover of human health and the environment, have been discovered as having particularly dangerous characteristics. These include diisocyanates, that may trigger allergies through skin get in touch with and inhalation. The chemical substances dibutyltin bis(acetylacetonate), 2-methylimidazole and 1-vinylimidazole may also be carefully examined in the future, promises OEKO-TEX.

The 2021 new regulations for all OEKO-TEX products are available in details on the OEKO-TEX website or, those interested can avail of a free of charge webinar on January 14th, 2021.