Nowadays, textile products with safety criteria are increasingly becoming a consumer trend, but there is still the use of harmful substances in fabrics. Facing this trend, the Oeko-tex 100 standards help businesses affirm the quality of their products. So what does this standard mean and what benefits does it bring to businesses? Let’s find out with Dugarco through the article below!
1. What is oeko-tex 100 standards?
The Oeko-tex 100 standards is a system dedicated to performing independent testing and certification for raw textile products. This standard is provided by the International Association for Research and Experimentation in Textile and Leather Ecology. Some of the items that can be certified include yarns, fabrics, treated fabrics, clothing, bedding, towels, etc.
In response to growing global concerns about product safety, the International Oeko-Tex Association was established in 1992 in Switzerland. Because Oeko-Tex 100 is a global standard and is very popular in any country, its criteria are reviewed and updated every year. Businesses will voluntarily register if they want their products to be certified. Additionally, businesses need to re-register every 12 months to update their Oeko-Tex certification.
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2. What are Oeko-tex standard 100 product classes?
Oeko-tex 100 standards have developed four product classes, where each different item will be classified according to its intended use. As follows:
- Class 1: This is the most rigorously tested product group, which includes products for babies and toddlers up to 3 years old. Because children’s skin is very sensitive, it needs special care and protection.
- Class 2: Includes products that often come into direct contact with the skin such as underwear, bed sheets, t-shirts, socks, towels, etc.
- Class 3: This is a group that includes products that have little or no contact with the skin, such as outerwear, belts, clothing, and some other accessories.
- Class 4: Includes textiles and decorative articles such as furniture, upholstery, curtains, and tablecloths.
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3. Criteria and test methods of oeko-tex standard 100 certification
Here are some of the conditions your product needs to meet in order to be certified according to the 100 Oeko-tex standard:
- The product must meet the criteria for avoiding and limiting hazardous substances during production.
- Products must comply with the standards set forth in the field of wastewater and emissions.
- Limit noise, noise pollution, and fine dust.
- Enterprises must have effective and reasonable occupational safety measures
- It is the business’s responsibility to ensure the exclusion of environmental contaminants, such as chemicals and additives, especially chlorine.
- Enterprises should consume energy efficiently, and promote resource and energy saving in all production process.
4. Benefits of Oeko-tex 100 standards certification
The benefits of the Oeko-tex 100 standards certification include:
- It is a practical tool for product quality assurance and management.
- This standard helps protect consumers with safe textile products with a humane ecosystem and legal compliance – with no internal resources.
- Standard verified by Standard 100 – is a recognized marketing tool. This tool helps the enterprise’s product management process take place in a transparent way.
- Helping businesses build trust with customers and ensure the sustainability of their business relationships. From there, create a competitive advantage by improving the image and reputation of the business.
- Testing costs for finished products will be waived if all processes have been successfully tested against Standard 100.
- This standard helps to simplify and expedite delivery terms for manufacturers and retailers who want to provide their customers with textile products that do not pose a health risk.
- The testing and certification system of the oeko-tex standard 100 meets many consumer requirements for textile products.
- Helping businesses save costs through efficient production processes, freeing resources, limiting emissions, and keeping waste to a minimum,…
5. How is the Oeko-tex standard different from other standards?
Different types of certification will have different testing procedures and standards for evaluating different types of materials and products. For example, if the oeko-tex standard focuses primarily on the safety of end products, other certifications such as the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and the US Department of Agriculture Organic (USDA) primarily looks at how a product or material is used to make a product, produced, and harvested.
In addition, there are some standards that may not apply to certain products or materials. For example, a product cannot be certified organic because it is not considered a natural product. However, it can be certified by Oeko-tex 100 standards to ensure that it has been tested for hazardous substances.
Thereby, we can see that each standard has a different way of testing and verification requirements. This is why you will often see many different standards printed on the packaging of a product. Each standard represents a meaning and has different requirements.
6. Some question about Oeko-tex standard 100 certification
Here are 3 commonly asked questions about Oeko-tex standard 100:
6.1. What’s the difference between Oeko-tex standard 100 vs. GOTS Certification?
Companies can now apply for hundreds of certificates to evaluate their manufacturing facilities and products. However, the Oeko-tex 100 standards and the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) are the two most famous and reputable, and widely used standards. Both of these standards include criteria for ethical and fair work practices. So what is the difference between these two certification standards?
Oeko-Tex certification tends to standardize end products and ensure the ingredients contained in the products are not hazardous. In contrast, GOTS specializes in testing the provenance of organic materials such as cotton, flax, etc. According to the GOTS standards website: “All handling, production, packaging, labeling, trading, etc., and distribution of textiles must be made from at least 70% organic fibers”.
6.2. Prerequisites of Oeko-tex 100 standards certified?
All materials and components contained in your textile product must comply with the Standard 100 test criteria. If the product’s quality assurance test results are positive, then nothing. prevent your product from being certified by Standard 100. This is a prerequisite for Oeko-tex 100 standards certification.
6.3. Are Oeko-tex standard 100 certified fabrics waterproof?
The answer to this question is yes, as long as the waterproof material of the product has not been treated with any harmful substances or coatings that are dangerous to humans. Then the fabric can be received by Oeko-tex 100 standards.
The above article is information about product types, benefits, and testing criteria of Oeko-tex 100 standards that you can refer to. Hope the article can help you gain more useful knowledge. If you have any questions, please contact Dugarco immediately!
Contact information:
- Address: 59 Đức Giang, Đức Giang, Long Biên, HN
- Phone: 024 3655 7930
- Email: dugarco@mayducgiang.com.vn
- Website: https://dugarco.com/en/
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Dugarco under the talented leadership and guidance of Mr. Hoang Ve Dung has gradually become a large Vietnam clothing manufacturer, supplying clothes for many famous brands from many different countries such as the UK, USA, and Australia.
