OEcotextiles

I have an apology to make:  I made a statement last week that turns out to be incorrect, based on experience from years ago.  I said

“it’s not unusual to find a GOTS certification logo on a product – because it’s hard to get, and those who have it certainly want to display the logo.  But the certification may apply only to the organic fibers – the logo itself is not specific as to what is being certified.”

Laurie Lemmlie-Leung, of Sapphire International, Ltd, which is a GOTS certified terry mill, pointed out that in their experience,  “If we do not have an approved “GOTS Product Specification Plan” and transaction certificates showing that all the inputs are also GOTS certified, then we cannot use the GOTS label on the product.”  And that is indeed the case:  a GOTS logo on any product means that all processing up to the final product is GOTS certified.  So if GOTS certified cotton yarn is being sold, it can display the logo.  However, if that yarn is used to weave a fabric in a non-certified facility, the final fabric cannot display the logo.

So when you see a GOTS logo on a product, you can rest assured that the entire supply chain has been certified.

Now, back to discussion of certifications:  Before giving a summary of the main points of each of the certifications which deal with fiber processing (i.e., weaving), it’s important to remember that most of these certification programs are in business – so it costs money to achieve the certification – sometimes it costs a LOT of money.  In addition there is the burden of documentation, which increases administrative costs for the manufacturer.

Cradle to Cradle and GreenGuard can cost quite a bit, so when you look on the web sites to find which products have these certifications,  you see mostly large, well established companies which can afford to absorb the certification costs.  On the GreenGuard website, for example, it lists 1943 individual products, but all 1943 products are manufactured by only 20 large, well-known companies.  Sometimes smaller manufacturers decide not to pay the costs of certification, even though they may be doing everything “by the book”, because they’re operating on a shoestring.  Unfortunately, the many unethical claims make third party certification a requirement.

In addition to certifications, there are many new “green guides” on the internet which purport to list green products.  Some are valiantly trying to make order out of chaos, while others are simply adding to the confusion.  Of these, a basic listing may (or may not) be free, but any additional bells and whistles costs money.  So green products may be specially featured or identified (sometimes as “best”) because the manufacturer has paid for the spotlight.  The same is true of television shows which purport to cover new green products.  We have been approached several times by television programs featuring a well-known personality who would wax eloquently about our fabrics – if only we were to pay the right price.

What does this all mean?  Do your own homework!  Most of these “experts” have no more knowledge than you do.  And again, certifications provide a reliable yardstick to determine quality standards.

The third party certifications which cover textile processing and/or final products which you’ll see most often include:

• Oeko Tex
• GreenGuard
• Cradle 2 Cradle by MBDC
• Global Organic Textile Standard
• Global Recycle Standard
• SMART Sustainable Textile Standard

These are the certifications you’re most likely to run into, and they are very different.  So different, in fact, that we’ll take a few weeks to explore what each one tells us.

This week, we’ll start with one of the oldest certifications:  Oeko Tex.

Oeko Tex is an independent, third party certifier that offers two certifications for textiles:

1. Oeko-Tex 100 (for products)
2. Oeko-Tex 1000 (for production sites/factories).

Products satisfying the criteria for Oeko-Tex 100 which are produced in an Oeko-Tex 1000 certified facility may use the Oeko-Tex 100Plus mark, which is simply a combination of the two.

Oeko Tex was founded in 1992, by the Austrian Textile Research Intitute (OTI) and the German Research Institute Hohenstein,  to provide an objective and reliable product label for consumers.  Its aim is to ensure that products posed no risk to health.

Oeko Tex Standard 100

The Oeko-Tex Standard 100 standard is concerned primarily with health and safety of textile products – it tests only the end product.  The processing is not addressed – for example, wastewater treatment is not included.   It is NOT an organic certification and products bearing this mark are not necessarily made from organically grown fibers. (Note:  When you see the logo, make sure that the test number is quoted (No. 11-20489 in the image above)  and the test institute is named (Shirley is the institute which tested the product).)

Textiles considered for this standard are classified into four categories, and each category has different test values for chemicals allowed in the product:

• Product Class I: Products for Babies – all textile products and materials used to manufacture such textile products for children up to the age of 36 months (leather clothing is excepted)
• Product Class II: Products with Direct Contact to Skin – worn articles of which a large surface touches the skin (i.e. underwear, shirts, pants)
• Product Class III: Products without Direct Contact to Skin – articles of which only a small part of their surface touches the skin (i.e. linings, stuffings)
• Product Class IV: Decoration Material – this may also be thought of as housewares, as this category includes table cloths, wall coverings, furnishing fabrics, curtains, upholstery fabrics, floor coverings, and mattresses.

Textile products bearing the Oeko-Tex 100 certification mark:

• Do not contain allergenic dye-stuffs and dye stuffs that form carcinogenic arylamines.
• Have been tested for pesticides and chlorinated phenoles.
• Have been tested for the release of heavy metals under artificial perspiration conditions.
• Formaldehyde is banned; other aldehyde limits are significantly lower than the required legal limits.
• Have a skin friendly pH.
• Are free from chloro-organic carriers.
• Are free from biologically active finishes.

The certification process includes thorough testing for a lengthy list of chemicals, including lead, antimony, arsenic, phthalates, pesticides, and chlorinated phenols. The official table of limits for tested chemicals may be found on the Oeko-Tex website.  Specifically banned are:

• AZO dyes
• Carcinogenic and allergy-inducing dyes
• Pesticides
• Chlorinated phenols
• Chloro-organic benzenes and toluenes
• Extractable heavy metals
• Phthalates in baby articles
• Organotin compounds(TBT and DBT)
• Emissions of volatile components

Certification may be given to a finished product (such as a shirt), or to individual components (such as yarn, or fabric).

Oeko-Tex Standard 1000

The Oeko-Tex 1000 is a certification for environmentally-friendly textile production.
The goal of the Oeko-Tex 1000 Standard is to be “an evaluation of the environmental performance of textile production sites and products and to document independently that certain environmental measures are undertaken and a certain level achieved.”

The evaluation process includes considerations for:

• environmental impact: energy consumption, whether materials used are renewable or non-renewable, and the overall impact of the space utilized
• global impact: use of fossil fuels, use of ozone-depleting chemicals regional impact: VOC’s, water contamination, acidification of soil and water from fossil fuel use, emissions (often from chlorine bleaching)
• local effects: emissions, workplace contamination, noise, use of dangerous chemical products

The mark is not applied directly to products, but may be used by the production site (for example, on its letterhead and official documents). The “local effects” consideration does NOT include an evaluation of labor practices and is not meant to be an indicator of whether a production site is following fair labor practices.

Oeko-Tex 100Plus

This label may be used on products that have met the Oeko-Tex 100 Standard and are also produced in a facility that meets the Oeko-Tex 1000 Standard.

So, these are the important points to keep in mind when you see the Oeko Tex logo:

1. Oeko Tex 100 is product specific – they don’t look at processing (i.e., water treatment, workers rights, emissions, sludge), it only means that the finished product (fabric, yarn, clothing, etc.) has limit values for chemicals which are below the threshold limits on the Oeko Tex list, with many specifically prohibited.
2. Oeko Tex 1000 is site specific, and documents that certain environmental standards are met, but these do not include workers rights issues.
3. Oeko Tex 100+ means that the site meets environmental standards and the product itself is safe to use.