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In the past I’ve written about organic certifications, as well as some of the general complications of certifications for sustainable materials. In both of these articles, I mentioned an extremely common certification that I’ve seen on countless sustainable products. There are some certifications that I’ve always known to be good and reliable. Every sustainable writer that I read recommends them, so I’ve always trusted them. One of them is the Oeko-Tex certification.
But why does everybody love Oeko-Tex so much? Why is it such a go-to for the sustainable fashion community? To understand that, we need to understand Oeko-Tex’s standards and practices better. If you, like me, want to know even more about everybody’s favorite sustainable certification, keep reading.
What Is Oeko-Tex?
Back in 1992, Oeko-Tex debuted their first ever certification and label, the STANDARD 100. This particular label addresses the usage of toxins and chemicals in the processing stages of textile production. Since then, Oeko-Tex has expanded their services and mission greatly. It even has 18 independent research and test facilities all over Europe and Asia.
In a broad sense, Oeko-Tex advertises its mission as an extension of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals or, SDGs (I’ve written about those goals here). Of course they aim to promote health and well-being and support responsible production and consumption (SDGs 3 and 12 respectively). But they also work to promote gender equality, to reduce overall inequality (SDGs 5 and 10) and above all else, to partner on a multinational scale to achieve the SDGs (SDG 17).
But how does Oeko-Tex do all of that? They offer third party validation, labels, and certifications for a variety of textiles and consumer issues. They continue to issue their STANDARD 100 label to this day. However they also produce labels like their Made in Green label, which is the one many consumers are most familiar with today.
What Does The Made In Green Label Mean?
Oeko-Tex’s Made in Green label ensures the overall social and environmental responsibility of a particular textile. Each textile is evaluated on a set of criteria that look at four main factors.
Firstly, Oeko-Tex looks to see if the product was produced in a sustainable manner from sourcing, through the finishing stages of production. Their evaluation takes into account things like water usage, chemical usage, electricity, and carbon footprint.
Then they make sure that the product was made in a socially responsible way. For this label, this means an evaluation of labor practices, work hours, wages, employment practices, and the overall fair and ethical treatment of all humans involved in the production of a textile.
Staying true to their roots, Oeko-Tex also checks to see that the products they’re evaluating for the Made in Green label are free of harmful substances, like environmental and chemical toxins. This particular criterion considers all stages of production, which is a stricter standard than some other labels and certifications in the organic and sustainable textile world
Finally, Oeko-Tex makes sure that the supply chain of each product is fully transparent and traceable. They believe that a consumer should know about a product’s history from the way its component materials are sourced to the final stages of processing.
What About Other Oeko-Tex Labels?
Oeko-Tex also has several specific labels, like their Leather Standard and STeP labels, both of which cater to leather specifically. They have other standards and labels that deal with other big environmental issues like water consumption and carbon footprint.
When I think of the need for more specific standards, I always come back to USDA’s organic certification process. (I’ve written about this before here). The USDA organic label was created for agricultural products, not textiles. While there may not be a big difference in harvesting fruit organically versus harvesting cotton organically, there is a big difference in processing these goods. Without specific standards for textiles, the USDA organic label as it was originally created is pretty ineffective for the textile and fashion industries.
So why should Oeko-Tex have several individual labels? Having distinct, individual labels allows Oeko-Tex to carefully cater each standard to a particular textile or consumer issue. As different as fruit and other agricultural goods are from textiles on the whole, individual textiles can be just as distinct. This is the case for two extremely common conventional textiles, cotton and leather.
Oeko-Tex’s specific labels don’t just offer standards for a breadth of textiles and concerns, but also offer a great deal of depth for these textiles and standards. Between their two labels for leather products a leather producer can have their textiles screened for the usage of harsh chemicals and dyes, as well as their facilities for overall chemical management, environmental performance, social responsibility, quality management, and occupational health and safety.
Final Thoughts On Oeko-Tex
Oeko-Tex’s labels are robust and thorough. Their line of standards are really transparent; you can always learn more about what they’re looking for in a textile and what the Oeko-Tex certification truly means. Above all else, this is why it’s a favorite within the sustainability space.
One downside to Oeko-Tex’s approach to labels is that this can get confusing. A casual consumer might see an Oeko-Tex certification and think that a textile has met a certain standard, like the Made in Green standard for example. But in reality, each Oeko-Tex label is so unique. It’s important to look closer when you see an Oeko-Tex label to get the full picture of what it means.
With that said, if Oeko-Tex continues down the path of creating a cavalcade of distinct labels, I hope to see more diversity. Having standards for leather and for carbon footprint and water consumption is a) fantastic and greatly appreciated and b) truly necessary. That said, I wonder if they could further differentiate their standards by making some that apply to other textiles. It could be valuable to try to evaluate alternative leathers, which are a particularly controversial topic in the sustainable world and could tie into their expertise in responsible leather.
On the whole, I tend to feel comfortable recommending Oeko-Tex labeled products. Their labels are made with transparent, rigorous standards in mind. They’re not perfect, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t valuable.
Oh and if you’re looking for textiles with Oeko-Tex labels, you can check out their buying guide and label check tools. Otherwise, keep your eye out for their labels in the future. I know I’ll do the same.