OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100

 

The Oeko-Tex® Standard 100 is a globally uniform testing and certification system for textile raw materials, intermediate and end products at all stages of production.

 

The tests for harmful substances comprise substances which are prohibited or regulated by law, chemicals which are known to be harmful to health, and parameters which are included as a precautionary measure to safeguard health.

 

A tested textile product is allocated to one of the four Oeko-Tex® product classes based on its intended use. The more intensively a product comes into contact with the skin, the stricter the human ecological requirements it must fulfil.

 

Manufacturers are entitled to mark successfully tested products or article groups with the Oeko-Tex® label and to advertise in other forms as long as it has been proven within the extensive laboratory tests that all components, including accessories, comply with the specified test criteria without exception. A certificate which is issued applies for one year and can be renewed as often as required.

 

Certification according to Oeko-Tex® Standard 100 offers companies in the textile and clothing industry who wish to offer their customers products which are safe to their health a range of advantages:

 

The modular principle of the standard ensures that textile products at all stages of the processing chain can be tested and certified. By using certificates for the preliminary sector, duplicate tests can be avoided.

Responsibility for the human ecological quality of the products always remains with the party who has made qualitative or chemical changes to the product in the manufacturing process. This means that manufacturers of ready-made clothing, as the final link in the production chain, are also able to have their collections certified at a manageable cost.

The Oeko-Tex® criteria catalogue which is uniform throughout the world, offers a standardised requirements profile for terms of purchase and delivery which simplifies and accelerates the flow of information.

This added transparency provides significantly improved product security and time savings, in particular for companies with extremely short production cycles and complex internal quality assurance systems.

EUROPEAN ECOLABEL CERTIFICATION

 

The certification of Raith products is also a philosophy followed by the company, providing a higher quality level in the final result:

 

Raith has been awarded within the scope of the European ECOLABEL programme, assuring and fostering the production of eco-friendly products. Because the award criteria are set at a European level and there is a thorough follow-up by specialists and experts, ECOLABEL certified products are considered to be trustworthy.

 

This certification is awarded only to the best products, those that are more eco-friendly, those that are allowed to have the “EU Ecolabel” label and only after a thorough process of checking the fulfilment of all the norms. This label certifies Raith and its products concerning the following criteria:

 

Reduced use of substances harmful for the environment;

Non use of health hazardous substances;

Low level of water and air pollution;

Resistance to shrinking during washing and drying processes, as well as colour fading due to perspiration, washing, exposure to the elements and light.

GOTS CERTIFICATION

 

The certification of Raith products is also a philosophy followed by the company, providing a higher quality level in the final result:

 

Raith has been certified by Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), the world leading standard for textiles produced from organic fibres, resorting to high level social and ecological criteria, supported by independent certification of the entire textile distribution chain.

 

GOTS certification, only awarded to products containing at least 70% organic fibres (in the case of products labelled as “made with x% of organic materials”) or 95% (in the case of products labelled as “organic”), defines the requirements that assure the organic state of the textiles, from the crop of the raw material, through environmental and social responsibility. This is the tool for a common international understanding concerning eco-friendly production systems in the organic textile industry.