Consumers prefer clothing tested for harmful substances - Survey

28 Nov '08

6 min read

But taken individually, the country surveyed showed sharp differences in the routes by which information is conveyed. In Germany, 53% said the internet was the most important means, and was, for example, given clearly more significance than speaking to suppliers (34%). When all eight countries are viewed together, about a third of those retailers surveyed said they felt they were sufficiently informed about Oeko-Tex Standard 100 and testing for harmful substances. Another third said they would like more information, while the remainder had no further interest. The Austrians (57%), Swiss (47%) and Portuguese (47%) showed a higher than average desire for additional data and selling points.

Consumer survey results:
On a scale from 1 to 5, with "1 = unimportant" to "5 = very important", product quality (3.9), price (3.8), skin compatibility (3.5) and up-to-date style (3.5) were seen as the most important considerations to be made when buying garments and other textiles by consumers surveyed in the eight countries in the study. In this survey, testing for harmful substances was rated on average at 3.2, as were socially responsible or "fair trade" conditions of production. Greater emphasis (3.5) was placed on testing for harmful substances when purchasing baby and children's clothing.

Consumers ranging in age from 26 to 55-years-old rated the significance of testing baby and children's clothes for harmful substances particularly highly (3.5 - 3.7). In the eight countries involved in the study, 42% of consumers, as well, showed the greatest level of awareness for the Oeko-Tex® Standard 100 "Confidence in Textiles" label relative to other textile seals. In any case, only the Blue Angel (39%) and the EUFlower (27%) are represented on the market Europe-wide. Level of awareness for the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 was highest in Austria (81%), followed by France (61%) and the Netherlands (49%). Results from Germany (46%) and Switzerland (34%) were, by comparison, in the middle of the range. Spain (14%) and Portugal (3%) had the lowest awareness levels.

This last figure is even more surprising considering the fact that Spain and Portugal belong to the top 10 of 84 countries world-wide when it comes to the 70,000 Oeko-Tex Certificates that have been issued. Apparently the holders of certificates there do not use them in promoting their wares, at least on the domestic market, in such a way that it would have a positive influence on the level of awareness of the label among consumers. What is consistent with this result is that in the retail survey (see above) 95% of the Portuguese and 80% of the Spanish retailers said they would support improved labelling.

There were also major differences between individual countries when consumers were questioned about preferred places for buying garments and textiles. In Italy, the majority of those surveyed (multiple responses) preferred going to shops specialising in clothing (63%), boutiques (62%), and sporting goods stores (59%). In Portugal, on the other hand, retail chains (77%) and department stores (63%) were the main places to buy textiles and clothing. Taking the seven European countries together and excluding Germany, retail chains (57%) and department stores (48%) were clearly preferred ahead of classic specialist clothing stores (38%) and boutiques (34%). Some 11% of those surveyed said they used mail order services when buying clothing and textiles, with only minor deviation between the countries surveyed when taken individually.

International Oeko-Tex Association

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