OEKO-TEX focuses on socially acceptable textile production

26 Nov '12

4 min read

Another item on the agenda were the extensive measures of the OEKO-TEX institutes for ensuring a globally standardised level of health and safety for tested textiles. ‘The company audits which became binding in 2010 for all companies with OEKO-TEX certificates provide us as well as the companies with the ideal opportunity for optimally aligning corporate quality assurance with the requirements of the OEKO-TEX criteria catalogue,’ explains Dr Jean Pierre Haug.

The personal professional dialogue with the companies has also proven to be an excellent opportunity for making the production companies sensitive to responsible handling of substances such as alkylphenol ethoxylates and to support them with changing to environmentally friendly alternative products.

Certificate holders also appreciate information about current offers from the OEKO-TEX Association such as the new Buyer's Guide portal where companies can enter their product portfolio on the internet free of charge. The OEKO-TEX managers unanimously agreed to continuing the company visits consistently in the future. So far, two thirds of all companies have already been audited worldwide.

Haug declared that the first audit will have been completed for all companies by the end of 2013. On principle, every company with OEKO-TEX certified products has to undergo an audit every three years.

The meeting of the OEKO-TEX institute directors concluded with a half-day seminar which was attended by around 100 representatives of internationally renowned manufacturers, brands and retail companies from North America.

Under the theme ‘The Next 20’, renowned speakers gave an overview of how the textile and clothing industry can implement the concept of sustainability in future efficiently and extensively. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the keynote speaker lectured on his years of successful work in the area of environmental legislation and the protection of existing water resources – two aspects of ecological production conditions which are also important in the textile industry.

OEKO-TEX Association

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