OEKO-TEX®’s modular system covers multiple steps along the textile and leather value chain. From the certification of chemicals and raw materials to facility and product certification, transparency and traceability helps businesses throughout the supply chain provide credible proof of their sustainability practices. Benefitting from a combination of OEKO-TEX® certifications along the supply chain can also bring numerous advantages for manufacturers. You can read our first article on how products are assessed here.
General cost optimisation of OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 certification
- Aim to maximise the number of pre-certified suppliers of components and processes (especially wet processes).
- Ensure that your pre-certified suppliers have the same product class and annex as your products.
- Regularly check that the certificate coverage (scope, validity, product class & annex)
of pre-certified suppliers still corresponds with your own production. - Ensure the components and processes of your pre-certified suppliers do indeed cover your components
and services. If in doubt, you can contact your local TESTEX representative.
OEKO-TEX® updates its limit values & test items yearly which may call for spot checking of pre-certified material which has been in storage for a year or longer. It is important to note that OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 certification is product based, so you should only declare in the application form the relevant suppliers, materials, chemicals and auxiliaries which are to be included in your scope of products on the certificate.
Cost optimisation with OEKO-TEX® ECO PASSPORT certification
Dyers, finishers and manufacturers can benefit from OEKO-TEX® ECO PASSPORT certified chemicals.In this case, the OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 testing programme can be minimized, allowing the manufacturer to make significant savings on testing costs. It is particularly beneficial for wet processes, as these require more intense testing, and have a higher failure rate. To reduce both the risk of failure and high testing costs in general, it is advised to use OEKO-TEX® ECO PASSPORT certified chemical products.
The advantages in detail:
- OEKO-TEX® ECO PASSPORT certified chemical products comply with OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 limit values and are ZDHC MRSL 3.1 conform. Therefore, certain chemical analysis can be waived and testing frequency can be reduced during the OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 certification of textile products.
- Textile product quality and the probability of passing OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 chemical testing is greatly increased with the use of OEKO-TEX® ECO PASSPORT certified chemicals.
- Production sites of OEKO-TEX® ECO PASSPORT certified chemicals are assessed regarding good product stewardship which includes safe working conditions and chemical and environmental management.
- The use of OEKO-TEX® ECO PASSPORT certified chemicals is stated in the OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 certificate scope to demonstrate due diligence regarding chemical use during textile production.
The OEKO-TEX® Buying Guide can help manufacturers to find suppliers with STANDARD 100 and ECO PASSPORT certified products. We will look at the Buying Guide in detail and explain how to use it later in this blogpost series.