OEKO TEX Certification: Choosing Healthy Furnishings For Your House

Does The Textile Industry Impact The Environment? 

According to one analysis, the textile industry has become the second most polluting industry globally (after the oil industry). There are several reasons why. Some of the fibers used are harmful when produced. The chemicals used to bleach, color, and finish some textile products are dangerous. Landfills are filling up with unfashionable clothing items, old bed comforters, and carpets. The textile industry is responsible for a wide array of environmental damage. 

While cotton is a natural material, it's often produced through a chemically-intensive process. This process requires large amounts of pesticides, which often contain heavy metals such as aluminum, nickel, and lead. The residues from these pesticides filter into local watersheds, affecting both wildlife and human communities. The bleaching and dyeing process for cotton and other textiles requires many toxins that end up in the environment and the fibers of the textiles that we use to adorn our homes. 

Nylon and polyester fabrics are synthetics made from the petrochemical industry. These textiles are non-biodegradable and are dependent on the oil industry. Not only that, but nylon production creates and releases large amounts of nitrous oxide. This is a greenhouse gas that is over 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide. The bleaching and dyeing process for synthetic fabrics produces salts, surfactants, and detergents that don't decompose and tend to accumulate in natural environments. 

Rayon, or viscose, is another standard fiber utilized in a wide range of household textile products. While rayon is made mainly from wood pulp, it is, unfortunately, standard for an old-growth forest to be cut down so that fast-growing trees can be planted. Eucalyptus trees are one common species that are also responsible for draining local aquifers. 

Almost all-natural and synthetic fibers used to create textile products could be saturated with enormous chemicals and toxic substances. These chemicals and materials are slowly released into our homes.

What is Oeko Tex Certification? 

The OEKO Tex Standard is an international lab testing and textile certification system. It's based out of Switzerland and is used to research and certify fabrics, finished clothing, and household textile products. They offer several different certifications, but the Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex is the most widely utilized and recognized of the certifications they offer. The organization based the standard off of other regulatory frameworks for the textile industry, including REACH from the European Union and the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) from the United States. 

The Standard 100 Oeko-Tex Certification, however, sets the bar notably higher than other regulatory frameworks. They test to ensure that products adhere to necessary international legal regulations. They must avoid using banned substances. Some examples are Azo colorants, formaldehyde, pentachlorophenol, cadmium, and nickel. The Standard 100 also bans several other known harmful chemicals, even if they aren't regulated in the EU or the United States. 

The Oeko-Tex certification is an objective and reliable product label. It's meant to inform consumers and provide a uniform safety standard to assess harmful substances in textiles and fabrics. It bans or severely limits several different types of chemicals, including: 

• Brominated flame retardants (Penta, octa, deca, others)
• Chloro-organic toluenes and benzenes
• Formaldehyde
• Pesticides
• Extractable heavy metals
• Phthalates in baby articles
• Emissions of VOCs including toluene, styrene, butadiene, and others
• AZO dyes and other known carcinogenic and allergy-inducing dyes
• Chlorinated phenols
• Organotin compounds (TBT and DBT)

What Products are Covered by Oeko-Tex? 

While most of the products that receive Oeko-Tex certification are clothing items, their "Class 4" products are related to furniture items and home textiles, including:

• mattresses
• curtains
• sofa covers
• cloths
• etc.

OEKO Tex Standard 100 does not certify companies but instead focuses on strict laboratory testing of specific product samples. That said, companies that market many products that have received the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 will most likely be committed to sustainable and healthy textile production in their factories.