The International Oeko-Tex Association, Switzerland, has updated its criteria and limit values for
use when testing textiles for harmful substances in accordance with the Oeko-Tex® Standard 100
product certification process.
Short chain (C10 to C13) chlorinated paraffins and tris (2-chloroethyl) phosphate will be
included explicitly in the list of banned flame-retardant substances and also will be listed with
the other banned residual chemicals in the list of criteria, because both substances are sometimes
also used for other applications.
The association has set a standard limit value of 90 parts per million (ppm) for total lead
content across all four Oeko-Tex product classes. This limit is considerably lower than the U.S.
Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act’s current limit of 300 ppm or the 100-ppm limit as of
August 2011 for babies’ and children’s articles. Testing for extractable heavy metals using a
controlled sweat solution will continue to be the most important requirement of the Oeko-Tex
Standard 100, because Oeko-Tex reports that test method is more relevant with regard to the
potential health risks from undesirable heavy metals in textile products than testing for total
lead content.
Oeko-Tex will continue its planned universal onsite visits, which were introduced at the
beginning of 2010 as a component of Oeko-Tex certification.
For more information about the new test criteria and regulations, contact the Oeko-Tex
Secretariat,
info@oeko-tex.com; or visit
www.oeko-tex.com/institutes.
January 21, 2011