ZURICH, Switzerland — July 20, 2012 — The 20th anniversary of the International OEKO-TEX®
Association will be accompanied by a variety of events and communication activities this year.
Awards for exemplary businesses
Next year, the International OEKO-TEX® Association will be presenting the OEKO-TEX®
Sustainability Award for the first time to companies who have achieved outstanding performance and
innovations in the area of sustainability. All manufacturers and retailers who are certified
worldwide according to OEKO-TEX® Standard 100, 1000 or 100plus are eligible to apply – that is a
total of over 9,500 companies. Interested companies can submit their application on the dedicated
website www.oeko-tex.com/sustainability by completing the form provided.
Initially, a panel of experts from the OEKO-TEX® Association will each month pre-select two
Companies of the Month from the applications received – one company which has its products
certified under human ecology aspects in accordance with OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 and another
production company which operates under proven environmentally friendly and socially responsible
conditions in accordance with OEKO-TEX® Standard 1000. These companies and their achievements in
the area of sustainability will be portrayed in detail on the OEKO-TEX® website at the address
www.oeko-tex.com/company-of-the-month and in form of press releases and other means. In April 2013
the panel of experts will then select the winners of the “OEKO-TEX® Sustainability Award 2013” from
the group of “Companies of the Month” in the five categories environment management, safety
management, quality management, social responsibility and product innovation.
The participating companies will – among other things – receive a certificate, a logo graphic
and an online advertising banner for informing their customers about their commitment to
sustainability and about the nomination for the “Sustainability Award”.
International consumer survey confirms importance of neutral testing for harmful
substances
Nearly every second consumer worldwide rates textile quality labels proving testing for
harmful substances as important when purchasing textiles and clothing. This is the result of a
consumer survey carried out over the internet in 13 countries (Austria, China, Denmark, France,
Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom) by the
Cologne institute for trade research (Kölner Institut für Handelsforschung – IfH) on behalf of the
OEKO-TEX® Foundation. Between 200 and 300 retail consumers in each country were asked about their
general interest in textiles tested for harmful substances and about their familiarity with
OEKO-TEX® Standard 100, among other questions.
The consumer survey clearly shows that consumers have a great need for tested safety for
textiles. The OEKO-TEX® label on the product is an important indicator for this and is perceived as
proof of neutral testing for harmful substances and therefore as a clear added benefit.
Manufacturers and retailers can use the labels as a prominent way of upgrading their certified
products. The study proves that this is increasingly true not only with regard to the large import
markets in Europe and America but also for the own domestic markets of large textile producers like
Turkey, India and China.
In this respect, the International OEKO-TEX® Association will continue to push information
for end consumers and retailers through testing for harmful substances and the label “Confidence in
Textiles” and also increasingly support manufacturers with labelling and communication.
Training competition for sales professionals
Employees from textile retail all over Europe compete with their specialist knowledge during
the SalesPro Games 2012 until 15 October 2012. The website www.oeko-tex.com/salespro provides
training documents for the participants for the product ranges Baby & Junior, Underwear &
Outerwear and Home Textiles. These are helpful for answering the 15 questions with which the
participants can qualify for the main round starting in November.
The aim of the SalesPro Games is to convey manufacturer-independent information about
textiles tested for harmful substances as well as general sales techniques. The participants learn
how to directly employ this information in sales discussions, optimising the quality of their
advice and their sales success.
New internet presence
The International OEKO-TEX® Association will soon present itself with a completely revised
website at www.oeko-tex.com. In addition to a more modern and fresher look the main focus of the
relaunch was the structural optimisation. Visitors can select their language and the required
target group area on a central portal page. A stricter delimitation of the contents for certificate
holders, manufacturers, retailers, end consumers and members of the press gives the overall site a
clearer arrangement. Language and image selection were also optimised with respect to these target
groups.
The central content of the site is the so-called buyer’s guide which internet users can use
to search for OEKO-TEX® certified products. Companies will in future also have the option to use a
self service portal to complete the data from the certificates with relevant information such as
company portraits, detailed product descriptions, brand information or contact data.
Outlook for the next 20 years
In 2012, different events will offer a look back at the past 20 years of OEKO-TEX®, but most
importantly an outlook for the next 20 years. The large bandwidth of the topics covered reflects
the diversity of the OEKO-TEX® system: The “Open Day” at the Spanish AITEX institute focused on
product-related testing for harmful substances according to OEKO-TEX® Standard 100. In April, this
enabled representatives of manufacturers and retailers to closely experience the testing process
from acceptance of orders to the different laboratory tests.
During the same month, 200 company representatives followed an invitation to an OEKO-TEX®
presentation with a fashion show in Shanghai, organised by the local branch of the Testex test
institute. In his presentation, Dr. Jean-Pierre Haug, General Secretary of the International
OEKO-TEX® Association, especially focused on the current “Detox” campaign by the environmental
organisation Greenpeace which calls for elimination of dangerous chemicals in textile production. A
demand which is already being met particularly by companies which are certified as environmentally
friendly production sites according to OEKO-TEX® Standard 1000.
The issue of sustainability was also the focus of the presentations and discussions at the
anniversary symposium in Frankfurt/Main (Germany). Among other topics, Werner Moser, Assistant
Managing Director of Mattes + Amann in Tieringen (Germany), explained how medium-sized companies
can use active sustainability as a locational advantage in global competition. In 1993, the
manufacturer of fine knit fabrics from Tieringen was one of the first companies to have their
products certified according to OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 and is also one of the environmentally
friendly production sites according to OEKO-TEX® Standard 1000.
A seminar in New York on 14 November 2012 has the motto “OEKO-TEX® – The next 20 years”. The
keynote speaker will be Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who is known in the USA for his political involvement
in the area of environmental protection and sustainability. Representatives of the most important
textile and clothing companies in the USA and Canada are expected to attend the event. The event
offers European and Asian companies an ideal platform for active networking for the North American
market. Interested companies can register for the free event at www.oeko-tex.com from 01 September
2012 – spaces are limited.
Last but not least the international testing and certification system of OEKO-TEX® Standard
100 will be awarded the accolade of “Selected Location in the Land of Ideas”. “The Land of Ideas”
is an initiative by the German Federal Government and the German industry. Under the patronage of
the German federal president, companies and institutions which have excelled through their spirit
of innovation, inventiveness and resourcefulness have been presented with the award since 2006.
With its decision, the panel of experts from the “Land of Ideas” pay tribute to the commitment of
the International OEKO-TEX® Association in its 20th anniversary year. Long before the term
“sustainability” had even found its way into everyday use, the guidelines of OEKO-TEX® Standard
100, 1000 and 100plus were already ensuring better implementation of sustainability within the
textile chain. Today around 9,500 companies around the globe work together with OEKO-TEX®. It is
due to their efforts that today’s consumers all over the world are able to use millions of textile
products which pose no risk to health.
Posted on August 15, 2012
Source: Oeko-Tex Association