OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100

Fashion - garments or textiles industry in larger scope has been one of the most prominent industry and extended continuously through times. In order to catch up with the industry's development, new technology along with modern production line have been upgraded, however, this also leads to several issues with potential risk which may cause harm to environment and human health, one of them is the use of chemical to create color diversity. Human skin is quite sensitive, especially baby skin, frequent use and direct contact in close distance with dyed fabric may bring unwanted reaction or negative effect to the skin in the long run. That's the principal for the existence of OEKO-TEX®. Being  established and developed by groups of independent textile and leather testing institutes in Europe and Japan with offices in more than 70 countries, OEKO-TEX® is a system evaluating the quality of textiles products with both laboratory tests and company audits in accordance with strict global guidelines & acceptable safety limit. In the scope of this article, we will only mention OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100. 

OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 is a globally standardized, independent testing and certification system for raw, semi-finished and finished textile products at all processing levels, and their accessories. STANDARD 100 certification provides targeted product stewardship support for companies in the textile chain with human-ecological product safety, based on a scientific criteria catalogue and neutral laboratory tests. The tests for harmful substances include:

1. Substances which are prohibited and regulated by law
2. Chemicals that are known to be harmful to health but which are not yet regulated by law
3. Substances that are believed to be harmful to health

STANDARD 100 tests for harmful substances are based on the product's intended purpose. The more intensive the skin contact and the more sensitive the skin, the stricter the human-ecological requirements. Accordingly, STANDARD 100 distinguishes between four product classes:

1. Product class I: Textiles and materials for babies and toddlers up to three years old: underwear, rompers, bed linen, bedding…
2. Product class II: Textiles and materials, the surface of which mainly comes into direct contact with the skin: underwear, bedding, towels, shirts, blouses, socks…
3. Product class III: Textiles and materials, the surface of which only comes into direct contact with the skin to a minor extent: jackets, coats, outdoor textiles…
4. Product class IV: Furnishing materials for decorative purposes: table linen, curtains, upholstery fabrics…

The OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 criteria catalogue contains a wide variety of test parameters and is updated annually, based on latest scientific findings, changes to industry initiatives and market developments. Therefore STANDARD 100 certificate is valid for 12 months and can be renewed annually. If a textile product carries the STANDARD 100 label, you can be certain that every component of this article, from thread to button and other accessories, has been tested for harmful substances and that the article therefore is harmless for human health. Thanks to above reasons, OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 is a world-leading parameter on the safety for textile products and being applied globally. For export company, obtaining OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 brings considerable competitiveness benefit and trust with consumers.

Regarding LIdee Haus’ current crochet stuffed toys collection, all toys are produced in accordance with export requirement, the used crochet yarn is made from 100% cotton with all ingredients certified by OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 - product class I to ensure safety for our little friends when playing together with the crochet stuffed friends

This article uses the image and some information in the form of translation and quotation from 2 sources as below:

OEKO-TEX®

Hohenstein Vietnam