What is the Oeko Tex label?
The Oeko-Tex Standard 100 label is a label aimed at guaranteeing textiles that are free of toxic products for the body and the environment. It assures the consumer of the absence of harmful substances, whether dyes or textiles, in ready-to-wear and household linen.
This label is an international control and certification system. It brings together 18 independent research and testing institutes in the field of textile and leather ecology in Europe and Japan, with offices in more than 60 countries.
At Carré Blanc, almost all of our products are Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certified. To check this status, you can enter one of our certification numbers below on the Oeko-Tex website.
What does the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 label certify?
Oeko-Tex is recognized by professionals and consumers. Thus when an article is guaranteed by this label, it promises the exclusion of undesirable substances which may present a risk to the health of the consumer.
An Oeko-Tex Standard 100 fabric is checked at each stage of processing (raw materials, yarns, dyeing) to ensure that it does not contain chemicals harmful to health.
Laboratory testing currently includes approximately 100 control parameters and is based on international testing standards and other recognized test procedures. The more intensive the contact of the textile with the skin, the stricter the limit values to be respected.
How does the certification take place?
1 - A company wishing to certify an item must send a certification dossier to one of the member institutes of Oeko-Tex. In France, this is the IFTH (French Institute for Textiles and Clothing) based in Lyon. The latter performs laboratory tests on representative samples of the materials sent to him. If the results comply with the requirements, the certificate is published and the applicant undertakes to guarantee that the products are identical to the samples tested. The Oeko-Tex label is valid for one year.
2 - An audit of the company is then carried out every three years in the event of renewal of the certification. Checks are carried out randomly in the trade to ensure that the samples sent for certification are not different from those marketed. Auditors also go directly to the production sites to carry out checks and samples.
3 - The Standard 100 label differentiates between four classes of products: from closest to furthest from the skin. The more intensive the contact of a textile with the skin and the more sensitive the skin, the more the antiallergic requirements will have to be respected.
- Class I (the strictest): for articles intended for children under 3 years old.
- Class II: for items that come into contact with the skin (underwear, bed linen, T-shirts).
- Class III: for items that are not in contact with the skin (coats, jackets).
- Class IV: for equipment materials (curtains, tablecloths, upholstered furniture coverings).