Why we no longer talk about Oeko-Tex®
As with many other products, the story behind certification labels for acoustic fabrics is often more complex than customers initially realise. All too often, these labels involve a fair amount of window-dressing and greenwashing, with limited real-world benefits and significant costs for manufacturers and retailers. Even reputable certifications aren’t without their flaws. Here, we explain why we’ve decided to part ways with Oeko-Tex®.
Testing textiles for harmful substances is a complex field. There is a good reason for that. The health risks associated with the various substances that may be present in textiles are very real. These include heavy metals, pesticides, formaldehyde, and residues from chemical finishing processes.
All the more reason to look closely at what is actually being tested. Not every certification label means what people assume it means at first glance, and most certifications come with considerable costs that ultimately increase the price of the product. One example is the Oeko-Tex® Standard 100, a certification we ourselves referred to in the past. Now, however, we have consciously chosen not to do so any longer, and we would like to explain transparently why.
The promise behind the label
Oeko-Tex® Standard 100 is one of the best-known textile certifications in the world. Built around the concept of “Confidence in Textiles”, it gives many consumers a reassuring sense of security when making a purchase. The message appears straightforward. When people see the label, they generally assume they are buying a product that is both safe from a health perspective and compliant with demanding environmental standards.In reality, very few consumers examine the detailed testing criteria. And even when they do, interpreting the figures and threshold values often requires specialist knowledge. That's why it is worth taking a closer look at what the label actually guarantees.
What is actually tested
Oeko-Tex® Standard 100 is a globally established testing and certification system. It is administered by a network of independent institutes that examine textiles for a broad range of substances that may be harmful to human health. Among other things, products are tested for prohibited dyes, allergenic substances, formaldehyde, pesticides, heavy metals, and various other critical compounds. Additional parameters such as colour fastness and pH value are also assessed.The result is both clear and important: a certified product provides assurance that it does not contain substances considered demonstrably harmful to human health.
The crucial blind spot
As valuable as this testing undoubtedly is, its limitations become equally apparent upon closer inspection. Oeko-Tex® Standard 100 focuses exclusively on the finished product. The conditions under which raw materials are sourced and processed are largely outside its scope. Hence, a piece of textile can carry the label even if significant environmental impacts occur somewhere along its production chain. These may include intensive pesticide use in cotton cultivation, contamination of soil and water resources, or emissions released into the atmosphere. Social aspects such as working conditions, occupational safety and fair pay are not considered either.Viewed in this light, Oeko-Tex® Standard 100 contributes far more to product safety than to environmental sustainability. That's why organisations such as Greenpeace have criticised the label's limited ecological relevance. The word “Oeko” in the name can easily create expectations that the certification does not necessarily fulfil. Yet is that alone sufficient reason not to use the label for a high-quality acoustic fabric, even when it would be possible to do so?
Sustainability only comes as a package
Greater assurance regarding sustainable and socially responsible textile production is only provided through additional Oeko-Tex® certifications such as STeP, Made in Green, Eco Passport, and Responsible Business. These certifications are designed to complement one another. For example, the Made in Green label is only awarded to textiles manufactured in environmentally responsible and socially compliant production facilities that have previously been tested and certified under Standard 100. In other words, demonstrating through certification that a textile is largely free from harmful substances and has also been produced under reasonably sustainable and socially acceptable conditions requires at least two Oeko-Tex® certifications.As is often the case in the certification industry, this involves substantial administrative effort and significant expense. For smaller companies in particular, the burden can be difficult to manage. Licence fees, company audits, laboratory testing, administrative procedures, material analyses, and documentation requirements all demand resources that many small businesses simply do not have available, neither in terms of staffing nor in budget.
A new policy and its consequences
This year, Oeko-Tex® introduced a significant change with potentially costly implications for suppliers through a revised policy concerning the acceptance of so-called basic certificates. In future, only certificates held by direct suppliers will be recognised. Certifications from earlier stages within the supply chain will no longer be considered sufficient. This means that even when all participating production partners are already certified, the finished product itself must undergo additional certification.For us, this would mean having to certify all our Akustikstoff.com speaker fabrics separately – at the cost of a hefty four-figure sum, despite the fact that all relevant production stages are already covered by existing certifications, and all while the practical benefit for our customers would be precisely zero.
The actual quality of all Akustikstoff.com products would remain unchanged. Their freedom from harmful substances would remain unchanged. The certification would merely create additional paperwork and additional costs.