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Sunday 20 January 2013

Why Is Oeko-Tex Standard 100 Important to You?




Oeko-Tex Standard 100 is about safe-to-wear clothing. When people hear this for the first time, most react this way: “Aren’t our clothes safe?” It’s a legitimate response. The question is, how can you and I know for sure they are actually safe? The truth is, the production of clothing raw materials and the production of clothing can be chemically intensive; and some of the chemicals used in the two processes are detrimental to health. It’s then possible that the clothes we wear are unsafe. Here's a real example: research has shown that the poisonous and persistent pesticides applied during conventional cotton production can be detected in cotton clothing—these residual chemicals can leach into your skin and harm your health.

There’s then this other reaction: “I’m wearing clothes made from organic/eco-friendly material. They’re safe.” Such materials are, no doubt, good. But just because something is made from them doesn’t automatically mean it’s safe. The reason: if a factory uses the best and safest material but the wrong manufacturing process, the end product will still be a bad one—and “bad” here can mean unsafe. Hence, the manufacturing process must also be safe.

You may wonder, how bad can it get? Quite bad, actually. Take the dyeing process. Some dyes are carcinogenic and/or allergenic (for example, certain AZO dyes); and some contain heavy metals, substances that can build up in our bodies over time and cause serious health problems. Then there’s formaldehyde, which is used in wrinkle-free clothing, and is a known human carcinogen and allergen. Let’s not forget the phthalates, a family of chemicals which is frequently used in the production of soft plastic articles, printing and coatings—phthalates have been blamed for the big drop in male fertility globally over the past few decades. The list of nasty stuff is long and we can go on and on. The main point is this: clothing consumers like you and I are exposed to health risks.

Oeko-Tex Standard 100 helps us to differentiate the safe from the unsafe. In our next post, we will share with you how the Standard works to keep you safe.




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