The United Nations’ World Children’s Day, set for November 20, brings people together to promote awareness around improving children’s welfare. The UN is calling for mothers, fathers, teachers, society activists, corporate entities, young people and more to play an important role in making World Children’s Day relevant for communities and nations worldwide.  

Ensuring the health and wellbeing of the earth and the people who live in it, especially babies and children, is part of our vision and core values at OEKO-TEX®. That is why we urge you to take World Children’s Day to reflect upon what we can all do to create a safe, healthy and sustainable world for our children.   

We know that as parents, you want to make the right choices for your families, but that it can be hard to know which brands are truly committed to product safety and sustainability for your little ones. This is especially important when it comes to clothing since the chemicals and dyes that go into making textiles can cause allergies, rashes and other potential ailments that are more likely to affect babies and children. 

One of the best ways of knowing if textiles are safe and sustainable is to look for traceable product labels. This is where we come in. At OEKO-TEX®, we enable companies to manufacture textiles that are safe and environmentally friendly by creating more transparency along the textile supply chain. 

More importantly, as an independent test institute, we don’t make the products that we are testing, which removes any inherent bias. We also don’t set the certification rules that hold brands accountable. Rather, we conduct testing in accordance with standards and laws established by industry and governing bodies. Because of this independence, we are impartial verifiers of compliance to global standards for safer and more sustainable textile production and products.  

Our STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® is one of the world's best-known labels for textiles tested for harmful substances, certifying that every component of the product – from the fabric to the buttons and other accessories – has been rigorously tested for toxic chemicals.  

Our MADE IN GREEN by OEKO-TEX® label means a product is tested for harmful substances and comes from a facility that implements environmentally friendly production processes – from the use of chemicals to responsible handling of wastewater. Suppliers must also take actions to improve working conditions and strengthen health and safety protection for workers at production sites. 

In short, we help you verify which brands are making their products safe for you, your family and for the environment.  

You deserve to know what goes into making your children’s clothing and products. We encourage you to seek out healthier, safer and more sustainable production standards for these products. You can start by checking for trustworthy labels, such as our STANDARD 100 and MADE IN GREEN labels to help you make purchasing decisions that are safe for your children and the world they are growing up in.