OEKO-TEX® Newsroom

The Covid 19 pandemic had a major impact on working conditions in the global fashion industry. Among other things; workers had to adjust to negative social and financial impacts of the crisis. Many have fallen into debt, suffered wage-theft and struggled to make ends meet.

As of the 1st of April 2023, the Self-Assessment will become mandatory for ECO PASSPORT by OEKO-TEX® certification. OEKO-TEX® is continuously working to improve its products. A mandatory Self-Assessment will ensure the quality and traceability of manufactured products, proper wastewater, and emission management as well as worker safety.

The vision of the OEKO-TEX® Association, which was founded in March 1992 through a partnership between the Hohenstein Research Institute and the Austrian Textile Research Institute (OETI), is still reflected today in the organisation's core values: trust, safety and sustainability. For three decades, OEKO-TEX® has pursued the goal of building trust for companies and consumers and enabling them to make responsible decisions to protect people and the planet. "Our services bring transparency to the international textile and leather industry supply chains," says OEKO-TEX® Secretary General Georg Dieners. "They enable all stakeholders to make mindful decisions that help preserve our planet for future generations."

In March of 1992, OEKO-TEX® was founded on a single mission: Enable consumers and companies to make responsible decisions to protect our planet for future generations. We committed to this goal so that shoppers can more easily make safe, environmentally friendly and socially responsible purchases.

Deborah Taylor is the Managing Director of the Sustainable Leather Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation that supports the leather industry in its effort to become more sustainable. Prior to joining the Sustainable Leather Foundation, Taylor managed the Leather Working Group (LWG), an environmental stewardship program that supports the reduction of environmental impacts caused by tannery operations around the world. Taylor is a council member of the Society of Leather Technologists and Chemists, a practicing member of the Chartered Quality Institute, a consultant for the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, and a certified SA8000 lead auditor.

The OEKO-TEX® Association has released its annual updates to test criteria, limit values and requirements for its certification. All new regulations will come into force after the transition period on 1 April 2022. In addition, its new Impact Calculator is now available for STeP by OEKO-TEX® customers. The industry-specific tool will provide carbon and water footprint data essential to meeting climate goals. Later in 2022, OEKO-TEX® will also introduce a new certification for corporate due diligence: RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS by OEKO-TEX®.

At the start of the year, the OEKO-TEX® Association as usual updated the applicable test criteria and limit values for its range of certifications.

As we approach the holiday season, many shoppers wonder how to gift when we should be buying less. This year, we can think outside the box — and wrapping paper and bows — and give the gift of knowledge. Whether you’re wrapping up OEKO-TEX®-certified products or nothing at all, let your most meaningful present be an easy solution for conscious consumers to protect their family, friends and the planet: the MADE IN GREEN by OEKO-TEX® label.

Companies and consumers around the world rely on the OEKO-TEX® brand. To maintain this trust, the organisation is constantly investing in its brand protection. Since early 2021, OEKO-TEX® has partnered with Berlin-based brand protection company SENTRYC, whose software tracks brand abuse and plagiarism on social media platforms and online marketplaces.