Created in 2013, OEKO-TEX® STeP certification stands for Sustainable Textile and Leather Production and is a sign of responsibility towards employees and the environment. It supports the implementation of more sustainable production processes through a series of detailed criteria and identifies areas for improvement as well as the already well-functioning mechanisms and processes.
Currently, there are 1369 OEKO-TEX ® STeP certified facilities in 55 countries, employing over 1,000,000 people.
This blogpost gives you an overview of how the STeP certification process is designed.
STeP certification analyses all important areas of textile and leather production facilities using the following 6 modules:
Each of the modules is examined using multiple, detailed criteria defined as questions. The number and type of questions are modified to cover all relevant facility areas, depending on their operations.
The STeP certification criteria are designed in a comprehensive way and are revised on a regular basis. The goal is to ensure that facility processes and operations are always up to date with current legal regulations, developments and scientific findings.
To do so, OEKO-TEX® aligns its standard setting processes with international legislation, including regional needs and industry exchange in the production regions.
The certification process
To achieve a STeP certification, a facility goes through a 3-phase process.
Phase 1: Self-assessment (prior to certificate issuance)
Self-assessment is the initial phase of the STeP certification process. The facility receives an online questionnaire, divided into mandatory and advanced questions and is requested to provide all relevant answers and documents.
After trained auditors review the completed assessment, also called desk checking, the final report of the self-assessment can be used as an internal audit and gives a facility the opportunity for a third-party overview of their current state of the art. Facilities can use the self-assessment as a tool to improve the facility standards independently.
Phase 2: Facility Audit (prior to certificate issuance)
During the initial audit, OEKO-TEX® Institute auditors visit the facility and validate the information from the self-assessment on site. The audit duration varies depending on the size of the company and complexity of its operations and production processes. Throughout the audit, each operational process is carefully monitored and documented.
The areas of monitoring include topics such as health and safety protocols, chemical storage and wastewater handling procedures, the distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves and masks, etc. Auditors also review supplier relationships, assess production volumes and material handling.
An important part of each facility audit is worker interviews. They consist of multiple questions regarding topics such as discrimination, safety training, wages, and days off per week. The number of required interviews is determined by the total number of employees and takes gender representation into account.
The interviews are conducted to ensure that workers are aware of their rights and of the company's complaint mechanisms and that there are no cases of harassment and abuse. The goal of the interviews is to prove that the criteria covered by the STeP certification are not only fulfilled on paper, but that workers are genuinely familiar with and aware of them. The interviews are conducted on different days and times to cover the different departments and shifts.
Following completion of the on-site audit, auditors prepare a comprehensive report and deliver it to the facility. The entire process of receiving a certification - from application to final report - takes an average of three to six months. The exact timeframe depends on how efficiently the facility completes the online assessment and how well-prepared it is for the audit process.
Phase 3: Compliance Audits (after the certificate issuance)
This step during the certification is meant as an additional measure implemented at each certified facility to ensure that the processes and standards defined during the initial audit in the certification process remain in place during the entire certification period of three years. Compliance audits might be completely unannounced or announced at short notice.
Exclusion criteria
In order for a facility to become suitable for a STeP certification, multiple criteria must be fulfilled. There are specific exclusion criteria per module, which - if not met - disqualify a production facility from being certified.
The specific and detailed exclusion criteria are part of the mandatory facility questions and play a central part in determining suitability for the OEKO-TEX® STeP certification. The criteria are designed to provide facilities with transparent information regarding areas, processes, and standards that need to be improved, with each of the six modules weighted equally during the facility audit.
Certification levels and scoring system
The goal of STeP is to support and empower facilities in the continuous, long-term implementation of improvement. That is why it allows three different certification levels.
Level 1: Entry level
70% of the points from mandatory questions are achieved, including the exclusion criteria for each module.
Level 2: Good implementation
Level 1 + 34% of the points from the advanced questions are achieved
Level 3: Exemplary implementation
Level 1 + 67% of the points from the advanced questions are achieved
The higher the certification score, the higher the level. Higher certification levels also mean fewer audits during the certification period.
Approval process
At OEKO-TEX®, every single STeP report created by our 17 institutes around the world is being approved by the designated peers who carry out the review process based on strict internal guidelines and a shared commitment to quality. The review process is done before a facility is granted a STeP certification.
Continuous improvement
Textile and leather production facilities all over the world operate at different performance levels. Each begins at a different stage, and their journeys to certification vary as they focus on particular STeP modules within their business operations.
The goal of the STeP certification is to enable production facilities to learn through our certification, to continuously improve in all 6 modules and grow thanks to it.
You can find out more about the STeP certification here.
