fairechild Certification - Oeko Tex
What is Oeko-Tex Certification? Why is it important?
Vibrant colours, smooth finishes and rub-your-cheek-against-it soft. These are all qualities we love in fabric and that we are drawn to when buying a new shirt or dress. But did you know that the textile industry often uses chemicals to obtain these results that we long for? Many of the substances they use to achieve these sought-after results are harmful to our health. Not a good situation for products we wear so close to our skin!
At fairechild, we look for the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 Certification when choosing the raw materials we use to make your garments. Founded in 1992 Oeko-Tex is an independent, third party certifier that makes it clear for consumers that the article they are buying have undergone testing for harmful chemicals - and passed. It’s our way of making sure your little one’s safety is top priority. By entrusting this testing to a third party we are assured that there are no conflicts of interest and that the experts performing the testing are impartial in their evaluation.
Your children’s clothes are in constant contact with their skin. Children are particularly sensitive to harmful chemicals as their skin is 20-30% thinner than our adult skin. Therefore, it is important to make sure that all things that come into direct contact with them are carefully tested.
The Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex sets a global standard limit to what chemicals can be used in textile processing to those that do not pose any risk to our bodies. When a product bears the Oeko-Tex stamp of approval it means that it has been tested for harmful substances like dyes containing allergens, carcinogens, pesticides and formaldehyde to name a few. The test has 100 parameters that each simulate a different way that over 300 harmful chemicals may end up in the human body through oral ingestion, absorption through the skin or through inhalation. The Oeko-Tex standard is much higher than that of government regulations.
Gaining Oeko-Tex certification is a lengthy process that involves annual inspections. It is definitely worth looking for companies that hold the label of “Confidence in Textiles”.