At the end of the Eighties and in the early Nineties a series of textiles, their dyes and finishes, were pilloried as injurious to health. Consumers saw their confidence thoroughly undermined by press campaigns featuring slogans such as "Poison in your wardrobe." As a consequence, people's trust in textile production was damaged, particularly since the consumer had no means of distinguishing products really injurious to health from products which had no such problems. The use of chemicals was considered destructive and poisonous on principle. The credibility of high-quality products manufactured in Germany was called into question because they needed to use chemicals in their finishing processes.
This public debate, despite much exaggeration of fears, gave rise to some new ideas - about how manufacturing industry could react adequately to the consumer's need for reassurance while providing a solid framework for its own quality control, given the existing structures of international purchasing.
A large number of different schemes was developed at this time. Among the various proffered solutions, two major approaches came from the Austrian Textile Research Institute (Österreichischer Textilforschungsinstitut (ÖTI)) in Vienna and the German Textile Research Centre of the Hohensteiner Institutes (Deutsches Textilforschungszentrum Hohensteiner Institute) in Bönnigheim. Both the "Austrian Textile 100 Norm" and the "Hohenstein Check" involved effective tests for identifying any harmful chemicals in textiles and clothing. Both served as a basis for the development of Eco-Tex 100.
So great was the consternation caused in Germany by the debate about harmful chemicals that representatives of the textile associations and various firms in the textile industry came together to provide the consumer with proper information, while dissociating themselves from imported textiles whose potential effect on health was uncertain. For this purpose a comprehensible set of criteria was drawn up, the details of which could be checked at any time - criteria to provide demonstrable proof of the safety of all products examined for the presence of harmful chemicals, while specifying guidelines for environmentally friendly production. An independent association was set up for organisational purposes, the Association for Consumer and Environmentally Friendly Textiles (Verein für verbraucher- und umweltfreundliche Textilien (VvuT)), which launched two trademarks: the "MST" label, standing for "Markenzeichen schadstoffgeprüfter Textilien" ("Tested for harmful chemicals") and the "MUT" product-related label, standing for "Markenzeichen umweltfreundlich hergestellter Textilien" ("Environmentally friendly textiles").
Since at this time German textile manufacture operated at a very high level of product safety and product quality compared with the rest of the world, it was the industry's intention to have a safety standard which should not be undermined by any international division of labour. It was assumed that the German production standard could not be reached so quickly by low-wage countries where there was no safety standard and it was hoped that the MST seal of quality would develop into a trademark for German products.
However, consumers felt themselves overwhelmed by the confusion of such labels as already existed and embellishments which defied monitoring and they were not prepared to accept an industry label. The credibility of textile production and its quality control had suffered too much from cases of damage to health by allergy-inducing dyes and finishing processes which employed formaldehyde.
The VvuT thereupon embarked on a difficult course: it accepted the ideas of the International Association for Ecological Textile Research and Testing (Eco-Tex) and abandoned its own labels, which had been designed for better transparency in the home market. The companies which already used the MST label on their products agreed to this action consistently and incorporated Eco-Tex Standard 100 into their quality assurance.
It soon transpired particularly, however, that the idea of protecting German textile production from foreign imports was not something the Eco-Tex 100 Standard could fulfil.
Since the Eco-Tex 100 label was introduced, the International Association has issued a total of more than 30,000 certificates for several million successfully tested products. More than 5,000 certificates have been awarded annually since the year 2000 to 4,200 companies participating in the scheme world-wide. Thus joint international efforts have been constantly underway the assure the environmental safety of textiles and clothing to the consumer.
What reason is there for this claim to success and for the international acceptance of the test for harmful chemicals shown by the label?
1. The Eco-Tex Standard applies to every stage of manufacture
Nowadays international textile production is structured in a highly complex way. A co-operative textile chain has developed, covering every stage of production, irrespective of location. From yarn manufacture, to finishing, to dyeing and printing, this chain leads finally to garment manufacture, with which the accessories in question must match. So now it is widespread practice that the various components in any item of clothing have been manufactured in different parts of the world. The Eco-Tex 100 Standard operates with a network which reflects this division of labour. In the last resort, a textile product can be examined and certified at every level, so that in its subsequent processing such products as have already been successfully passed can be incorporated into the next certification. Only if there are chemical changes or still untested materials is it necessary for the items in question to be tested in accordance with the specifications on the list of criteria. In this way it is up to every company in the textile chain to act responsibly, and the costs of assuring environmental safety for the consumer are born by all those involved.
2. The Eco-Tex 100 Standard aids innovative product development
Textiles and clothing are a growing international industry, but over the last few decades the historical textile-producing countries of Europe have faced considerable loss of jobs and closure of factories. Only by increasing productivity and promoting innovations, it has transpired, has it been possible to cope successfully with the increasing pressure of imports. Joined with flexibility and technical expertise, this course is the only one possible if what remains of the industry is to survive.
Consumers now take the optimisation of human ecology more or less for granted - not just for basic articles, but also for new, fashionable textile assemblages and functional textiles. By developing the list of criteria to reflect the current state of science, it has been possible to identify and assure the demands of human ecology in a comprehensive way.
3. Joining the Eco-Tex 100 Standard raises the ecological safety of products at an international level
The international purchasing and production structures obtaining in both trade and industry need a uniform safety standard for textile products. After all, different countries have very different environmental standards when it comes to production and are at quite different stages of awareness as regards the presence of pollutants in textiles. The Eco-Tex 100 Standard counterbalances such product-related discrepancies in the assessment of pollutants. The list of criteria covers existing statutory regulations on pollutants, but it also sets parameters which can be used when such substances are being technically assessed to demonstrate any negative effects on the consumer. Precisely because statutory regulations have still not been harmonised in Europe - and norms vary to an even greater extent world-wide - it is impossible to exaggerate the unifying effect of the criteria list.
4. Time advantage
Compared with political decision processes at national, European or even international level, this association of independent assessment organisations forming the international Eco-Tex testing association has considerable advantages - namely of time - when it comes to implementing measures within the textile chain. For their part, if they are to maintain a smooth flow of production, the companies in the chain also need early transfer of information about potential pollutants which must be excluded from the manufacturing process.
The institutes forming this international testing association have shown a high degree of commitment in bringing the problem of pollutants under control by identifying sources of contamination outside the industry, such as TBT and DBT. In the space of three months, TBT and DBT were included in the list of criteria in March 2000, thus excluding from certification all bio-hazardous finishes based on organic tin.
5. What concrete effects does the Eco-Tex 100 Standard have for the consumer?
April 2002 saw the first meeting, at Apolda in Thuringia, of the European Conference on Textiles and the Skin, at which dermatologists and textile experts were able to discuss the current state of research on skin and textiles. This conference demonstrated, among other things, how important reliable tests are when it comes to identifying formaldehyde, nickel and dyes which can cause allergies, even though studies show that contact allergies caused by textiles are of very rare occurrence. Textiles have been identified in German dermatology clinics as the source of one to two percent of skin allergies. Sixteen percent of these contact allergies were traced to nickel, mainly caused by wearing jewellery. For some years now the Eco-Tex 100 Standard has been helping to minimise this problem substance, since articles of clothing submitted for Eco-Tex certification are inspected in all their individual parts. This excludes all allergy-producing amounts of nickel used in metal accessories. In their talks, American dermatologists expressed their disappointment that the USA still had no Eco-Tex 100 Standard.
6. Continuity and costs
The Eco-Tex 100 Standard is a market-oriented tool of a voluntary kind subject to contract between the Eco-Tex certification system and the companies concerned. Unlike the EU flower label from Brussels, which has also been in existence for a decade, and whose many years of research and development on behalf of individual industries have been funded since then from tax, the Eco-Tex 100 label from the international testing association must prove its worth on the market.
Companies in the textile and clothing industry must act consistently together to ensure that this high standard of assurance in human ecology is not undermined. The licence fee, which has remained unchanged since the beginning, is used to cover the following activities: advertising, quality assurance, product control, costs of organisation, internet, copyright protection and label control, general tests and research. Annual control tests for products on the market, carried out without warning, are designed to ensure continuity in application of the Eco-Tex 100 Standard. They amount to ten percent of all certificates issued in the country concerned and are also financed via the licence fee.
The certification office in Germany has made it a particular interest to inform the general public of the efforts being made by all those involved in maintaining safety in human ecology world-wide. Of course it is a consistent part of this that all advertising and information, up to a particular size of print-run, going to companies in both trade and industry, to consumer organisations and schools and to all other interested parties, should be available free.
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