Oeko-Tex Association to Replace Current Oeko-Tex® Standard 1000 Certification System

The International Oeko-Tex Association, Switzerland, has announced it will replace the current Oeko-Tex® Standard 1000 certification system for sustainable production with Sustainable Textile Production (STeP) by Oeko-Tex. 

The goal of the new certification system is to provide production companies along the textile value chain — including brand manufacturers, retailers, associations and non-governmental organizations — with transparent documentation of their environmentally friendly and socially responsible production conditions. In order to become STeP by Oeko-Tex certified, a company must have its production facility successfully evaluated and audited by an Oeko-Tex institute and then scored using a Web-based process. 

"The heart of the new STeP certification is the modular analysis of all relevant company areas such as quality management, use of chemicals, environmental protection, environmental management, social responsibility and health and safety," said Oeko-Tex Secretary General Jean-Pierre Haug, Ph.D. "As the certification tool is specifically tailored to the situations in the individual processing stages of the textile and clothing industry, it can provide interested companies with targeted support for continuous improvement of their production conditions." 

The required criteria for STeP by Oeko-Tex certification will be regularly verified and updated with consideration for international legislation and standards as well as current market developments. Oeko-Tex reports it will take into account existing certification to standards such as ISO 9000, ISO 14001 and SA 8000 when evaluating companies for STeP certification. 

STeP by Oeko-Tex will be introduced to the public at the Prime Source Forum in Hong Kong on March 26, 2013, and certification to the system will commence June 12, 2013. 

In other news, Oeko-Tex also has updated its criteria and limit values for testing textiles for harmful substances in accordance with the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certification process. Following a three-month transitional period, the new regulations will go into force for all certification procedures on April 1, 2013.