Interview with Georg Dieners

Georg Dieners
General Secretary
OEKO-TEX

OEKO-TEX services enable all stakeholders to make mindful decisions

OEKO-TEX is a globally recognised organisation dedicated to promoting sustainability and safety in the textile and leather industries. It offers a range of certifications and labels that ensure products meet strict environmental, health, and safety standards. By fostering transparency and responsible decision-making, OEKO-TEX supports both businesses and consumers in making more sustainable choices throughout the entire value chain. In an interview with Fibre2Fashion, General Secretary Georg Dieners discusses the OEKO-TEX labels, sustainability, certifications and transparency.

What inspired the creation of OEKO-TEX and its standards?

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. The services provided by OEKO-TEX bring transparency to the international textile and leather industry supply chains. They enable all stakeholders to make mindful decisions that help preserve our planet for future generations.

What is OEKO-TEX’s mission and commitment to sustainability and responsible decision making?

In 1992, 20 years before the United Nations announced the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), OEKO-TEX launched OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100, one of the best-known labels for product safety today, to address increasing public interest in textile ecology and health. The limit values and test methods on which STANDARD 100 is based on were internationally standardised and are adapted to the latest scientific findings and legislation at least once a year – a principle that is applied to all OEKO-TEX standards. From the very beginning, OEKO-TEX has considered the needs of all players in the textile and leather value chain and continues to create solutions for the current and future market requirements. Today, at least seven SDGs are firmly integrated into the OEKO-TEX product portfolio. For example, Good Health & Well-Being (SDG 3) and Clean Water & Sanitation (SDG 6) are reflected in the OEKO-TEX STeP (Sustainable Textile & Leather Production) factory certification, and Responsible Consumption & Production (SDG 12) and Climate Action (SDG 13) are implemented through the comprehensive OEKO-TEX MADE IN GREEN product label.

What are the various certifications and labels offered by OEKO-TEX and what do they signify?

Enabling consumers and companies to make responsible decisions for themselves which also protect our planet for the future generations has always been our mission. Therefore OEKO-TEX offers a variety of textile and leather standards. These are developed as a modular system to cover the entire textile and leather value chain in terms of input, process, and output control as well as supply chain management. OEKO-TEX ECO PASSPORT is an independent certification system for chemicals, dyes and auxiliary materials used in the textile and leather industry. As part of a multi-stage process, we analyse whether every single ingredient in the chemical products meets the legal requirements and if it is not harmful to human health. Like the OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 which is a certification for textiles tested for harmful substances, the OEKO-TEX LEATHER STANDARD is also one of the product certifications. It refers to leather articles of all production stages including the accessory materials used. The OEKO-TEX MADE IN GREEN product label includes the product certification mentioned above and ensures that the textile or leather product has been manufactured using environmentally responsible processes under social working conditions. This is done through certification according to OEKO-TEX STeP, our production facility certification. As supply chain due diligence requirements in the textile and leather industry increased, we launched OEKO-TEX RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS. The management certification supports companies in preventing and mitigating existing and potential negative impacts of business operations within their own activities, their supply chains and in their wider business relationships. Starting April 2023, the new OEKO-TEX ORGANIC COTTON certification will focus on reliable labelling of organic cotton textiles.

How do you conduct testing and audits, and what is the role of independent institutes?

The international association consists of 17 independent research and testing institutes focused on textile and leather, with contact offices in over 70 countries. They are responsible for the joint development of the test methods and limit values in the OEKO-TEX standards and carry out laboratory tests and audits according to globally uniform specifications. These comprehensive product and process audits ensure appropriate risk management, consumer and environmental protection, and legal compliance. With their wide-ranging research and development, the accredited OEKO-TEX testing institutes provide important insight for innovations within the textile and leather industry. They work in close cooperation with manufacturers and make a significant contribution to the development of high-quality textile and leather products at all stages of the value chain.

How does OEKO-TEX work with textile and clothing companies to promote sustainability and safety in the industry?

Promoting transparency in the textile and leather industry has been one of our main drivers since day one and we are convinced transparency is the key to sustainability. All our products and services pay into this idea, and we constantly engage to push the industry forward. During the last years, OEKO-TEX recognised the need for a life cycle assessment tool. So, we developed the OEKO-TEX Impact Calculator which is now integrated into the STeP certification. It enables individual facilities to identify the largest carbon and water impacts by materials used or produced, as well as by production processes to improve operations and meet reduction targets. They can also share their carbon and water footprint data with customers, investors, business partners and other stakeholders. The STeP certification is a pre-requisite for earning the OEKO-TEX MADE IN GREEN label. Other measures to support the industry towards greater sustainability and safety is the above mentioned OEKO-TEX RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS certification to support companies in fulfilling due diligence obligations within their own operations and their global supply chains. Starting April 2023, OEKO-TEX STeP customers are able to utilise the BHive app, developed by GoBlu, a comprehensive chemical database to reduce labour, time and costs. The comprehensive chemical database enables manufacturers to collect information on all chemical products used on site, via smartphone, and determine which products meet the sustainability requirements of different brands and retailers.

What have you done to address any challenges or concerns that have arisen due to the COVID-19 pandemic?

During the pandemic, OEKO-TEX has made every effort to continue with certification and avoid supply chain interruptions. Existing certificate renewals were temporarily processed without samples to give certificate owners three additional months to gather samples for testing. To provide people all over the world with mouth and nose masks that are safe from harmful substances, the OEKO-TEX Association waived the license fee for certification of masks. Between April and June 2020, more than 50 manufacturers of face masks obtained certification according to OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100. During year two of the COVID-19 pandemic, OEKO-TEX made every effort to continue with certification and avoid supply chain interruptions. The association supported the industry and global fight against COVID-19 with waivers of over 370 STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX certification fees on mouth and nose masks. Due to travel restrictions, the organisation implemented guidelines for virtual audits to ensure a smooth and consistent certification process. In addition, over 620,000 workers benefit from employment in safe and socially responsible working conditions with environmentally friendly processes verified by STeP certification.

What is your stance on issues such as labour standards and environmental protection in the textile value chain?

Both are essential to achieve a more sustainable future and all of our certificates and labels claim to pay into it over the long term. In this context we are proud of the growing rates of our comprehensive OEKO-TEX MADE IN GREEN. As mentioned above it is a traceable product label for all kinds of textiles and leather products that have been manufactured in environmentally friendly facilities under safe and socially responsible working conditions. OEKO-TEX MADE IN GREEN also reassures consumers that the textile or leather product is made of materials that have been tested for harmful substances.

Consumers can track the path of their OEKO-TEX MADE IN GREEN labelled products by using the unique product ID or QR code. Via the OEKO-TEX Label Check they can find out in which production facilities and in which country their textile or leather article was produced.

How does OEKO-TEX ensure the integrity and transparency of its processes and handle compliance breaches?

The trust that the market bestows upon a certificate is of prime importance. In this respect, OEKO-TEX continually takes action to implement a variety of quality assurance measures, incorporating external views. Integrity is ensured through involving external stakeholders like the OEKO-TEX International Advisory Board (IAB) and the independent institutes in the standard-setting process as well as the general public. The IAB meets annually. Its core function is to help reviewing consistent and market-oriented standards development proposals by the OEKO-TEX working groups. In addition, OEKO-TEX is conducting public stakeholder consultations to gain further insights from all interest groups, which will be integrated into further development of the standards.

To ensure integrity related to traceability and to prevent fraud, all testing institutes share a centralised database for transaction. Additionally, OEKO-TEX audits all independent accredited textile and leather institutes every three years to maintain a high level of quality and to identify possible obstacles.

Regarding the certified products, OEKO-TEX makes sure that samples are tested during the certification, represent the article finally sold and that sold article conforms with the applicable standard by random control tests. Conducting announced and unannounced on-site visits ensure whether an applicant is able to maintain the required quality and compliance standard over the long term. Failing the implementation of agreed obligations in due time can lead to a withdrawal of the certificate.

All this works in the frame of the OEKO-TEX complaint mechanism to inform OEKO-TEX about any compliance breaches of the association or their standards. It is also tied to the OEKO-TEX certificate withdrawal process: If a compliance breach of a customer against the OEKO-TEX standards cannot be resolved within reasonable time, the certificate will be withdrawn.

How do you ensure that OEKO-TEX standards remain up-to-date and relevant in a rapidly changing industry?

The limit values and test methods on which the OEKO-TEX standards are based are internationally standardised and are adapted to the latest scientific findings and legislation at least once a year. Being close to the market, and ideally, one step ahead is essential to supporting companies who are adapting to constantly changing conditions and meeting consumer expectations. Therefore, the development of OEKO-TEX is not only a reflection of scientific knowledge but also of social and political trends. The focus is always on standardising sustainable action and measures and making it easier for the industry to quickly and comprehensively implement sustainability goals. Exchange with third parties is particularly valuable for this purpose. OEKO-TEX participates in various international multi-stakeholder initiatives such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles, and the ZHDC (Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals). In addition to cooperation with external multi-stakeholder initiatives, the above mentioned OEKO-TEX International Advisory Board (IAB) meets annually and through public stakeholder consultations OEKO-TEX gains further insights from all interest groups, which will be integrated into further development of the standards.

What advice would you give to consumers who want to make more sustainable choices when it comes to buying clothing and textiles?

An educated consumer can take more sustainable actions that do not end with buying the product. Wearing, caring and disposing are all part of a product’s lifecycle and therefore all contribute to its ecological and social impact. Through our social media channels, we give a lot of advice on how to handle textile products in a more sustainable way. There consumers can also find a lot of information about our labels and certifications.

Are there any new initiatives or programmes that OEKO-TEX is currently working on?

OEKO-TEX launched a new certification in April 2023. OEKO-TEX ORGANIC COTTON focuses on reliable labelling of organic cotton textiles. The OEKO-TEX ORGANIC COTTON certification offers verification from farm to product. Textile products bearing this label have been manufactured without the use of GMOs and tested for pesticides and other harmful substances. In addition to the qualitative GMO testing, which proves if a product contains genetically modified cotton or not, a second step involves quantification, i.e., determining the proportion of genetically modified cotton in a product. The aim is not only to check production, but to make the raw materials verifiable through the supply chain.

What role do you see OEKO-TEX playing in the future of the textile industry and the broader sustainability movement?

Creating trust within the textile and leather industry and for its customers is the mission of OEKO-TEX. Since trust is based on consistently high quality, the OEKO-TEX Association will continue to maintain the high standards and to develop them further. Another important mission is to educate the industry as well as the end consumers to encourage them in acting towards greater sustainability.

Published on: 09/06/2023

DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.