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#Sustainability

Celebrating International Day of Families with OEKO-TEX®

Families come in many forms. The United Nations created International Day of Families nearly 30 years ago to promote awareness of issues affecting families. On May 15 and every day, we celebrate all families by helping them make safer, more sustainable choices.

Families are in constant contact with some form of apparel or textile product. Between 4,000 and 8,000 individual chemicals enter factories in countless formulations. They exit on the products or as waste that can negatively impact the environment. 

While consumers are conscious of the hazards associated with ingesting chemicals, they have been less concerned with the chemicals their families contact through clothes and home goods. Chemicals are present in everything from their towels, bed linens, pajamas, and intimate apparel. But that is changing. And every purchase and choice we make is an opportunity to prioritize safety.

The concern goes beyond our own homes. Chemicals used in textile production pollutes rivers, oceans, wildlife and horticulture within miles of processing facilities. For example, textile dying is the second largest polluter of water globally. The fashion industry produces 20 percent of global wastewater, according to the UN.

That's where our labels come in. OEKO-TEX® tests for harmful substances and certifies sustainable and fair manufacturing practices to ensure products are safer for human health and the environment.



STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® is one of the world's best-known labels for textiles tested for harmful substances. The label certifies that every component of the product from the fabric to the buttons has been tested for up to 350 toxic chemicals. The MADE IN GREEN by OEKO-TEX® label means a product is tested for harmful substances and comes from a facility that uses environmentally friendly production processes. The label covers the use of chemicals to responsible handling of wastewater. Certified suppliers must also improve working conditions and prioritize health and safety protection for workers.

Limiting chemicals in our products helps families, workers, and our collective future. This International Day of Families, we can ensure a brighter future for all families. OEKO-TEX® labels can help.



More News from Oeko-Tex® Association

#Sustainability

OEKO-TEX® chooses TextileGenesis to advance digital traceability for organic cotton

OEKO-TEX® today announced a full collaboration with TextileGenesis, a Lectra company, to digitally trace and authenticate organic cotton, strengthening fraud prevention across the supply chain. This announcement follows a successful pilot and brings together OEKO-TEX®’s certification expertise and closed testing system with TextileGenesis’ digital traceability platform to deliver a secure, end-to-end solution for managing certified organic cotton flows.

#Sustainability

OEKO-TEX® - New regulations 2025

Fostering trust within the textile and leather industry remains the mission of OEKO-TEX®. Since trust relies on consistently high standards, the OEKO-TEX® Association has released the updated testing criteria, limit values and guidelines for its certifications, based on the latest scientific research and legal developments.

#Sustainability

OEKO-TEX® Annual Report 2023/2024 mentions 50,000+ valid certifications

The international OEKO-TEX® association has continued to demonstrate positive business growth, highlighting the critical role of close collaboration and shared commitment in accelerating sustainable change. More than 35,000 textile and leather companies depend on the certificates and product labels issued by OEKO-TEX®’s independent testing institutes. OEKO-TEX® issued more than 50,000 certificates and labels between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024 – an increase of 22% over the previous financial year.

More News on Sustainability

#Recycling / Circular Economy

The Or Foundation, adidas, BESTSELLER, H&M Group, and Inditex launch Apparel Recovery Coalition, responding to impacts of post-consumer textile exports

adidas, BESTSELLER, H&M Group, Inditex and The Or Foundation, with support from Circle Economy, unveiled the Apparel Recovery Coalition (ARC). The coalition will explore how producer responsibility systems can support circular pathways such as reuse, upcycling, recycling, and responsible waste management in countries that receive large volumes of exported secondhand apparel.

#Recycling / Circular Economy

NEUMÜHLE launches mono-material hoodie designed for textile recycling

With the Circular Mono Hoodie, Zurich-based label NEUMÜHLE introduces a new essential designed around a single-material principle. The textile construction is cotton throughout, right down to the sewing thread. Entirely free from elastane, the hoodie launches as a Limited Drop for CHF 139. Take-back, collection and existing recycling partnerships complement its circular design.

#Industry 4.0 / Digitalization

EIM evolves into a new Environmental Intelligence to measure the impact of textile production

¿Do we really know the environmental impact behind a garment? Answering this question remains one of the textile industry’s major challenges. Garment production involves multiple stages, from yarn and fabric to final finishing, carried out by different players across the supply chain. Accesing reliable data from each process, connecting it and establishing a common language are essential to understanding a product’s true impact.

#Associations

ITMF names three winners of the Sustainability & Innovation Award 2026

Three projects from the UK, Korea and China have been selected as winners of the ITMF Sustainability & Innovation Award 2026. The projects address textile-to-textile recycling, chemical recycling for automotive textiles and a regenerative approach combining silk production with ecological restoration.

Latest News

#Functional Fabrics

ROICA™ presents stretch textile innovations from nine partners at PERFORMANCE DAYS 2026

ROICA™ by Asahi Kasei will return to PERFORMANCE DAYS Munich on October 13–14, 2026, presenting textile developments from seven European partners and two Japanese specialists under its global brand message, “STRETCH YOUR FUTURE.” Visitors can discover the developments at Booth P10 in Hall A4.

#IGATEX 2026

SHIMA SEIKI to showcase flat knitting and digital design solutions at IGATEX Pakistan 2026

Leading computerized flat knitting technology provider SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD. of Wakayama, Japan, together with its Pakistani representative ALMURTAZA MACHINERY CO., (PVT) Ltd., will exhibit at the upcoming International Exhibition for Garment, Textile Machinery and Accessories (IGATEX Pakistan 2026) in Lahore, Pakistan, from October 15–18. SHIMA SEIKI will introduce computerized flat knitting machines, 3D design software and various web platforms as proposals for sustainable production through innovative shaping technology and the latest digital solutions.

#Dyeing, Drying, Finishing

Brazilian market leader Cedro Têxtil focuses on greater efficiency, sustainability, and product quality with Brückner

After more than 150 years of company history, Cedro Têxtil is once again embracing the challenges of a changing industry. Widely recognized as the largest manufacturer of workwear fabrics in Latin America, the Brazilian textile company continues to invest in the modernization of its production facilities. A key milestone in this process was the decision to install a state-of-the-art Brückner stenter frame just over a year ago.

#Digital Printing

Growth at the speed of demand: Kornit Digital brings digital textile innovation to PERFORMANCE DAYS 2026

Kornit Digital Ltd. (NASDAQ: KRNT) (“Kornit”), a global pioneer in on-demand digital fashion and textile production, will showcase the possibilities of digital, on-demand production at PERFORMANCE DAYS 2026, October 13–14 at Messe München, Hall 6, Booth E08.

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