TEXTILES.ORG
At the end of February 2011, the International OEKO-TEX® Association issued the hundred thousandth certificate since the OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 was established, underlining once again its importance as a leading global independent certification system for textiles tested for harmful substances. Currently, more than 9,500 companies in 90 countries are actively involved in OEKO-TEX® certification. In recent years, the 15 OEKO-TEX® member institutes have processed on average well over 10,000 certificates per calendar year.
The main focus of the certification is articles worn close to the skin in product class II (53 percent of all certificates), followed by baby articles in product class I (43 percent), as well as furnishing materials (3 percent, product class IV) and textiles without direct contact with the skin (1 percent, product class III). In regional terms, the majority of Oeko-Tex® certificates are issued to companies in Asia (54.9 percent) and Europe (41.9 percent). However, regions with fewer certificates issued such as North America have shown significant growth. China is the country with the most valid OEKO-TEX® certificates, closely followed by Germany and (significantly further behind) Turkey, Italy and India.