Oeko-Tex launches new Impact Calculator for textile and leather industry

Oeko-Tex® has launched a new ‘impact calculator for the textile and leather industries. Individual production sites can use the new Impact Calculator to identify the most significant consequences from CO2 emissions and water use, take steps to meet reduction objectives, and share carbon and water footprint data with customers, investors, business partners, and other stakeholders.

Customers of STeP by Oeko-Tex® can now use the new Impact Calculator. The industry-specific tool will provide crucial data on carbon and water footprints for achieving climate targets. In 2022, Oeko-Tex® will also launch a new corporate due diligence certification, RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS by Oeko-Tex®.

In addition, the Oeko-Tex® Association has announced its annual changes to test criteria, limit values, and certification standards. After the transition period ends on April 1, 2022, all new regulations will take effect.

Textile sector representatives proposed a more ambitious version of the UN Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action at the 2021 World Climate Conference in Glasgow. More than 130 corporations signed the amended charter, pledging to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius, as set out in the Paris Climate Agreement. As a result, the textile sector has set a goal of lowering carbon emissions by at least 30% by 2030.

The textile industry’s carbon- and water-intensive manufacturing processes have a lot of room for improvement, but the enormity of the problem necessitates more than voluntary initiatives.

Companies require trustworthy data in order to meet the industry’s 2030 goal. Oeko-Tex® has introduced the Impact Calculator to encourage progress and data exchange throughout the global supply chain. The program calculates each process step’s carbon and water footprint, as well as the overall process and one kilogram of material/product.

Georg Dieners Oeko-Tex® secretary-general, said that in order to assess and minimize greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption in supply chains, transparency is critical. Oeko-Tex®’s years of commitment to companies and customers have been guided by the philosophy of providing concrete answers to the industry’s difficulties. For their clients to control processes in terms of environmental and social effects, Oeko-Tex® continues to develop scientific solutions and digital platforms. Embedding CO2 emissions and water use standards is a reasonable step toward even more transparency.

In 2020, Oeko-Tex® recognized the need for action and began work on a life cycle assessment instrument. Oeko-Tex® site certification has now integrated carbon and water footprint calculations into the STeP. Thus, the certification enables individual facilities to determine the materials utilized or produced, as well as the production processes, that have the greatest carbon and water implications; Take steps to improve operations and meet reduction targets; and sharing of carbon and water footprint data with customers, investors, business partners, and other stakeholders.

The STeP certification is required to receive the Oeko-Tex® MADE IN GREEN product label. A further step toward openness will be the implementation of footprint calculation data for consumer communication.

RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS by Oeko-Tex®, a new certification for companies and retailers committed to international accords for human rights and environmental protection, will be introduced by the organization in mid-2022. Oeko-Tex® is dedicated to assisting businesses in meeting their due diligence duties within their own operations and global supply networks. Oeko-Tex® RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS was created in conformity with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, as well as the appropriate OECD Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct.