Oeko-Tex offers customised solutions for German Textiles Partnership members

The Partnership for Sustainable Textiles set up by the German government last year has been joined by lead bodies and some 30 blue-chip branded and retail companies from the textile industry as its new members this month. The aim of this partnership is to work with politicians and the relevant NGOs to improve social and environmental standards along the textile production and supply chain with the help of an action plan.

Oeko-Tex offers partnership members from trade and industry independent certification and services to ensure focused achievement of the sustainability objectives laid down in the action plan.

As a founding member of the International Oeko-Tex Association, the Hohenstein Institute has for many years provided companies all along the textile value-added chain with systematic support in successfully fulfilling their responsibility in relation to human-ecological product safety, environmentally friendly production processes and fair working conditions.

The Textiles Partnership and the Oeko-Tex System revolve around the continuous improvement of current processes and conditions existing in textile manufacturing throughout the world. STeP by Oeko-Tex product plant certification permits, for example, complete analysis and assessment of the sustainability of production facilities based on a comprehensive evaluation of data and on-site validation of the data collected.

It is a shared aspiration of Oeko-Tex and the Textiles Partnership to monitor linkage with European and international initiatives and institutions to create a level playing field in terms of competition.

The Oeko-Tex concept offers a range of solutions in terms of product stewardship. This includes chemicals / environmental management systems conforming with ZDHC and DETOX, which ensure transparent monitoring of the objectives defined in each case.

The Oeko-Tex System also focuses on safety at the workplace and compliance with the UN Conventions on Human Rights and ILO core labour standards. A transparent assessment system is used to demonstrate to companies where there is need for optimisation on the path towards Best Practice in terms of sustainability.

The criteria applied for testing textiles for harmful substances to Oeko-Tex Standard 100 are tightened up on a yearly basis. In parallel regular adjustment of the STeP requirements ensures further development by the Oeko-Tex partner companies of their responsibility for products, the environment and employees step by step.

As regards the central requirement of the Textiles Partnership for transparency throughout the supply chain, the Oeko-Tex System delivers practical answers in order to inform all stakeholder groups about advances and new developments in the textile sector.

In this context the MySTeP database is said to allow companies to map the sustainability of their supply chain at a b2b level using key performance indicators (KPIs), so monitoring, improving and driving forward this aspect with targeted measures.

In conjunction with the consumer label Made in Green by Oeko-Tex this permits branded-and retail companies to directly advertise on the product itself that it has been manufactured under environmentally friendly and socially responsible conditions.