OEKO-TEX

What OEKO-TEX actually is

OEKO-TEX Standard 100 is the certification that checks a finished textile or clothing product for substances that can be harmful to human health. Where GOTS looks back at how the fiber was grown and processed, OEKO-TEX looks at what is actually in the product you wear: the dyes, the treatments, the finishes. It answers the question, is this garment safe against the skin?

For a buyer, that is a different and useful promise. Organic fiber is about the input; OEKO-TEX is about the output. Many materials that are far from organic - synthetics, blends, treated fabrics - can still be a safe product, and that is what OEKO-TEX confirms. It is one of the most widely recognized safety certifications in textiles, and the label appears on a large share of the everyday clothing you buy.

What OEKO-TEX actually tests

Standard 100 tests the finished product against a limit list of around one hundred regulated substances. The list includes:

• dyes with known risks, including some azo dyes
• regulated heavy metals
• formaldehyde in fabric finishes
• phthalates and other softening agents
• regulated pesticides and some process chemicals

The test is done on the finished garment - the product as it is worn - not just on a swatch of raw fiber. That is the key difference from a fiber-level test. The certification also assigns a product class, and class 1 (the strictest) is reserved for babywear, because it is the product closest to skin.

How it differs from GOTS

OEKO-TEX and GOTS are the two most-confused certs on a merch product page, and they ask different questions:

• GOTS certifies the production chain of an organic textile - how the fiber was grown (organic), the environmental and social criteria at each processing stage. It is about the fiber and the process.
• OEKO-TEX Standard 100 tests the finished product for harmful substances. It says nothing about whether the fiber is organic.

A product can carry both, or only one, or neither. An organic cotton tee that is not OEKO-TEX tested could still have a dye or finish issue; and an OEKO-TEX tested polyester softshell says nothing about organic content. When you want to know what cert to ask for, decide which question you are asking before you ask it.

How a buyer reads the label

The OEKO-TEX label carries two useful pieces of information:

• The product class - the label states a class (1 to 4) according to how much skin contact the product has. Class 1 is babywear, and the higher classes are for products with less skin contact.
• The certificate number - the product can be looked up on the OEKO-TEX database to confirm the certificate and the certification body, so the claim can be checked without taking anyone's word for it.

A logo on a fold-out without a class or a number gives you much less to verify. Like all certs, the check is in the paper attached to it, not the mark in the photo.

What OEKO-TEX is not

• Not a claim of organic fiber. A product can be fully conventional synthetics and still OEKO-TEX tested.
• Not a "sustainable" or eco label. It is a safety test on the product, silent on the chain - for that you look at GOTS.
• Not a guarantee against every substance. It tests against a defined list and the limits set by the standard, and the test is at the point of certification, not forever.

OEKO-TEX certified stock today

OEKO-TEX is the largest certified group in the SoMerch catalog. The certified products sit mostly in the apparel range - tees, polo shirts, hoodies, crew necks and outerwear - and include the budget-standard garments (the essential cotton tee, the everyday t-shirt, the classic polo). Each such product is named with its OEKO-TEX label honestly.

The rule is the same as every cert here: the certificate a product shows should be the certificate it actually holds. Some OEKO-TEX products in the catalog are also organic cotton; most are conventional cotton or blends. We label each on its own product page for what it is, not for what it is not.

Closing

OEKO-TEX is the certification to ask for when you need to know a product is safe to wear - tested as a finished garment against a defined list of harmful substances. It is not a claim that the fiber is organic, and that precise boundary is what separates it from GOTS. Ask for the certificate number, confirm the product class, and you have checked the two things that matter.