At the end of June 2016, the OEKO-TEX® Association published two supplements to OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 to add to its already existing product portfolio – an updated version of the already existing Supplement for “Special Articles”, and a new Supplement for “Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and Materials for PPE (as well as for military garments and uniforms comparable with PPE)”.
- Personal protective equipment is a highly specialized market segment in which the protective function of the available products is of crucial importance. To deflect or minimize potentially life threatening hazards by using protective clothing, for example, special materials have to be used. These materials (e.g. fibres, yarns, fabrics) usually have to be manufactured in special conditions with little scope for deviation or alternatives. In order to take this into greater account, the OEKO-TEX® Association decided to publish a new, independent OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 Supplement “Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and Materials for PPE”, covering this specialized market segment. The majority of the criteria for PPE clothing and materials are still derived from the Standard 100 criteria catalogue. However, exceptions have been defined for certain substances (not least already on the basis of planned developments at a European level under REACh), including PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and its salts, and “PFOA-related substances”. This was done to take into account special requirements for a range of important protective materials and functions. The supplement also separately addresses diverse solvents and pigments. You can find more information at www.oeko-tex.com/supplement-ppe.
- The OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 Supplement for “Special Articles” was also extensively revised during the development of the “PPE” supplement. This supplement is valid for such special articles that do not represent a “traditional” product within the application area of Standard 100. These include children’s push chairs, suitcases, rucksacks, orthopedic articles, curtain kits, chairs and couches, etc. The “Special Articles” supplement defines the special conditions for the certification of complex and specific article groups of this kind; however, it is only valid for market-ready finished/end products. Raw materials in preliminary stages by contrast cannot be certified. One special feature of the “Special Articles” supplement is the fact that for various special articles, different components (usually non-textile) are excluded from the tests and thus are not taken into account. You can find more information at www.oeko-tex.com/supplement-special-articles.