New regulations for eco-friendly textile certification

In order to further improve the safety of the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 (Ecological Textiles Certification Standard) logo textiles, and to promote the more coordinated and better integration of Oeko-Tex 100 certification and Oeko-Tex 1000 certification in the Oeko-Tex system, international environmental protection The Textile Association recently stated that starting from January 2012, NPEO, OPEO, NP, and OP in APEO will be included in the scope of testing.

It is understood that the alkyl phenol ethoxylates (APEO) mainly include: nonyl phenol ethoxylates (NPEO) and nonyl phenols (NP). These substances are often used as surfactants in textile manufacturing processes such as detergents, industrial cleaners, dispersants, wetting agents and other industrial chemicals. Although there is currently no recognized research result that can directly explain that wearing clothing containing NPEO chemicals is detrimental to human health, but such chemicals have great harm to the environment has become a widespread consensus. Both NPEO and NP are non-degradable substances. Once released into the environment, they will accumulate and infiltrate into people's daily food chains in the form of NPs, contaminating the food in the food chain, thus causing harm to human health.

In the environmentally friendly factory certification Oeko-Tex Standard 1000, Oeko-Tex limits such ecologically harmful surfactants (also includes OP octyl phenol and OPEO octyl phenol ethoxylates) The use of Oeko-Tex Standard 1000 certification has become an important item of inspection. Based on currently unrecognized data, these surfactants pose a direct hazard to human health. Therefore, in the association's Oeko-Tex Standard 100 eco-textiles certification, although there were more than 300 hazardous substances and chemicals examined, they did not Surfactants were included in the investigation.

In order to enhance the safety of Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certified textiles, the International Environmental Textile Association will start from January 2012 and add the above-mentioned new assessment substances and their limit values ​​to the Oeko-Tex assessment list. The certified companies will start from 2013. On April 1st of this year, the above material regulations are followed. The specific limits are as follows: NP: 100 ppm, OP: 100 ppm, NP (1-9) EO total: 1000 ppm, NP (1-9) EO total: 1000 ppm.

Relevant person in charge of the agency said that the Oeko-Tex 100 standard's extended investigation of NPEO, NP and other substances will promote the textile industry to reduce the use of such surfactants, thereby promoting the green and healthy development of the global textile industry chain. The International Environmental Textile Association will immediately examine the above-mentioned surface active substances on the purchased certified products in the supervision of the retail end to remind the certified companies of the concern for such substances and help companies to identify and avoid such substances in the production supply chain. The inflow. In addition, when the association’s 15 member agencies conduct routine on-site audits (once every three years), they will also share information on the use of APEO substances with enterprises in a timely manner.