Consumer Watchdog Okays Oeko-Tex Certification Process to Detect Lead

-- Home Textiles Today, 11/9/2009 12:00:00 AM

Greensboro, N.C. —

The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) has determined that children’s textiles and textile-based products certified according to the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 comply with the lead content limits specified in the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act, a new federal law that goes into effect in August 2011.

Oeko-Tex implemented the test five months ago to measure the total breakdown of lead. Although most textiles and textiles-based products do not inherently contain lead, according to the commission, manufacturers and importers are responsible for verifying their products have not picked up lead particles as they are being processed.

In addition to lead the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certification also tests for more than 100 other concerning substances believed to be harmful to human health, including phthalates, formaldehyde, cadmium and other heavy metals, and carcinogenic compounds.”