Sustainability

OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100

If a textile item bears the STANDARD 100 label, you can be sure that every component of this item, i.e. every thread, button and other accessories, has been tested for harmful substances and that the item is therefore harmless to human health. The test is carried out by our independent OEKO-TEX® partner institutes on the basis of our comprehensive OEKO-TEX® criteria catalogue. In the test, they take into account many regulated and non-regulated substances that can be harmful to human health. In many cases, the limit values for STANDARD 100 go beyond national and international requirements. The criteria catalogue is updated at least once a year and expanded with new scientific knowledge or legal requirements. It is not easy for manufacturers and customers to keep an overview of the legal situation regarding harmful substances every day. Our experts from the OEKO-TEX® institutes do this for you.

Producer responsibility of businesses

In June 2022, the government decided on a new regulation on producer responsibility for packaging. The regulation means, among other things, that all producers must be affiliated with a producer responsibility organization approved by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency from 1 November 2023. According to the regulation, the responsibility for collecting household packaging will be transferred from producers to municipalities from 1 January 2024 and from 2027 all households will be able to hand in their packaging for recycling close to their property. Producers, through producer responsibility organizations, will continue to be responsible for paying for the collection of packaging and ensuring that packaging waste is recycled. With the expanded producer responsibility within the EU, the cost for producers, i.e. the packaging fee, will increase significantly in the coming years and will ultimately be borne by consumers as part of the price of the product.

The main objective of the new regulation is to increase the recycling of packaging materials, reduce the amount of packaging and packaging waste, and ensure that packaging waste is disposed of in a manner that is acceptable from a health and environmental perspective.