Each year, OEKO-TEX® commissions its 17 testing institutes worldwide to conduct product controls, ensuring that certified products continue to meet testing criteria after certification has been issued and finished goods reach the end-consumer market.
Product controls are fundamental for the quality of our certifications and processes. Around 1/3 of our annual budget goes towards this crucial aspect.
In this article, we explain how product controls are conducted and how do we assure data quality.
Product control process
To make sure that samples tested during certification accurately represent the final product and comply with applicable standards, OEKO-TEX® carries out control testing.
Each OEKO-TEX® testing institute is obliged to conduct a certain number of product controls per year based on the number of issued certificates. The product selection is entirely random and is carried out at every production step.
About 25% of OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100, ORGANIC COTTON and LEATHER STANDARD certificates and MADE IN GREEN labels and 20% of ECO PASSPORT certificates are tested again - pulled from retail shelves or based on samples collected for example during audits. These tests verify if a product is compliant with the guidelines of each respective OEKO-TEX® Standard.
What exactly is being controlled
The verification process examines products from the entire supply chain, such as fibres, fabrics or end products (jackets, towels, etc.). Compliance with harmful substance limits is verified on a sample basis through the same laboratory tests as during certification. Product controls ensure the entire product is covered by the certificate scope and labelling guidelines are adhered to.
Laboratory tests during product controls may be carried out by a different testing institute than the certifying institute, providing even greater transparency and independence.
What happens after product control
Once a product control is finished, OEKO-TEX® and the respective certificate owner receive a detailed report. The data delivered by testing institutes enables OEKO-TEX® to estimate the amount of future product controls but also to analyse and optimise the control processes.
Gathering data for reports and performing analyses afterwards is a complex, multi-step process. The institutes are involved while testing the samples and preparing the report and the OEKO-TEX® quality team controls and monitors the reports and extracts data.
How OEKO-TEX® analyses product control data
OEKO-TEX® partners with Acodis, a Swiss AI-powered document automation platform specialising in intelligent document processing. Acodis transforms documents into structured, actionable data. All data is hosted in Switzerland.
The reason for employing AI-based processes is to create an efficient, standardised and automated system. OEKO-TEX® wants to minimise potential sources of error and shorten the time required for data collection.
This solution supports OEKO-TEX®’s overall goal to strive the best quality and provide reliable data-driven results. It allows to identify anomalies or repeatable patterns e.g. for specific substances frequently detected in products from certain regions or countries.
How OEKO-TEX® uses the data
The analysed data makes it possible to respond more quickly to innovations in the industry, e.g. to new products introduced to the market or to stricter legal regulations concerning harmful substances. The information collected during product controls but also during audits and the certification process itself serves as a foundation for improvement recommendations.
OEKO-TEX® supports brands and manufacturers in making informed and more responsible decisions across the entire textile and leather supply chain.
