The document discusses eco-labels for textiles, which certify that products are environmentally friendly. It describes the need for eco-labels due to consumer concerns about pollution. It defines eco-labels and outlines the criteria they are based on, such as limiting harmful chemicals and assessing the full lifecycle of products. It also lists and compares several prominent eco-label organizations and schemes around the world.

1. Eco labels R.B.Chavan Department of Textile Technology Indian Institute of Technology Hauz-Khas, New Delhi 110016 [email_address]

2. THE NEED FOR AN ECO-LABEL Consumers concern for adverse impacts of industrial pollution on the environment, health. Mounting pressure on industry to adopt “ eco-friendly” chemicals and manufacturing processes particularly in the textile sector. Eco-labels that certify the “eco-friendliness” of the textile product are now increasingly demanded by consumers. Currently, these are required mainly in Western Europe, with Germany being the most demanding

3. Exporters facing more stringent environmental standards in the international marketplace. Manufacturers wishing to protect their existing markets and expand into new ones may well be required to obtain an eco-label that is acceptable to their client. Experience in developing country has shown that without an eco-label: · some buyer preferences were being directed elsewhere; · where this was not the case then the lack of an eco-label was used as leverage to negotiate prices down.

6. In practice there are big differences between various eco-labelling schemes, some of which are based on detailed analysis of the environmental impacts some other systems may analyse only certain stages of the life-cycle.

7. Eco parameters Eco labels are awarded on the basis of compliance of certain eco parameters by the product. pH Formaldehyde Heavy metals (As, Pb, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Ni, Hg) Pesticides Chlorinated phenols Dyestuffs (specific classifications) Chlorinated organic carriers Boicidal finishes Flame retardent finishes Colour fastness Emission of volatiles Odours Different agencies will set their limit values for various eco parameters before awarding the license to the manufacturer to use their eco label on the product

8. comparison of norms/criteria stipulated for eco-lebelling of textiles 0.04-0.8 0.04-0.8 0.04-0.8 0.04-0.8 0.04-0.8 Lead 0.1-0.2 0.1-0.2 0.1-0.2 0.1-0.2 0.1-0.2 Arsenic Heavy metals 0.5 0.05-0.5 Ban 0.5 - 0.5 Pentachloro phenol 1 0.1-1 1 1 5 1 Toxic pesticides 300 300 300 300 300 300 Outer Wear 75 75 300 75 75 75 Close to skin 20 20 50 20 20 20 Baby clothing Formaldehyde Indian eco-lable Comitextil Steilmann Clean Fashion OTN OKOTEX 100 M.S.T Eco-parameter

9. - Ban To avoid - - - Chlorine bleaching 200 Ban Ban - - Ban Halogen carriers 50 Ban Ban Ban Ban Ban Azo dyes containing carcinogenic amine 0.2-10 0.2-10 0.2-10 0.2-10 0.2-10 Nickel 5-100 5-100 5-100 5-100 5-100 Zinc 0.2-20 0.2-20 0.2-20 0.2-20 0.2-20 Cobalt 3-100 3-100 3-100 3-100 3-100 Copper 0.001-0.1 0.001-0.1 0.001-0.1 0.001-0.1 0.001-0.1 Mercury 0.005-0.1 0.005-0.1 0.005-0.1 0.005-0.1 0.005-0.1 Cadmium Indian eco-lable Comitextil Steilmann Clean Fashion OTN OKOTEX 100 M.S.T Eco-parameter

10. BENEFITS OF ECO-LABELLING Enhanced export market opportunities – manufacturers and retailers of textile goods will come under increasing pressure to comply with the international eco-labels. open worldwide competition beyond 2005, securing of an eco-label will greatly assist the manufacturers and retailers in enhancing the export market opportunities. Improved product quality – through the removal of substances in the fabric that may be harmful to the customer.

11. Financial savings – process optimisation and improvements that result in saving of water, chemicals and energy. processing time RFT (Right First Time) These benefits generally offset the incremental costs of using ecofriendly chemicals or of adopting a modified process Improved environmental performance – phasing out of toxic and hazardous substances conservation in water, energy and raw material usage. This leads to a reduction in the quantities and pollution potential of various emissions .

12. Step towards ISO 14000 and ISO 9000 – quality control procedures are an integral part of product eco-labelling, easier to implement the ISO 14000 and ISO 9000 systems

13. Selection of appropriate Eco-label Buyer requirements – vary from country to country, influenced by buyer preference consumer preferences. Major export products – eco-label certificates generally apply to specific product lines only. manufacturers first wish to focus on their main export product as any loss in market share, as a result of not having an eco-label, may lead to adverse financial impacts.

14. Ease of implementation – select eco-labels where the criteria can be more readily achieved and sustained. Eco-labels based on final product quality may be easier to gain than those based on the full life cycle analysis, which takes into consideration raw material use, environmental impacts of every stage of the manufacturing process (including wastewater characteristics, air pollution and solid waste disposal), worker health, use of child labour, packaging,

15. ECO-LABELLING SCHEMES Organisations involved in Ecolabelling Schemes Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) Good Environmental Choice (Sweden) Institution Related Öko-Tex (EcoTex) 100 (Germany) Öko -Tex (EcoTex) 1000 (Germany) Company related Steilmann Otto Versand Hess Natur Green Cotton

16. Government National EKO-Seal (Holland) Environmental Choice (Canada) Eco-Mark (Japan) Green Mark (China-Taiwan) Eco-Mark (Korea), Environmental Labelling (China) Eco-Mark (India). National eco-labels are generally established by the respective National Standards Organisation or Ministry of Environment. Multinational schemes are intended to facilitate trade within their common markets Multinational EU-label Nordic Eco-label

17. Organization: Asociación Española de Normalización y Certificación (AENOR) Contact: AENOR Fernández de la Hoz, 52 E- 28010 Madrid, Spain web: http://www.aenor.es AENOR-Medio Ambiente - Spain company: Coop Natureline company-owned label; entire textile chain; additional pollution testing by external labs and Coop quality safety textiles made from cotton by controlled biological cultivation web: http://www5.coop.ch/naturaline/ Coop Naturaline - Switzerland Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, Good Environmental Choice Box 7005 S – 402 31 Göteborg web: http:// www.snf.se/english.cfm Miljöval - Sweden (Falcon Mark - label of NGO) Organization: Umweltbundesamt Contact: Umweltbundesamt FG III 1.3 Postfach 33 00 22 D - 14191 Berlin national label of Germany (1978); first national eco-label as product label in the world; responsibility: German Federal Environment Ministry; eco-label awarded by jury eco-label; product groups: consumer products, textiles and apparel: web: http://www.blauer-engel.de Blauer Engel – Germany (eco-label "Blue Angel"

18. Contact: Association Francaise de Normalisation (AFNOR) NF-Environnement Tour Europe, Cedex 7 F 92049 Paris La Defense national label of France,founded by the French government and AFNOR (French standardisation organisation) in 1991; textile and apparel: other product groups like washing and chemist´s articles; web: http://www.marque-nf.com / NF Environnement - France Organization: Regionale Regierung Katalonien/Spanien Seccció de Qualificació Ecolňgica Servei de Recerca i Informació de Technologies Netes Direcció General de Qualitat Ambiental Department de Medi Ambient Av. Diagonal, 523-525 08029 Barcelona web: http:// www.upc.es/mediambient/indexeng.html Medi Ambient - Spain (Catalonia) (regional environmental label) company: Novotex A/s Ikast, Danmark company-owned label earned six environment safety awards for products and production web: http://www.green-cotton.dk Green Cotton - Danmark contact: eco-tex – Institute for Applied Ecology GmbH Gleueler Str. 373a D – 50935 Köln, Germany web: http://www.eco-tex.com eco-tex - Germany company-owned label of Migros for health, environment and fair trade; products: eco-textiles, shoes and leather ware web: www.miosphere.ch eco (Migros) - Switzerland

19. Contact: The Stichting Milieukeur Eisenhowerlaan 150 PO Box 17186 NL-2502 CD The Hague web: http:// www.milieukeur.nl Stichting Milieukeur - The Netherlands Contact: Fördergemeinschaft körperverträgliche Textilien e.V., Denkendorf Körschtalstraße 26 73770 Denkendorf the German product label was established by an initative of Fördergemeinschaft körperverträgliche Textilien e.V. in July 2000; the Institute of Textile Technology and Process Engineering Denkendorf and the Dermatological Clinic of the University Hospital of Heidelberg developed a special test investigating the influence of textiles on human skin; this is a product label only for textiles web: http://www.koerpervertraegliche-textilien.de Produkt-Label "Körperverträgliche Textilien" - Germany (product label "body-wholesome textiles") contact: Forschungsinstitut Hohenstein Schloss Hohenstein D 74357 Bönnigheim Öko-Tex standard 100 describes the human ecology of a product i.e. pieces of clothing are examined after strict requirements and limit values for pollutant quantities, skin compatibility or pH value. Öko-Tex standard 1000 examines production conditions according to environmental careful criteria as, energy, waste water, packaging, transport, conditions of work, environmental policy, protection of individuals, storekeeping etc . web: http:// www.hohenstein.de Öko-Tex Standard 100 & 1000 Germany Countries: Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark Contact: Swedish Standards Institution Finish Standards Association SIS Environmental Labelling SFS P.O. Box 6455 P.O. Box 116 S – 11382 Stockholm FIN – 00241 Helsinki Stiftelesen Miljomerking i Norge Ministry of the Environment Kristian August Gate 5 P.O. Box 8080 Nordischer Rat "Weißer Schwan" – Scandinavia

20. Contact: Japan Environment Association Office - Tranomon 1 Bldg. (5F), 1 - 5 - 8 Totanomon, Minato-ku Tokyo 105 Japan national label of Japan; founded by the Japanese Department for Environment in 1989; textile and apparel: unbleached clothing, towels and bedlinen, textiles from waste materials, shopping bags from fabric, textiles from used resins, nappies from fabric; web: http://www.eic.or.jp/jea/index-e.html web: http:// www.jeas.or.jp/ecomark/english/index.html Eco Mark - Japan Organization: Minístry of Environment and Forests Contact: Central Pollution Control Board Parivesh Bhawan, CBD-cum-Office Complex, East Arjun Nagar Delhi 110032 India Tel.: 91-11-2224812 Fax: 91-11-2511539 national label of India, founded by the Minístry of Environment and Forests in 1991. textiles and apparel: certification of textiles is under process; homepage: English; short summary in German - click on SEETEX-Server, email: [email_address] web: http:// envfor.nic.in/cpcb/ecomark/ecomark.html Eco Mark – India Organization: Korean Government Contact: Korea Environmental Labelling Association (KELA) Paek, Young-Min, 1307 Leader’s Bldg. 1599-11 Seocho-Dong, Seocho-Ku, Seoul, 137-070, Korea email: [email_address] web: http:// www.kela.or.kr/english / Cleaner and Greener - South Korea Contact: Umweltministerium Sektion II Abt. 11/3 Stubenbastei 2A A- 1010 Wien national label of Austria, founded by the Ministry of Environment in 1991; textiles and apparel: , other product groups like wood and paper; web: http:// www.umweltzeichen.at / Umweltzeichen "Bäume" - Austria (eco-Label - "Trees" )

21. Organization: Environmental Choice New Zealand / Telarc NZ Contact: International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ) Private Bag 28 908 Remuera Auckland 1136 Neuseeland web: http:// www.mfe.govt.nz / web: http:// www.ianz.govt.nz/ianz/index.htm Environmental Choice - New Zealand Contact: Terra Choice Environmental Services 2197 Riverside Drive, Suite 300 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1H 7X3 national label of Canada; founded in 1988 by an initiative of the Ministry of Environment as the second national label of the world. "Terra Choice" is a privat organisation, who is responsible for carrying out and administration by order of the Ministry of environment. web: http:// www.environmentalchoice.com / web: http:// www.terrachoice.ca / Environmental Choice – Canada Contact: ANZECC Secretariat Environment Australia GPO Box 787 CANBERRA ACT 2601 web: http:// www.ea.gov.au/index.html Environmental Choice - Australia Organization: Environment 2000 Foundation Contact: Environment 2000 P.O. Box A639 Avondale, Harare Zimbabwe email: e2000kb@samara.co.zw Environment 2000 - Simbabwe (label of NGO)

22. Organization: Government of Singapore Contact: Secretariat c/o Waste Minimisation Department 40 scotts Road Environment Building #20-00 Singapore 0922 Singapore Tel.: 65-731 9434 Fax: 65-731 9749 email: [email_address] web: http:// www.sec.org.sg/greenlabel_htm/greenlable_frameset.htm Green Label – Singapur Organization: Ministry of the Environment Program: Green Label Program email: [email_address] web: http://english.sviva.gov.il/Eng-site/About/about_frame.htm Green Label – Israel Organization: Green Council; Program: Green Label email: [email_address] web: http:// www.greencouncil.org / Green Label - Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region) country: ecolabelling organizations contact: GEN Secretariat Terra Choice Environmental Services Inc. 2781 Lancaster Road, Suite 400 Ottawa, ON Canada K1B 1A7 e-mail gensecretariat@terrachoice.ca or GEN General Affairs Office Japan Environment Association (JEA) Cosmos Aoyama 5-53-67, Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0001, Japan phone +81 3 3406 5155 fax +81 3 3406 5190 email: [email_address] web: http:// www.gen.gr.jp / Global Ecolabelling Network – Canada

23. Organization: Associacao Brasileira de Normas Tecnicas (ABNT) email: [email_address] web: http:// www.abnt.org.br Qualidade Ambiental - Brazil (environmental quality) Contact: Green Seal 1730 Rhode Island Ave, NW Suite 1050 Washington DC 20036 3101 USA private label of the United States; founded by a private organisation in 1989; textile and apparel: no certified product, but other product groups like wooden and paper products; homepage: English; short summary in German - click on SEETEX-Server email: [email_address] web: http://www.greenseal.org Green Seal - United States (private environmental label) Organization: UMWELTSCHUTZBEHÖRDE (USB) Program: GREEN MARK PROGRAMM GCPCT/Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) Bldg. 9 #195, Section 4, Chung Hsing Road Chutung, Hsinchu Taiwan, R.O.C. email: [email_address] web: http:// www.greenmark.itri.org.tw / Green Mark – Taiwan Organization: Thailand Business Council for Sustainable Development (TBCSD) Institution: GREEN LABEL BOARD (GLB) Thailand Environment Institute 210 Sukumvit 64, Bangchak Refinery Building 4 Prakanong, Bangkok 10260 Thailand email: [email_address] web: http:// www.tei.or.th/main.htm Green Label – Thailand