OEKO-TEX® LEATHER STANDARD Product certification for leather

Purpose

A  OEKO-TEX® LEATHER STANDARD certification means that the product meets high human ecological requirements, i.e. does not contain chemicals at levels that are harmful to health.

The independent evaluation of leading OEKO-TEX® Institutes represents a strong confidence measure for your materials and products.
The STANDARD 100 certificate may be the key to new business partnerships since the criteria of the  OEKO-TEX®   100are often the basis of Restricted Substances Lists (RSLs) of retail chains, producers etc.

OEKO-TEX® LEATHER STANDARD was introduced in 2017 and companies in more than 100 countries along the entire textile/leather chain participate in the certification system OEKO-TEX® LEATHER STANDARD and there are currently around 70 valid certificates.

Method

Certification from fiber to Product

Leather and leather articles from all processing levels can be certified: from semi-finished leather products to finished articles. This includes leather fiber materials, leather clothing, leather accessories such as e.g. leather gloves, leather bags and leather shoes and also leather (e.g. sheepskin, lambskin, cowhide). We do not certify the leather from exotic or protected animals such as crocodiles, snakes and armadillos. We test textile or non-textile components in a leather article in accordance with the criteria in the current STANDARD 100 of OEKO-TEX®.

The tests are only performed at one of the prestigious and renowned textile research and test institutes connected to the OEKO-TEX® Association. RISE is the only institute in Sweden and Norway authorized to certify according to OEKO-TEX® LEATHER STANDARD.

Test criteria
OEKO-TEX®  LEATHER STANDARD does not only include substances that are banned or that have legally established limits, but also includes other substances that have been scientifically proven or are suspected to have adverse health effects.
Examples of parameters that are included in  OEKO-TEX® LEATHER STANDARD are prohibited azo dyes, carcinogenic and allergenic dyes, phthalates, formaldehyde, pesticides, heavy metals, perfluorinated compounds, organic tin compounds, biologically active products, and flame-retardant materials etc.

The parameters included in the requirements are based on:
- Legally prohibited and controlled substances (REACH related and CPSIA-adapted regarding lead.
- Substances that may be harmful to health.
- Product quality
- Biologically active substances and flame retardants (according to an "approved" list).

Product classes
In order for the limits values to be relevant for different types of products, there are four different types of product classes based on the certified product's intended area of use:

Product Class I – Products for children up to 3 years
Product Class II – Products that mostly come in direct contact with skin
Product Class III – Products which do not come in contact with the skin, or do so only to a small extent
Product Class IV – Furnishing and decorative materials

Type of certificates

• Standard certificate, annex 4 & 5
• Special articles
• Special articles PPE
• Comission dyeing- finishing certificate
• Marketing certificate

Deliveries

A OEKO-TEX® LEATHER STANDARD certificate with related test report.
The certificate is valid for one year.

More information