Oekotex 100 — what it means for your fabric sourcing

Oekotex 100 is an independent product certification that documents that a fabric has been tested for harmful chemical substances and meets strict limit values. For you as a buyer, clothing manufacturer or fabric store owner, this means one concrete thing: you can prove to your customers and partners that the fabric you sell or produce with has been tested and approved. It’s not a marketing claim — it’s a third-party certificate with traceability.

What does Oekotex 100 actually cover?

Oekotex 100 tests the fabric as a finished product. This means that the yarn, dyes, auxiliaries and any print are all included in the test. The certificate covers over 100 harmful substances, including heavy metals, formaldehyde, pesticides and azo dyes that can release prohibited amines.

There are four product classes under Oekotex 100:

• Class I — babies and toddlers up to 3 years (stricter requirements)
• Class II — fabrics with direct skin contact, e.g. underwear and T-shirts
• Class III — fabrics without direct skin contact, e.g. jackets and outerwear
• Class IV — Interior fabrics and decorative textiles

The majority of the jersey fabric you find at Jydsk Stoflager is either Oekotex 100 certified or GOTS certified. The two certifications are not mutually exclusive, but GOTS places additional requirements on the entire production chain — we’ll come back to that.

Oekotex 100 versus GOTS — the difference in practice

It’s a question many buyers ask: what’s the difference and when is one enough? Here’s the short version:

Oekotex 100 certifies the finished fabric. The product is tested for harmful substances. It doesn’t say anything about whether the raw materials are organically grown or whether the production is socially responsible.

GOTS — Global Organic Textile Standard — certifies the entire chain from field to finished textile. The raw material must be certified organic and all stages of production must comply with environmental and labor rights.

In practice, this means that GOTS sets requirements for your company if you want to pass it off as a GOTS-certified product. Oekotex 100, on the other hand, is a product certificate that you can use in your communication without having to be certified yourself – as long as you communicate exactly what it covers.

At Jydsk Stoflager, the majority of our digital print jersey is GOTS-certified. The other fabrics in the range — including rib and bamboo jersey — are Oekotex 100 certified. This is clearly stated on each product page, so you always have the documentation in place before ordering.

What it means for your purchasing decision

Certification has a direct impact on which markets you can serve and which customers you can land. Here are the most relevant scenarios:

• Children’s clothing manufacturers: If you work with children’s clothing, many retail customers and platforms will require proof that the fabric meets Oekotex 100 Class I or II. The certificate is your documentation.
• Brand owners with a sustainability profile: Oekotex 100 is internationally recognized and accepted by the vast majority of buyers in Northern and Western Europe as the minimum standard for responsible production.
• Fabric shops: Your business customers — sewing schools, designers, local manufacturers — are increasingly asking for certificates. Being able to display Oekotex 100 on the fabric you sell strengthens the credibility of your range.
• Export throughout Europe: In Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, documentation requirements are generally high. Oekotex 100 is widely recognized in all these markets.

Our rib fabric is Oekotex 100 certified and weighs 240 g/m² — it is circular knitted and comes in widths of 35–45 cm, ready for use as rib edges and sleeve ends in your production.

How to use the certificate correctly in your business

Certificates only have value if you use them correctly. These points are worth keeping track of:

• Oekotex 100 is linked to the specific roll and the specific batch — it is not a general approval of a fabric name or color. Make sure to save the certificate documentation per purchase.
• You can communicate that the fabric is Oekotex 100 tested — but you cannot call your company or products “Oekotex certified” without having your own certificate. It is the supplier’s certificate that applies to the raw material.
• Always check which product class the certificate covers. For baby clothes, use Class I – not all Oekotex 100 fabrics are tested to that level.
• If you resell fabric, you should be able to provide certificates on request. At Jydsk Stoflager you can request documentation directly.

We supply 220 g/m² jersey fabric in 95% cotton and 5% lycra up to 160 cm wide — and consistent color reproduction from roll to roll is part of what we deliver as standard. This also applies to our digital print jersey, where color stability is crucial to ensure consistency across your collection.

Fast delivery and stock items — certificates ready from day one

One of the things that costs time in a purchasing process is waiting for documentation. At Jydsk Stoflager, our fabrics are stocked ready to ship and the certificate information is available even before you order. We deliver to all of Europe with 1-3 business days delivery time — primarily to Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

The minimum order limit is 10 meters regardless of fabric type. This also applies to our rib fabrics and the entire range of digitally printed one-off designs that are AI-designed and manually refined in Photoshop. These designs are not available anywhere else – and they come with the same certification documentation as the rest of the range.

Conclusion

Oekotex 100 is not a nice-to-have — it is increasingly a prerequisite for doing business with serious customers in the Northern European market. Know the difference between the product classes, communicate exactly what the certificate covers and make sure your supplier can document it per batch.

At Jydsk Stoflager, certificate documentation is part of the delivery — not something you have to chase. See our full range of digital print jersey and other fabrics, or contact us directly for prices and availability. We ship from stock with delivery 1–3 business days.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use the Oekotex 100 documentation from my supplier when I resell?
You can communicate that the fabric you sell is Oekotex 100 tested and you can pass on the certificate documentation to your customers. However, you can’t call your own company Oekotex-certified — that requires your own certificate.

Are GOTS and Oekotex 100 the same thing?
No, it doesn’t. Oekotex 100 tests the finished fabric for harmful substances. GOTS certifies the entire production chain from raw material to finished textile and sets requirements for both environmental and social conditions in production.

Which product class applies to baby clothing?
Class I — the most stringent class under Oekotex 100. Always check that the fabric you buy for baby clothing production is tested and approved for Class I, not just Class II.