The following explains which PFAS are completely limited by Oeko-Tex, which are indirectly limited, and when all fabric categories, including sofas, will be completely free of Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS) treatments if Oeko-Tex 100 certified.
PFAS is a very large group of chemicals. It is therefore impossible to test for all of them individually. Those that are specifically limited in the Oeko-Tex 100 standard are the ones that are currently regulated by the EU regulations.
To try to cover all PFAS, they have introduced an extractable organic fluorine (EOF) limit value. PFAS contain a lot of fluorine, therefore by having a fluorine limit value they test for the presence of PFAS indirectly.
However, other molecules used in textiles, for example, some colorants, also contain fluorine. Those chemicals are not necessarily harmful and their goal at Oeko-Tex is not to forbid the use of those. Which is why the limit value for extractable organic fluorine (EOF) is higher than the one for the listed PFAS, which they test for individually.
The limit value that they have for the individual substances is the limit of quantification, which means that if PFAS are present in the product in lower concentrations, they are unable to test for them due to method limitations. Nevertheless, those limit values largely forbid the intentional use of PFAS, as PFAS have absolutely no effect at such low concentrations and would therefore not be applied
Currently, in 2023, their EOF limit value applies only to product class I (articles for babies). They have a transition period that lasts until January 2024 for all other product classes (which includes sofas).
As of today, all the specific PFAS that are legally regulated in the EU are already covered and will not be found in stain guard coatings in an Oeko-Tex 100 certified sofa.
The EOF limit value, which essentially limits any intentionally added PFAS, will come into effect for sofas in January 2024. So as of January 2024, Oeko-Tex 100 fabrics will be free of PFAS.
Corinne Segura is an InterNACHI-certified Healthy Homes Inspector with certifications in Building Biology, Healthier Materials and Sustainable Buildings, and more. She has 10 years of experience helping others create healthy homes. You can book a consult here.
CalendulaFlowers
Thanks so much for your post on this. I recently was informed that USA manufactured cloth products do not need to have an Okeo-Tex or GOTS certification which was a surprise to me. I guess they can have a CPSIA certification, but not necessarily since it is manufactured in the USA. Do you have an article on what to do if it’s American made and it’s hard to know if there are no certifications. Another thing I came across was false claims of Okeo-Tex on products, and the Okeo-Tex company said that they do not and cannot trace products throughout the manufacturing process, only the final product is generally tested. I have come across companies that had the wrong Okeo-Tex label on their material, and it seems to be that there are quite a few loopholes in the Okeo-Tex and GOTS certified products, as the certifying companies have stated that they have asked companies to remove false claims even multiple times, and some companies appear to continue labeling their products incorrectly despite being contacted by these certification companies. Is there a solution to this problem? Thanks for all your work. It’s so appreciated.
Briana Heflin
Do you know if each item a company sells has to have it’s own Oeko-Tex certificate or can the company have one certificate that can apply to all of their products or fabrics? I recently reached out to a company to get the Oeko tex label numbers for a chair and a couch but they only sent me one number. That number expired back in June (2024)? The brand is Chita. Would it still be safe you think? Thanks for the insight.
Briana Heflin
update: they just sent me two separate updated and not expired Oeko tex certificates for the two products I asked about.
Corinne Segura, Building Biologist
that’s good!