On October 12, the textile certification body Oeko-Tex will launch its "Trust in Every Thread" campaign. This initiative arrives as the EU’s Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition (EmpCo) Directive, which went into effect on September 27, begins to tighten regulations on sustinability claims.
The EU's EmpCo Directive and the ban on vague green claims
The era of "greenwashing" is faicng a legal crackdown across Europe. According to the report, the EU's EmpCo Directive now prohibits brands from using vague, unsubstantiated language like "eco-friendly" to describe their products.. This directive prevents companies from taking a single sustainable feature and using it to imply that an entire garment is environmentally friendly.
This regulatory shift moves the industry away from "vibes-based" marketing and toward strict, independent verification. As the directive takes hold, the responsibility falls on certification bodies to ensure that any claim made on a clothing tag is backed by a transparent and verifiable process.
Why Oeko-Tex tests 1,000 substances in everything from zippers to baby clothes
Oeko-Tex is positioning itself as a leader in this new era of transparency by focusing on the granular details of garment construction. The organization's standards require products to meet strict limits for more than 1,000 potentially harmful substances. Crucially , these tests aren't just for the fabric; they include components like buttons,zippers, and thread.
Safety standards are not one-size-fits-all, as the requirements vary based on how much skin contact a product has. As Oeko-Tex stated, items designed for babies and children up to age three are subject to the strictest chemical limits. To maintain these standards, the organization retests a quarter of its certificates through a dedicated quality control program that includes site visits and audits.
How QR codes provide proof for "Made in Green" products
To bridge the gap between a label and a consumer's trust, Oeko-Tex is leaning into digital verification. Shoppers can use a QR code or a specific product ID to access detailed information about how and where an item was manufactured. This level of access is designed to turn a "promise" into a "verified fact."
This push for transparency is already seeing commercial momentum. The organization's 2025-26 annual report, released in September, showed more than 13 percent growth in demand for its "Made in Green" certification. By providing a direct link to the proof, Oeko-Tex aims to give consumers the certainty they need when shopping in an increasingly regulated market.
Which certification schemes will fail the new EU audit requirements?
While Oeko-Tex is leaning into transparency,the new EU rules create significant uncertainty for other players in the industry. the report notes that the EmpCo Directive puts intense pressure on certification schemes that are unable to produce their specific criteria or a clear audit trail upon request.
However , the source does not identify which specific brands or certification bodies are currently failing to meet these new standards. It remains unclear how many organizations will face the procedures to withdraw or suspend a label mentioned in the directive, or how the industry will react to the requirement that monitors must be entirely independent of both the scheme owners and the companies using the labels.
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