What Is OEKO-TEX? What Standard 100 Means for Clothing and Bedding

The four STANDARD 100 product classes

STANDARD 100 sets its limits by how an item is used. Class 1 has the strictest limits. For baby clothes and crib bedding, class 1 is the one that matters.

• Class 1: items for babies and children up to age 3.
• Class 2: items with direct skin contact, such as underwear, T-shirts and bed linens.
• Class 3: items without direct skin contact, such as jackets.
• Class 4: home textiles used for decoration, such as curtains.

What the label does not prove

• It tests for listed substances at set limits. It is not a promise that an item is free of every chemical.
• It says nothing about the fiber. A 100% polyester shirt can carry STANDARD 100, and our score still counts polyester as a microplastic source.
• It is not an organic label. Organic content is certified separately, for example by GOTS or OEKO-TEX ORGANIC COTTON.
• A brand's claim is not the certificate. In our October 2026 check of 242 retailer product pages that credited GOTS or OEKO-TEX, about 1 in 12 credits applied only to the dyes, and about 1 in 7 had no product-level basis on the page, such as a factory or supplier certificate.

PFAS

OEKO-TEX bans the intentional use of PFAS in all of its certifications. Since January 2024, STANDARD 100 has also limited total fluorine to 100 mg/kg. Total fluorine is a lab measure that catches PFAS along with other fluorine compounds. That limit is being lowered to 50 ppm in 2026.

A STANDARD 100 claim on a product page is still the brand's statement until you check the label number.

How to check an OEKO-TEX label

Find the label number on the product's OEKO-TEX label or listing, then enter it in OEKO-TEX Label Check at oeko-tex.com/en/label-check. You can also scan the label's QR code. Label numbers are case sensitive.

Make sure the label is on the item you are buying, not only on the brand's About page.

How Greener Closet scores OEKO-TEX

Listing a certification adds a small adjustment to a product's score. Our score also treats STANDARD 100, like GOTS, as evidence that the dyes avoid restricted azo colorants, so the product is not marked down for unverified azo dyes.

Neither changes how the fiber itself scores: a certified polyester top still scores as polyester.

OEKO-TEX vs GOTS

GOTS certifies organic fiber content and restricts the chemicals used to process it. STANDARD 100 tests the finished item for listed substances, whatever its fiber. A product can carry one, both or neither.

For organic cotton, look for GOTS. For a check on the finished item, look for STANDARD 100.

Other OEKO-TEX labels

• MADE IN GREEN: tested for harmful substances and made under sustainable, socially responsible conditions.
• ORGANIC COTTON: organic cotton verified from farm to product, including GMO testing.
• LEATHER STANDARD: leather articles tested for harmful substances.
• STeP: certifies production facilities, not products.
• ECO PASSPORT: certifies the chemicals, colorants and auxiliaries used in production, not the finished item.

Primary sources

• OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 (OEKO-TEX)
• Our standards (OEKO-TEX)
• New limit value for total fluorine (OEKO-TEX)
• PFAS restrictions and testing (Hohenstein)
• Label Check (OEKO-TEX)
• The Standard (Global Organic Textile Standard)

Reviewed 2026-10-28.