24 October 2008
New Test Series of Bremen Cotton Exchange Reconfirms:
Raw Cotton Samples Pollutant-Free
The current survey of the Bremen Cotton Exchange confirms that raw cotton from the 2008/09 crop is completely pollutant-free. Neither heavy metals nor pesticides were discovered in the samples tested. The Bremen Cotton Exchange has been carrying out cotton surveys regularly since 1991. No critical values were detected since the beginning of the test series. The Bremen Cotton Exchange takes random samples from cotton bales of the current crop for testing purposes. These are then examined at the independent Hohenstein Research Institute for traces of pesticides and heavy metals, according to Eco-Tex Standard 100, Product Class 1. Product Class 1 contains the strictest evaluation criteria: It refers to textiles and textile toys for babies and toddlers to the age of three, e.g. underwear, romper suits, bedclothes, bedding, soft toys etc. “The more intensive the skin contact of a textile is (and the more sensitive the skin), the higher the human ecological requirements that must be fulfilled” * For the first time, samples from China and Pakistan were analyzed, too. All in all, the tested cotton samples came from fifteen countries: Egypt, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chad, China, India, Israel, Kazakhstan, Mali, Pakistan, Sudan, Tanzania, Turkey, USA, and Uzbekistan.
Result: No contamination according to Eco-Tex Standard 100.