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Discussion on future of sustainable textile industry at 'The Next 20'

01 Nov '12

2 min read

The International OEKO-TEX Association's “The Next 20” event to be held on November 14th from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm at The Glass Houses, 545 W. 25th Street in New York City, will feature an impressive slate of sustainability thought leaders and experts including Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the award-winning environmental advocate and author.

Kennedy will be joined by Tom Chappell of Tom's of Maine and Rambler's Way, Nicole Bassett of prAna, Amy Hall of Eileen Fisher, Elysa Hammond of Clif Bar &Co., Kevin Burke of AAFA, Mark Henning of Dow, and Emily Walzer, Managing Editor of Textile Insight, who will moderate the discussion.

Dr. Jean-Pierre Haug, General Secretary of the International OEKO-TEX Association will also announce updates to the OEKO-TEX Standard 1000 certification for environmentally and socially responsible textile manufacturing plants. In concert with the global OEKO-TEX Standard 100 product certification which ensures textiles are tested to be free from more than 300 potentially harmful substances, the OEKO-TEX Standard 1000 focuses on production processes and operating standards to help manufacturers provide textile products that are made responsibly with consideration for the environment as well as for the people who make and use them.

OEKO-TEX is presenting “The Next 20” to celebrate its twentieth anniversary. Founded in 1992 in response to consumer concerns about hazardous substances in textile products, the International OEKO-TEX Association is a collaboration of 15 highly regarded textile testing and research institutes with 60 offices in 65 countries.

The Association's general managers will be conducting their annual meeting in New York City during the same week. The general managers will review changes in the global textile industry that impact the Association's extensive testing criteria. They will then determine updates needed to ensure OEKO-TEX certifications continue to define the state-of-the-art for the textile industry.

“The Next 20” event is free and open to industry and media personnel, however seating is limited.

The International OEKO-TEX Association