Environmental signs of ecological textiles

Environmental signs, also known as ecological signs and green signs, are specific signs issued by government management departments or independent institutions and organizations to relevant applicants according to certain environmental standards. Among them, ecological standards are the core of environmental signs. Environmental label is a kind of certification trademark, and winners can paste it on commodities to show consumers that the product meets specific environmental protection requirements compared with similar products in the whole process of production, use and treatment, or in some links.

The system of environmental labeling is voluntary, that is, the application for environmental labeling is not mandatory, but is decided by the producers themselves. It is the product of environmental management means from administrative orders to market guidance. Driven by consumers in market factors, environmental labels urge producers to adopt higher environmental standards, guide enterprises to consciously adjust product structure, and adopt clean technology to produce products that are beneficial to the environment, so as to finally achieve the purpose of protecting the environment and saving resources. The application for environmental labels must undergo strict inspection, testing and comprehensive evaluation, be examined and approved by the recognized committee, sign a specific use contract, and pay a certain use fee before they can be used. The ownership of the label still belongs to the specific certification committee. This is completely different from the green company, environmental pioneer, green product and pure natural formula that enterprises claim without authorization under the impact of green consumption wave in the world today. There are strict standards for awarding environmental labels, which need to be checked regularly. The label has been used for a certain number of years, and an application needs to be made after the time limit. However, some companies' own green claims are generally purely commercial without strict standards and audit procedures, with the aim of catering to consumers' environmental protection needs and making profits. This kind of green sign is beyond the scope of this article. General situation of textile environmental labeling in EU countries

As an independent body, the EU has its own unified environmental label, namely, Eco- 1abel (eco-label), and each member state of the EU also has its own environmental label, which is about 10. Among them, Germany has the most environmental protection signs, including 7 kinds of * * *, involving clothing, carpets, fibers and other products. The influential ones are oeko-Texloo and ToxProof；; EcoTex, wait. Other EU countries, such as the Netherlands, Denmark and Northern Europe, also have their own environmental labels. Some of these labels indicate that the limit of harmful substances in the final product is lower than specific requirements, which meets the requirements of human ecology such as Oeko-Texloo. Others show that the whole product life cycle, that is, the whole production chain from fiber planting or production to final waste treatment, meets certain environmental protection requirements, such as ECO- 1Belo. This paper mainly introduces several influential signs in the market. (1) The logo Eco- 1abel was established by the EU Law Enforcement Commission according to policy 880/92. Since 1993 issued the first batch of standards for washing machines and dishwashers, the products have now involved sheets, T-shirts and other 12 kinds of textiles. Signs are shown in figure 1

The principle of European Union's environmental labeling standard is to make a lifelong environmental assessment of products from cradle to grave (1CA), that is, to evaluate the circulation and consumption of raw materials, products in the production process and the final waste treatment. This method was developed by the 12 expert group headed by a professor from Leiden University appointed by the European Union in 1993.

The application and awarding procedures for the Eco- 1abel logo mainly include:

(1) After consultation with relevant parties, the EU Executive Committee determines the product categories and the environmental standards for each product category.

(2) Each member state designates a relevant department to accept applications for environmental labels from manufacturers or importers according to EU standards.

(3) The application for environmental label must be approved by the relevant departments of the member states (within 30 days).

(4) After the application is approved, the applicant signs a contract with the relevant departments of the member countries, stipulating that the sign can be used within a certain period of time, and the member countries are responsible for collecting the application fee and annual use fee.

(5) The European Commission publishes the product list through the communique, indicating the name of the winning enterprise and the winning country, etc. The Eco- 1abel logo can be applied to any of the 15 EU member states and can be used in Europe 18, including Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

1994 The European Commission entrusted Denmark to formulate the ecological standards for textiles, and 1996 adopted the standards for bed sheets and T-shirts. According to the regulations of the European Commission, ecological standards are generally revised every three years. Ecological standards for other textiles are currently under discussion.

(2) The symbol of Oeko-Tex standard 100, OEKO-TEX standard 100, was first proposed as OTNloo in 1989 by the Heinstein Institute in Germany and the Austrian Textile Institute in Vienna. By the end of 19 1 year, 10 companies had passed in Austria. 1990, the Institute established the International Textile Ecological Research and Testing Association, including 1 International Federation of Ecological Research and Testing of Hornstein Textile Research Institute. In recent years, the organization has developed rapidly. At present, the 13 organization has been developed and its standards have been revised many times. The former MUT (Marken Zeichen um Welt6chon de Textiles Association) logo and MST (Markenzeich Schadstof-FGPrute Textilen) logo abandoned the original logo and merged with it because of their high market awareness. OOeko-Tex standard 100 originally only had the standard of harmful substances on textiles, but with the intervention of MUT and MST, the control of production process will mark the future development direction.

Oeko-Tex standard 100 has a long history, which makes it enjoy a high reputation in the European market. More and more enterprises have applied for this logo. By September, 1998 and 1400 products of 700 companies around the world had obtained the logo. The current Oeko-Tex standard 100 classifies textiles into four categories, namely, direct contact with skin, indirect contact with skin, baby products and decorative products.

(3) Milieukieur logo

Milieukeur is a voluntary environmental labeling scheme established by the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment and the Ministry of Economic Affairs in 1992, which means Environmental Review Foundation in Chinese. The organization is an independent organization composed of representatives from government, consumers, environmental organizations, manufacturers, retailers and other parties. Fortunately, the ecological requirements of textiles put more emphasis on public property.

(4)WhitG swan logo

The White Swan logo, namely the White Swan logo, is a unified Nordic logo implemented in 1989 by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

Types of products involved in various signs

See table 1 for the types of products involved in each environmental label. In addition to implementing the relevant national laws and regulations, the standards for environmental labeling also impose stricter restrictions on parameters such as heavy metals, pesticides, formaldehyde, pentachlorophenol and some azo dyes.

Comprehensive Evaluation of Textile Environmental Labels in EU

As a new type of environmental management, environmental label has aroused controversy from all walks of life since its appearance, especially as an environmental label for sensitive goods and textiles in international trade. Comprehensively evaluate the advantages and disadvantages from the aspects of economy, technology and trade.

Advantages of EU Textile Environmental Labels

The advantages of EU textile environmental labeling are mainly embodied in the environmental labeling system itself.

First of all, as a unique means of environmental management, environmental labeling system plays an unparalleled role in mobilizing enterprises and consumers to participate in environmental protection. Law, administrative management and other coercive means have their limitations. For example, the coordination of ecological benefits and economic benefits of social production cannot be guaranteed, so that environmental benefits cannot be guaranteed, and the market mechanism itself cannot guarantee the maximization of environmental benefits. The way to solve these contradictions is to combine the administrative compulsion with the guidance of market mechanism, and the environmental labeling system is such a system.

Secondly, it implements the principle of open and voluntary application, and faces domestic and foreign manufacturers equally, which is in line with the principles of non-discrimination, transparency and open trade of the WTO. For example, the EU eco-label label, Oeko-Tex standard 100 and other labels have a great impact on product categories, standards, evaluation methods, management institutions, application procedures, logo graphics, labeling fees and certification, as well as some stripping agents, flame retardants, detergents and water-repellent finishing agents, as well as some post-treatment agents. The residual heavy metal ions in the post-treatment of dyes and auxiliaries in textile dyeing and finishing are indispensable substances to maintain life in small doses, but they are harmful to human health when they exceed a certain concentration. After being absorbed by the human body, metal ions will be deposited in the liver, bones, kidneys, heart and brain. When metal ions in an organ are deposited to a certain extent, it will do great harm to health. This is especially true for children, because children have a high ability to digest and absorb heavy metals.

Ecological textiles and basic safety inspection of textiles

Eco-textiles-this idea or concept originated from the European Union, which has had a great impact on the textile and consumer goods market in Europe and even the whole world. It has the characteristics of green barrier since it appeared. On the one hand, it restricts the export of some textiles in China, on the other hand, it also promotes the upgrading of China's textile industry. According to China's national conditions and starting from the most basic safety performance, the relevant departments of our country have formulated the standard GB 1840 1, and the assessment items in the standard GB 1840 1 are all testing items of ecological textiles.

1 Definition of Eco-textiles

The concept of "eco-textiles" originated from "Oeko-Tex Standard/KOOC-0/00" issued by/KOOC-0/92 (eco-textiles standard/KOOC-0/00). Its meaning has two broad and narrow meanings:

1) generalized ecological textiles

Eco-textiles in a broad sense, also known as eco-textiles, refer to the whole life cycle of products, from the manufacture of raw materials to transportation, production, consumption, recycling and disposal (so-called "from cradle to grave"), which are in line with ecology, harmless to human health and do not destroy the ecological balance.

Eco-textiles must meet four basic preconditions: ① resources can be regenerated and reused; ② The production process has no pollution to the environment; ③ No harm to human body during wearing and using; (4) After being discarded, it can be naturally degraded in the environment without polluting the environment. That is, it has the characteristics of "recyclable, low pollution and energy saving".

Organic textiles mean that the processing, consumption and post-treatment of textiles are environmentally friendly and pollution-free. Therefore, organic textiles are ecological textiles, such as organic cotton products. The production process of organic cotton from seed to textile is completely natural and pollution-free, mainly based on natural farming management, without using any pesticides, fertilizers and genetically modified products. Due to the strict requirements for eco-textiles, real organic textiles need further research, which is the development direction of eco-textiles.

2) Ecological textiles in a narrow sense

Ecological textiles in a narrow sense, also known as partial ecological textiles or semi-ecological textiles, refer to products made of raw materials that are harmless to the surrounding environment or meet the international ecological textile standards under the existing scientific knowledge level, and are mainly produced, consumed or treated by human beings. At present, it is mainly aimed at the related content of ecological textiles in a narrow sense.

2 detection of ecological textiles

2. 1 eco-textile testing project

The detection procedures of Oeko-Tex 200 (detection standard) include 12, which are: determination of pH value, determination of formaldehyde, determination of extractable heavy metals, pesticide residues, phenol (chlorinated phenol and OPP) content, banned dyes, organochlorine carriers, PVC plasticizer (phthalate) content, organotin compounds, color fastness, volatile substances and presence or absence.

It should be noted that the testing items of eco-textiles are dynamic, and some new indicators will be added almost every year. At present, the relatively mature testing items of domestic testing institutions include: determination of pH value, determination of formaldehyde, extractable heavy metals, prohibition of azo dyes, color fastness, odor and so on.

2.2 Main technologies of eco-textile testing project

There are three main testing techniques for modern eco-textiles: chromatography, atomic spectrometry and molecular spectrometry. Among them, chromatographic analysis technology is the most widely used.

2.3 Product standards and labels of eco-textiles

At present, there are many ecological standards for textiles in the world. ISO once divided the standards and labels related to eco-products into three categories:

The first one: ① investigate the whole life cycle of products, from the extraction of raw materials to the transportation, production, use and abandonment of products; ② Voluntary participation; ③ Multi-product types; ④ Third-party inspection and on-site audit of representative eco-labels. For example: Europen eco-label (EU eco-label), Nordu white swan label (Nordic white swan label), blue angel (German blue angel label), flower label (EU flower label), ECP (Canadian environmental label) and eco-label (Japanese eco-label).

The second type: self-declaration label. They are mainly developed by some trade associations or non-governmental organizations to investigate the whole life cycle of products or some ecological performance of products. It does not emphasize testing by a third-party laboratory or direct on-site audit, and some even allow applicants to declare themselves. For example: Oeko-Tex standard 100 (eco-textile standard 100), Milieukeur logo (Dutch eco-label), Toxproof Seal (German eco-textile label), Eco-Tex (German eco-textile label), Gut (German carpet eco-label), Bioland and Demeter (non-governmental organization).

The third type: the statement and report of environmental behavior is non-selective, and it is the buyer's standard formulated by the buyer, but it is consistent with the standards, regulations and decrees of the place where the product is sold. For example: Clean Fashion logo and Comitextil logo.

Among many eco-textile standards and labels, Oeko-Tex standard 100 and European eco-label are the most influential standards in textile and clothing industry. At the same time, it should be noted that the ecological standard Oeko-Tex Standard 100 is voluntary, and it is not necessary to reach its assessment index before it can be sold in the EU market. If it reaches its assessment index, the product can enter the relatively high-end circulation field and the added value of the product can be improved; Products that fail to meet the evaluation index can't be labeled as standard, and will enter the relatively low-end circulation field, and the added value of products will be much lower. Of course, such products must meet the requirements of buyers before they can enter the EU market.

3 problems in the detection of ecological textiles

Compared with the legislation and standardization of eco-textile technical requirements, the research and development and standardization of eco-textile testing technology at home and abroad are quite backward. Although the German government proposed in 1994 to ban the use of some azo dyes in textiles and consumer goods, the corresponding test method standards were not officially promulgated until 1998. However, the European Union's test method standard was not issued in the form of EU Directive 2004/2 1/EC until February 24th, 2004. Oeko-Tex issued the Oeko-Tex standard 100, and issued the guidance document-Oeko-Tex 200 for the detection methods of related detection items, but it did not provide the corresponding detection method standard, and even some items explicitly told that there was no suitable detection method. All these have brought difficulties to the implementation of relevant laws and standards. There are three main reasons for these problems:

1) There are differences in the international definition of eco-textiles and their respective levels of technical and economic development, so far there is no unified international standard on eco-textiles.

2) The ecological safety performance of textiles is difficult to detect.

3) Advanced testing equipment has greatly increased the testing cost.

4 Basic safety items of textile products

4. 1 formaldehyde content

Formaldehyde is a colorless gas with a strong pungent smell, which is easily soluble in water and ethanol, and usually appears in the form of aqueous solution. Formaldehyde is an important organic raw material (aldehyde group, carbonyl group), which is widely used in chemical industry, mainly used in plastic industry (such as phenolic resin, urea-formaldehyde plastic-electric jade), synthetic fiber (such as synthetic vinylon-polyvinyl formal), leather industry, medicine, dyes and so on. The health hazards of formaldehyde mainly include the following aspects:

1) irritation: The main harm of formaldehyde is irritation to respiratory tract and skin mucosa. Formaldehyde is a toxic substance to the protoplasm of biological cells, which can combine with protein in organisms, change the structure of protein and solidify it. When inhaled in high concentration, severe respiratory irritation and edema, eye irritation and headache may occur.

2) Sensitization: Direct skin contact with formaldehyde can cause allergic dermatitis, pigmentation and necrosis, and inhalation of high concentration formaldehyde can induce bronchial asthma.

3) Mutagenesis: High concentration of formaldehyde is still a genotoxic substance. Experimental animals can cause nasopharyngeal tumors under the condition of high concentration inhalation in laboratory.

The prominent effects of formaldehyde are headache, dizziness, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, chest tightness, eye pain, sore throat, loss of appetite, palpitation, insomnia, weight loss, memory loss and autonomic nervous disorder. Long-term inhalation by pregnant women may lead to fetal malformation or even death, while long-term inhalation by men may lead to male sperm malformation or even death.

In order to make the general cellulose fiber-based fabric have shrink-proof, wrinkle-resistant and flat appearance, it is necessary to finish it. The finishing agent used gradually releases free formaldehyde during wearing and using, which is the main source of free formaldehyde [2].

4.2 pH value test

Generally speaking, the pH value of human skin is between 5.5 and 7.0, which is slightly acidic. This is because human sweat glands secrete lactic acid, which makes the skin acidic when sweating, and its pH value is 5.2 ~ 5.8. The acidic environment on the surface of human skin can protect the balance of resident bacteria and prevent the invasion of pathogenic bacteria. Therefore, the pH value of textiles is between slightly acidic and neutral, which is beneficial to human protection [2]. However, the fabric mainly made of cellulose fiber will be treated with strong alkali solution before pretreatment to achieve the expected effect. This is an important reason why the determination result of textile pH value is unqualified, and it will also cause certain harm to human body. The most common cause of human allergy caused by clothes is that the skin comes into contact with the residual alkali on clothes because it is not cleaned.

4.3 Prohibition of azo dyes

After using azo dyes containing carcinogenic aromatic amines in textiles and clothing, the dyes may be absorbed by the skin during long-term contact with the human body (this is more likely to happen when the dyeing fastness is poor) and spread in the human body. These dyes may decompose and reduce in human body, and release some carcinogenic aromatic amines. These aromatic amines change the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of cells through metabolism in vivo, which become the cause of human diseases and have potential carcinogenicity and sensitization. As early as 1930s, Japanese Yoshida discovered that solvent Huang Ke caused liver cancer in mice, and people began to realize the dangers of azo dyes and their intermediates in production and use. In fact, in 1905, German health authorities have confirmed the carcinogenic effects of some aromatic amines from the dyes magenta, auramine and naphthylamine. With the rapid development of dye chemical industry, this situation has further deteriorated. According to incomplete statistics, by the 1960s, there were more than 3,000 cases of bladder cancer around the world.

1994, the German government issued a decree prohibiting the use of 1 18 azo dyes which can produce 20 kinds of harmful aromatic amines. The European Union issued directive 67/648/EC in 1997, which is a decree of European Union countries prohibiting the use of azo dyes that can crack and release some carcinogenic aromatic amines in textiles and leather products. * * * There are 22 kinds of carcinogenic aromatic amines. On March 27th, 20001,the EU issued the directive 200 1/c96e/18, which further clarified the controlled textile products. The directive also stipulates three detection methods of banned dyes, and the detection amount of carcinogenic aromatic amines should not exceed 30 mg/kg. On July 19, 2002, the European Union issued OrderNo. 2002/6 1, which stipulated that all azo dyes that release carcinogenic aromatic amines under reducing conditions were prohibited. On June 6th, 2003, the European Union further issued Directive No.3 of 2003, which stipulated that the sale of chromium-containing azo dyes in the textile, clothing and leather products market in the European Union was prohibited, and it took effect on June 30th, 2004.

4.4 Color fastness test and odor test

By analyzing the testing procedure of Oeko-Tex 200 (testing standard), it can be seen that except for color fastness and odor, other testing items are basically restrictions on toxic and harmful substances. So why do you need to evaluate color fastness and smell? This is because the dyeing fastness is closely related to the two assessment indexes of banned dyes and extractable heavy metals. When the dyeing fastness is poor, such as the presence of banned dyes and extractable heavy metals, textiles will do more harm to human body. At present, the color fastness items evaluated by GB 1840 1 standard include water resistance (discoloration and staining), acid perspiration resistance (discoloration and staining), alkali perspiration resistance (discoloration and staining), dry friction resistance and saliva resistance (discoloration and staining). However, the existence of odor directly leads to the great decline of the wearability of textiles. Any smell that has nothing to do with the product or is related to the product, but the smell is too strong, indicating that there are excessive chemical residues on the textile, which may cause potential harm to health. At present, the odor assessed by GB 1840 1 standard includes musty smell, high boiling range petroleum smell, fishy smell and aromatic smell.

Controversy on the concentration limit of heavy metal ions

Regarding the limitation of heavy metal ion concentration, the standards of different environmental labels in the EU market are quite different. This is manifested in:

(1) has different concentration restrictions on the same heavy metal ion, such as Oeko-Tex standard 100 and white swan has no restrictions on zinc ion; The environmental limit value of zinc ion is.10 mg/kg;

(2) The determination methods of heavy metal ions are different. Some people think that the total amount of metal ions should be determined, while others think that the free amount of metal ions should be determined.

At present, the determination of the free or total amount of heavy metal ions is quite controversial in academic circles. On the one hand, most of the current chemical testing methods are used to measure the total content of a substance in materials, and the values obtained by this method are more realistic, which makes the statistical results of different laboratories comparable. However, the test results of measuring free metal content depend on the test conditions, so the comparability of test results in various laboratories is not strong. If the free quantity is tested, due to the uncertainty of statistical results, it will bring unnecessary problems to manufacturers and executive departments. However, if the total amount test method is adopted, another problem is that the free amount of heavy metals has nothing to do with the total amount. The content of heavy metal ions in textiles is not only affected by the above production process, but also depends on its dyeing fastness. For textiles with poor color fastness, dyes will be stripped from the textiles in the later washing, and heavy metal ions will be reduced. In addition, when textiles come into contact with human skin, the amount of perspiration from the skin directly affects the content of heavy metal ions. Everyone sweats differently, and everyone has different ability to absorb metal ions. Therefore, measuring the free amount of metal ions cannot represent the content of metal ions in textiles in actual use. If the total amount is determined, the total amount of metal ions in most textiles greatly exceeds the specified concentration limit. Therefore, this problem cannot be solved by measuring the total amount of heavy metal ions in textiles and converting them into free amounts, which is a pair of contradictions.

(3) Formaldehyde

For the limited value of formaldehyde, the signs are different. For example, the limit value of Eco- 1abel and White Swan logo is 30 ppm, while the limit value of Oeko-Tex standard 100 logo is 20ppm.

Other indicators, such as azo dyes, have a similar situation. The main reason for this phenomenon is that the detection methods adopted by various standards are different, and the determination of the limit is based on the limitation of detection methods, which will inevitably limit the development of international economy and trade.

In addition, from an economic point of view, the price of products with environmental labels is higher than other products of the same type, because the production of ordinary commodities follows the principle of minimum cost, while the production of environmental label products has an extra layer of environmental considerations and has to deviate from the principle of minimum cost. However, the general economic activists tend to pursue their own interests, consumers seek the cheapest goods, producers pursue the maximization of profits, and the environmental labeling system challenges the self-interest principle of economic operation. Whether the high-priced environmental label products caused by high cost can be recognized by the market is a subject that environmental label products must face. Recently, CBI made a survey on the factors that European consumers consider when buying clothes, and found that price, comfort, quality and fashion play an important role in consumers' decision to buy textiles, while environmental labels and brands play a relatively small role, which is another unfavorable factor that environmental label textiles will face in the market.