Certification

Are Yarn and Colors products certified?

One of the most frequently asked question deserves a dedicated page: are your products certified? Yes, they are. As company our products are sourced with care to assure quality and safety. We certify our products to prove this. But certification these days come in many different flavors. The most important certifications for our products are: OEKO-TEX®, REACH, GRS and EN71. But what does each individual certification stand for? We got you covered and explain each one individually and to which products they apply to.

OEKO-TEX®

OEKO-TEX® is a corporation of 17 independent institutes from Europe and Japan. Since 1992 they create and continuously update testing methods and values to create standards. These standards contribute to their blueprint, to create a better and more sustainable future for everyone. This goes further than testing and issuing certifications for companies that represent safety. Their label contributes to a wide variety of Sustainable Development Goals that are standardized by the United Nations (UN). As an institute their standards contribute to:

1. Good health and well-being (3) – products covered are tested for harmful substances to ensure safety for all users.
2. Gender Equality (5) – their code of conduct is related to standards of the UN to ensure active engagement of all employees.
3. Clean water and sanitation (6) – support companies to monitor and optimize their chemical management.
4. Render inequalities (10) – fair treatment for workers.
5. Responsible consumption and production (12) – guides consumers and producers to an environmentally production and consumption.
6. Climate Action (13) – reduce the carbon footprint of the whole cycle.

As seen above, their standards represent more than safety of their products. The standard that applies to our industry is the OEKO-TEX® Standard 100. It can be applied to all textiles, in any production stage. Starting from threads, yarns, to finished fabrics and articles. This goes from baby products, to clothing and home textiles and decorations.
To test textile products, they have created a standard that is divided in 4 classes. Each class or category has their own range of values for residues. The lower the values, the higher your product will be categorized. The values are based on the amount and frequency of skin contact. Based on this, products are categorized as follows: 

• Product class 1: products with the strictest requirements most primarily to be used for baby products.
• Product class 2: products with direct skin contact such as shirts, sweaters, jeans, socks, underwear but also matrasses and cushions.
• Product class 3: products with limited skin contact such as jackets, belts and shoes.
• Product class 4: products with nearly no skin contact such as curtains, tablecloths and other home accessories.

 

How does OEKO-TEX® apply to Yarn and Colors products?

Now that you know more about OEKO-TEX®, let’s tell you how how this relates to our products. As a company and brand, we’re only working with OEKO-TEX® certified manufacturers. Not only for product safety but also the other standard it implies. Each manufacturer receives one or more certificate numbers if they pass the test. Each year they must renew this to continuously guarantee the OEKO-TEX® standard. You can check every one of our products by entering their certificate number on https://www.oeko-tex.com/en/label-check. Below you can find an overview of all our yarns and the certificate number:

Article code	Yarn	OEKO-TEX®	Certificate number
YAC000001	Must-have	1	09.HBG.68250
YAC000002	Fabulous	1	09.HBG.68250
YAC000003	Super Must-have	1	09.HBG.68250
YAC000005	Charming	1	SHYO.110207
YAC000007	Epic	1	09.HBG.68250
YAC000009	Furry	1	SHYO.110207
YAC000010	Happy	1	16.HTR.77775
YAC000011	Joy	1	16.HTR.77775
YAC000012	Elegant	-	New application pending
YAC000013	Cheerful	-	New application pending
YAC000014	Serene	1	09.HBG.68250
YAC000015	Zen	-	SHYO.110207
YAC000016	Glamour	1	SHYO.110207
YAC000017	Baby Fabulous	1	SHYO.110207
YAC000018	Favorite	1	09.HBG.68250
YAC000020	Amazing	1	16.HTR.77775
YAC000021	Gentle	1	09.HTR.65422
YAC000099	Must-have Minis	1	09.HBG.68250

Want to find out more about OEKO-TEX®? They have a clear website (www.OEKO-TEX®.com) that you can review to find more about their institute, standards, and ways of working.

What does REACH mean and how is it covered?

REACH is an abbreviation for Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and restrictions of Chemicals. This European standard is one of the most comprehensive and far-reaching environmental legislation in the world. The main purpose is to protect people, companies, and the environment against the danger of chemical goods. This legislation can be applied to all chemicals. Not only the ones used in industrial process but also in daily products. A few examples of these products are paint, cleaning materials, clothing, furniture, and yarn. It is up to the companies to prove they produce by these standards.

To do so REACH is divided in to 17 different chapters called an ANNEX. Each chapter provides a list of rules, criteria, or values which you need to comply to if this is applicable for you as a company. For instance, ANNEX I consists out of general provisions for assessing substances while ANNEX VII contains values for testing and detection for productions and imports larger than 1 tonne (1.000 kg) but smaller than 10 tonnes (10.000kg). However, OEKO-TEX® already complies to these standards due to the strict values for these standards. Next to that OEKO-TEX® also complies to the stricter ANNEX XVII which is applicable regardless of order size and has a long list of prohibited substances and strict values. Stating from the OEKO-TEX® website, they are way ahead and cover many other parameters that are not included in the ANNEX XVII but do relate to consumer protection.

This brings us to the question, “does the yarn of Yarn and Colors comply to the REACH legislation?” Yes, we do. And wecover many more parameters related to consumer protection due to fact that we only work with OEKO-TEX® certified manufacturers.

GRS or RCS certification for recycled products?

Products that are made from recycled materials can be certified in two different ways: RCS (Recycled Claim Standard) and GRS (Global Recycled Standard). Both are international but voluntary standards for the use of recycled materials to create end products. The basic standard is the RCS and covers:

• That the used recycled material meets the ISO (International standards) definition of recycled.
• Ensures that the recycled material is maintained, from resource to end products.
• Labels and certificates to assure these standards are being met.

The GRS standard goes a step further. This not only assures the standards above but also the additional objectives:

• Strict social and environmental requirements to assure more sustainability.
• Reducing the harmful impact of productions for people and environment.
• Higher percentage of recycled contents in the products.

Our Amazing and Gentle yarn both have an GRS certification. Meaning that both are made from certified recycled materials and comply to strict social and environmental requirements. Both also apply for an OEKO-TEX® class 1 certification.

EN71, what does yarn have to do with toy legislation?

Have you ever noticed the CE marking on a toy or product? If it has such marking, then it indicates that this product complies to the requirements listed in the EU Toy Safety Directive. In Europe and the UK, every toy that is being imported to or created in must be safe. To meet these requirements, toys must pass tests according to harmonized standards. Each European country has these requirements implemented in their laws.

These harmonized standards are divided in 13 categories. Depending on the type of product and other certification, the requirements can vary. Hereby an overview of each category:

Category	Tested	Remarks
EN71-1	Mechanical and physical properties	-
EN71-2	Flammability	Only applicable on final products. This includes soft-filled toys, other toys inteded to be worn in play and toys that could be entered like tents.
EN71-3	Migration of certain elements	Total migration of chemical elements based on digestion instead of skin contact.
EN71-4	Chemical toys for chemistry and experiments	-
EN71-5	Chemical toys other than the above	-
EN71-6	Age warning labeling	Inactive and replaced by EN71-1.
EN71-7	Finger paints	-
EN71-8	Swings, slides, and similar active toys for outside and inside	-
EN71-9, EN71-10, EN71-11	Organic chemical compounds	Covered by OEKO-TEX® certification.
EN71-12	Certain chemical substances
EN71-13	Board games, cosmetic kits and gustative games	-
EN71-14	Trampolines for domestic use	-

The sheet above does bring us to the most important question on this topic is: “when is yarn a toy?” Yarn can be considered a toy if it is being used to create and resell articles as toys. For example: amigurumi, dolls, baby teethers, baby toys and more. That is why EN71-3 is the most important toy certification that can be applicable for yarn. We can tell you that our Must-have, Epic and Stuffing’s are EN71-3 certified. The parts EN71-9, EN71-10 and EN71-11 are covered by our OEKO-TEX® certification.

That’s a lot of information!

Yes, it sure is. And the regulations and certifications are continuously updated! The tests are getting more and more strict to assure safety for people and the environment. As a company we follow this closely to assure the quality of our products. And if required, we’ll re-evaluate our products according to regulation developments. This way we can assure you that our products are certified to the latest standards.

Do you have a question regarding this topic, or would you like to learn more? Then feel free to contact us! You can find all our details on our contact page.