TEXTILES.ORG
The OEKO-TEX® Association, in commemoration of its 25th anniversary, announces that it has commissioned a global research study to assess consumer attitudes about textile sustainability. Titled The Key to Confidence: Consumers and Textile Sustainability—Attitudes, Changing Behaviors, and Outlooks, the study of more than 11,000 clothing and home textile consumers around the world examined topics ranging from concerns about climate change to harmful substances in textiles.
OEKO-TEX hired consumer products researcher, Ellen Karp and her company, Anerca Intl., to conduct the project. Participants completed an online survey with a full spectrum of questions designed to gauge their attitudes about sustainability, harmful substances, environmental responsibility and the social welfare of textile workers.
“The quantitative findings derived through The Key to Confidence study should serve as a call to action for the textile industry,” says Karp. “Consumers are fast learning that their textile buying decisions impact not only their families but also their communities and beyond.”
“The OEKO-TEX portfolio of testing, certification and label products has increased substantially since we first entered the market in 1992,” says Anna Czerwinska, head of marketing and communication at OEKO-TEX. “The world’s issues and consumer attitudes have changed just as significantly. As long-time leaders in textile sustainability, we felt that this unique global study to quantify consumer attitudes about textile sustainability was a fitting tribute to our past twenty-five years as well as a worthy undertaking to prepare us to succeed in the next.”