The future of many hundreds of smaller textile chemical companies in Europe and the USA that follow strict environmental regulations, are said to be in jeopardy due to the proliferation of new eco-standards and the lack of one global harmonised environmental certification system.

Imagine that you own a small textile chemical business that blends and formulates a range of products for textile dyeing and finishing. Imagine again, that you are based in the European Union or the USA and that you observe local environmental legislation and other legal protocols. Sales turnover of this hypothetical business is usually in the low million Euros per year.

Now imagine that you have been asked to supply several chemicals or colorants that will ultimately be used by one of Europe’s largest retailers. However, although your products already meet strict limits for third-party environmental standards, they have not been certified. Yet it’s specified by the retailer that all these products should meet either Oeko-Tex 100 or be registered to bluesign criteria, or any one of over 30 third-party environmental textile standards that are currently on the global market ...