IMPORTANCE OF ECO LABEL FOR TEXTILE PRODUCTS

Abstract

Environmental problems, such as global climate change, harmful residues, toxic chemicals, the ozone
hole, acid rain, water and air pollution, which are more felt today in environmental conditions, are caused by the
textile industry and other industries. During production, there is a large consumption of water in this sector, and
some chemicals are used and cause various wastes. Some of the released chemicals show toxic effects in nature and
create a danger for the reduction of oxygen in the water and for aquatic organisms and people. For all these reasons,
the production of environmentally friendly textiles has become more important and the demand for environmentally
friendly textile products has increased rapidly. Eco-Tex consists of the main lines related to human health and
environmental effects such as chemicals, wastewater, workplace conditions, flue gases, noise level, from raw
material to the final product. The European Union has increased its work in textile ecology as well as in all other
areas of ecology. Textile companies strive to produce eco-textiles, which not only gives consumers the right to
choose, but also makes their choice more difficult. One of the goals of textile manufacturers must be the production
of environmentally optimized textiles, which do not harm the health of consumers during use (skin contact, sweat
fumes, etc.), while meeting all fashion requirements and at the same time functional and easy to maintain. Textile
manufacturers are increasingly aiming to reduce the harmful impact of textile products on users, and this goal can be
achieved by adopting recognizable working methods, environmentally friendly, such as careful selection of dyes,
optimization of dye solutions, bleaching techniques without chlorine, methods finishing without or with a low
content of toxic substances, such as e.g. formaldehyde, by selection of materials without pesticides and heavy
metals, etc., in one word, by applying the best available technologies (BAT - the Best Available Technologies). The
subject of this paper is the collection, processing and analysis of labels with eco-labels that are found on textile
products in Serbia (Leskovac), i.e. analysis of the eco-label certification program designed to create a sustainable
solution based on a life cycle assessment and a common goal - to reduce the impact on the environment due to
production activities or product consumption. The aim of this paper is to give an overview of all labels of ecological
suitability of textile products present in the most frequent textile stores in Serbia (Leskovac), to analyze the Serbian
market of textile products and the presence of eco-labels on imported products and products of domestic companies
exporting or present. in the local market. In the analysis of 122 pieces of several different items of men's and
women's textile products, 12 different eco-labels were registered, which were repeated for almost all items. The
most frequently used eco-label on these textile items was one from OEKO-TEX, while the least common was the
eco-label "A Better Tomorrow". It was determined that one product did not have any eco-label, while for most items
several different eco-labels could be found at the same time.