Centrocot Oeko-Tex® certifications, for a crucial role in innovation and promotion of a responsible textile industry
Based in Busto Arsizio (Varese), Centrocot is a reference institution in the textile sector founded in 1987 to support companies. With the provision of highly qualified services such as laboratory tests, research, technical support, testing, experimentation and training, Centrocot has grown exponentially over the years up to its current size, with 114 employees, a turnover of 10 million euros and a capital of 1.4 million euros; figures which alone give the measure of its expansion. Basically, its activities are four: experimentation, performance measurement, training and certification.
Among these, the OEKO-TEX ® certification schemes stand out, that guarantee the control of raw materials, of finished textile products and of the processes. OEKO-TEX® certification has become a point of reference for companies aiming at standing out for sustainable and responsible production, and only absolutely virtuous bodies can work towards the assignment of this prestigious certification. Thanks to more 2,000 laboratory test, out of which 774 are certified by Accredia (the national body appointed by the Italian government to certify the competence and impartiality of the certifying bodies), Centrocot is responsible together with the other 18 member institutes of the association for the joint development of the test methods and limit values of the OEKO-TEX® certifications and labels.
In addition to the OEKO-TEX® , the Centrocot laboratory is also able to carry out the international qualitative screening test with the ISO IWA 32 standard to detect the presence of genetically modified cotton.
“On October 18 th – Grazia Cerini, CEO of the company, tells us – we will reward 11 Italian companies which have achieved and kept OEKO-TEX ® STANDARD 100 certification for thirty years and another two hundred certified for twenty years. Initially this certification was requested by Germany, then as now an important customer of Italian textile companies. This request was then extended to the rest of the world. We are talking about approximately 1,600 certificates issued in a year, in Italy alone. The awards ceremony will be held at the Malpensafiere fairground in Busto Arsizio, a city that is celebrating sustainability together with the Pistoletto Foundation: from May to June the works of Michelangelo Pistoletto, ‘The Third Paradise’ and ‘The Venus of Rags’ where showcased, precisely to underline its closeness to issues of environmental, social and economic sustainability and respect for safety. An opportunity to reward sustainability right from the start, acknowledging the foresight and commitment to sustainability of those companies that embraced virtuous behaviors when the topic was still quite unknown.”
