Certification to increase competitiveness of RP garments

AFTER years of struggling to survive and regain its footing in the international market, the Philippine garment industry may now be able to penetrate hard-to-reach markets and increase its competitive advantage.

Through its local arm in the Philippines, Oti-Institute for Ecology Technology and Innovation Ltd. is offering garment companies and manufacturers the Oeko-Tex certification that will allow these companies to penetrate markets in Europe and, soon, make it easier for their products to enter the United States.

OTI Philippines general manager Albert Hidalgo said products that pass through the Oeko-Tex testing and are later certified have a unique advantage in international markets. He said that in Europe, an Oeko-Tex certification is required to be able to sell goods in that part of the world.

“It’s never too late to still improve our products coming out of the Philippines. We can still make it eco-friendly [and] healthier for the end-users. We may be able to, later on, make this an edge. If we don’t do this, a lot of other countries are doing this already, so when do we start doing this? Don’t we have to improve whatever we have?” Hidalgo said.

“If you notice a lot of the products sold in the market, if you go to Speedo, for example, you already see this label, confidence in textiles. It has to have a registered number to make it valid,” he added.

To obtain Oeko-Tex certification, a company needs to apply and send samples of its products to OTI. The articles will then be sent to the nearest testing institute. Currently, there is no testing institute in the Philippines but there are 43 accredited Oeko-Tex testing institutes in the world.

The samples will be tested for odor, pH value, formaldehyde, presence of heavy metals, lead and cadmium content, pesticides, chlorinated phenols and color fastness.

Hidalgo said each certification application costs a minimum of €1,000, or around P65,000, for a single year of certification. This does not yet cover the testing to be made and that can range from €10 to €150, depending on the quality and make of the product.  –Cai Ordinario / Reporter, Businessmirror