The International Oeko-Tex® Association has announced the creation of a free webinar series entitled “Oeko-Tex Connects,” designed to provide textile, apparel and retail executives with critical information on textile safety, testing and global regulations. The seminars will be presented by textile scientists with specific expertise in each particular topic.

The first installment of the webinar series is scheduled for May 5, 2010 at 12:00 noon EST, and will focus on the recent enhancements to the global Oeko-Tex Restricted Substances List (RSL) and to the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 Certification, which ensures that textiles are tested to be free from dangerous levels of more than one hundred substances believed to be harmful to human health.

“Today’s textile supply chain is complex and dynamic,” said Sam Moore, U.S. representative for Oeko-Tex. “This webinar series will give executives the up-to-date information they need to ensure their global supply chains deliver safe and compliant textile products that meet the needs of their market.”

The webinars are offered free of charge to textile, apparel and retail personnel, as well as to members of the media. For more information, contact Dina Dunn, +1 336 471 5584, dina@blinkready.com.

The International Oeko-Tex Association, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, was founded in 1992 by the Austrian Textile Research Institute and the German Hohenstein Research Institutes. To date, more than 87,000 Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certificates have been issued, and 9,000 companies in 91 countries are working with the organization to ensure that their products are tested for potentially harmful substances.