European Conformity

The CE European Conformity affects certain groups of standardised industrial products and services. Manufacturers must declare that their products meet the minimum legal and technical requirements in security of the European Union member states.

RoHS, also known as Lead-Free, stands for Restriction of Hazardous Substances. RoHS, also known as Directive 2002/95/EC, originated in the European Union and restricts the use of six hazardous materials found in electrical and electronic products. All applicable products in the EU market after July 1, 2006 must pass RoHS compliance. RoHS impacts the entire electronics industry and many electrical products as well.

Product reuse

All Vertisol products are recyclable, either by the company or by third parties. For example, mention may be made of the recycling of production residue from the Polyscreen® range for products with a long life cycle of the Fitnice® range.

The Vertilux 10 Years Warranty protects Vertilux products for 10 years from the date of invoice, when they conform to Vertilux specifications and are properly installed, in accordance with intended guidelines and in conjunction with the proper components. Customers must pay close attention to the warranty’s specific inclusions and exclusions. Claims must be presented with the paid purchase invoice and addressed no later than 30 days after the observation of the defect.

Healthy Products & Spaces

People spend about 90 percent of their time indoors where air pollution levels are typically 2 to 5 times higher than outdoor levels. The largest source of this pollution is volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from building materials and furnishings.

Architects and designers can have a significant impact on occupant health by taking steps during design and construction to ensure healthy indoor air in the spaces they create.

Specifying GREENGUARD Certified products is among the most effective and easiest ways for architects, designers and specifiers to ensure they create healthier educational, healthcare, office and home environments.

Source: http://greenguard.org/en/architectsDesigners.aspx

The Sanitized certification guarantees that Vertilux fabrics are protected against the development of molds, bacteria, dust mites and the proliferation of undesirable odors.

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The C-UL-US certificate indicates compliance with UL requirements, as well as Canadian and U.S. requirements. The UL Recognized Component Mark is given to component parts that are part of a larger product or system. These component parts are installed in another end product at a factory. Components carrying this mark are covered by UL’s Follow-Up Service program to determine continued compliance with UL’s requirements.

The VTi® Celtic Motors 5 Year Warranty ratifies that VTi® Celtic Motors are under the standards of cTUVus for a period of 5 years from their time of delivery. VTi® Celtic Motors are guaranteed against any abnormal degradation under normal use and operation according to Vertilux guidelines. Customers must pay close attention to the warranty’s specific inclusions and exclusions. Claims must be presented with the paid purchase invoice and addressed no later than 30 days after the observation of the defect.

The Vertilux Microterm warranty protects Vertilux Polyscreen Vision^® and Imagine Blackout FR Sanitized fabrics, as well as other technical fabrics, by ensuring that they are 100% antibacterial, antifungal and antimicrobial. Microterm certified fabrics inhibit the growth of microorganisms that are harmful to humans, providing protection from dust mites, unpleasant odors, bacteria, fungi and mold. Additionally, Microterm certified fabrics stay clean for a longer time, requiring less maintenance and consequently, saving time, energy and water.

The Vertilux 5 Years Warranty protects Vertilux products for 5 years from the date of invoice, when they conform to Vertilux specifications and are properly installed, in accordance with intended guidelines and in conjunction with the proper components. Customers must pay close attention to the warranty’s specific inclusions and exclusions. Claims must be presented with the paid purchase invoice and addressed no later than 30 days after the observation of the defect.

The Aitex Antimicrobial certificate ratifies the fabrics’ properties to inhibit the growth of microorganisms that are harmful to humans and pets. Aitex, through standardized regulations, carries out tests to determine the inhibition of microbial and fungal growth capacity, to certify the products’ anti-microbial capacity.

California’s Proposition 65 – formally known as the California Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act – has been around since 1986, and it is still critically important when it comes to warning labels for products sold in California.

The proposition protects the state's drinking water sources from being contaminated with chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm, and requires businesses to inform Californians about exposures to such chemicals. Proposition 65 requires the state to maintain and update a list of chemicals known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity.

Polyscreen® Vision and Eco-Planet FR are now eligible to be part of a finished shade suitable to apply for asthma & allergy friendly®
certification program.

The asthma & allergy friendly® Certification Program seeks to assist people to identify products that will make a genuine difference to their indoor environment. It develops certification standards for relevant categories of products, and all certified products undergo testing to those standards. They currently have 49 standards in the Certification Program, covering air-cleaning devices, building materials, cleaning products, electrical appliances, filters, textiles/toys, and services that can have an impact on the indoor air environment.

Independent Verification

The Allergy Standard is written and approved by a medical and scientific advisory committee using best-in-class data. Each product is tested at an independent approved laboratory facility in compliance with the relevant standard in that product category.

Why is the Allergy Standard certification important?

About 50 million Americans suffer from allergies, and 26 million Americans suffer from asthma. Additionally, we spend an average of 90% of our time indoors, and unbelievably, indoor air can be two and half times more toxic than outdoor air.

Why Certify Window Coverings?

Window shades are an essential part and play a very important role in the quality of the air we breathe. Considering the time that we spend indoors especially in today's world, roller shades fabricated with Polyscreen® Vision and Eco-Planet FR fabrics can reduce the exposure to dust mites and the allergies they produce.

Benefits For Everyone

Certified products are better choices for everyone – not just people with asthma or allergies. In order to be certified, products must show an added benefit and score in the top percentile of the relevant standard criteria to demonstrate their effectiveness, therefore ensuring that they contribute toward a healthier home environment, such as improving air quality or limiting exposure to toxic chemicals.

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Phthalates  or phthalate esters, are esters of phthalic acid and are mainly used as plasticizers (substances added to plastics to increase their flexibility, transparency, durability, and longevity). Phthalates are manufactured by reacting phthalic anhydride with alcohol(s) that range from methanol and ethanol (C1/C2) up to tridecyl alcohol (C13), either as a straight chain or with some branching. They are divided into two distinct groups, with very different applications, toxicological properties, and classification, based on the number of carbon atoms in their alcohol chain. They are used primarily to soften polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Lower-molecular-weight phthalates (3-6 carbon atoms in their backbone) are being gradually replaced in many products in the United States, Canada, and European Union over health concerns. They are replaced by high-molecular-weight phthalates (those with more than 6 carbons in their backbone, which gives them increased permanency and durability). In 2010, the market was still dominated by high-phthalate plasticizers; however, due to legal provisions and growing environmental awareness and perceptions, producers are increasingly forced to use non-phthalate plasticizers.

The EMAS certificate ensures that Vertilux products comply with environmental laws. It also promotes the establishment and implementation of environmental management systems, the dissemination of information on environmental performance, an open dialogue with the general public and the involvement and proper training of employees.

This ecological production certificate guarantees that Vertilux products are lead and heavy metal free.

The IMO standard assures that all Polyscreen fabrics can be used on boats without getting damaged or the color fading. The wheel mark guarantees an ongoing commitment to product quality and safety to customers.

The Ecocodice certification ensures that Vertilux follows the Ecocodice recycling program, which is committed to: recycling all waste generated in its own production processes, using reusable packing materials and using recyclable materials in flooring applications and coating.

The NFPA 701 is a standard that establishes test methods to assess the propagation of flame of various textiles and films under specified fire test conditions.

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Vertilux Polyscreen Vision and Ecovision fabrics are manufactured exclusively by Vertisol International, which is an ISO-9001 certified company. This certification assures customers that Vertisol manufactures under the strict Quality Management System (QMS) guidelines in order to qualify for the ISO-9001 certificate.

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The ISO-14001 certification guarantees the involvement of all levels of the organization in an efficient environmental management program. The benefits to the environment, society and the organization include: contributing to sustainable development, preventing pollution and protecting the environment.

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The OEKO-TEX^® Standard 100 is an independent testing and certification system for textile raw materials, intermediate and end products at all stages of production.

Testing for harmful substances includes:

Illegal substances

Legally regulated substances

Known harmful (but not legally regulated) chemicals

As well as parameters for health care 

In their entirety the requirements clearly exceed existing national legislation.

OEKO-TEX^® testing for harmful substances always focus on the actual use of the textile.

Most of Vertilux fabrics have been tested by various OEKO-TEX^® authorized member institutes, and hold the OEKO-TEX^®  Standard 100 Certificate.

Why OEKO-TEX^®?

There are several good reasons for testing for harmful substances:

The safety of textiles cannot be determined through visual inspection alone – not even by experts. Laboratory tests based on scientific findings, carried out by facilities with the required expertise, are the only way to ascertain beyond doubt whether textile items are free from unwanted harmful substances. 

In addition, division of labor is very high in textile production. The individual production steps are often based in several countries with different legal requirements regarding possible harmful substances. Transparent, globally standardized test criteria as with OEKO-TEX^® Standard 100 are therefore indispensable when testing for harmful substances.

Many product properties that we require from textiles today can only be achieved through targeted use of chemicals. It is therefore even more important that the textile production process uses no unwanted substances, which remain as a residue on the final product, possibly causing health problems for the wearer.

Another advantage of OEKO-TEX^® testing for harmful substances is that it is suitable for all types of textiles available today. Problematic substances can enter into the products at all stages of production such as pre-treatment (cleaning), dyeing, finishing or textile printing. 

Trust is good - certification is better

When buying clothing and textiles, it is not just the price that needs careful examination. The price of a textile product alone says nothing about the quality or the safety regarding possible harmful substances.

Consumers looking for textiles which are harmless to health can find OEKO-TEX® products with the label "Confidence in textiles" in all segments of retail . But consumers who primarily focus on priorities like colour, pattern, fit, durability, material or easy care can also appreciate the additional benefit of products tested for harmful substances.

If you want to be on the safe side your buying principle should be: "Trust is good - certification is better."

Test methods

The test methods to be used for OEKO-TEX^® testing for harmful substances by the authorized member institutes are summarized in the normative document “OEKO-TEX^® Standard 100 – testing procedures”.

The laboratory tests currently comprise around 100 test parameters and are based on international test standards and other recognized testing procedures. These also include for example simulation tests, which take into account all possible ways by which harmful substances could be absorbed into the human body (orally, via the skin, by inhalation).

Testing of a textile depends on the chemicals used at each stage of processing which result in a qualitative change of the textile. The scope of the human ecological requirements is based on the intended use of the textile. The following generally applies: The more intensive the skin contact of a textile, the stricter the limit values to be met.

Sources:

https://www.oeko-tex.com/en/manufacturers/concept/oeko_tex_standard_100/oeko_tex_standard_100.xhtml

https://www.oeko-tex.com/en/consumers/why_oeko_tex_consumers/why_oeko_tex_consumers.html

https://www.oeko-tex.com/en/consumers/tips_for_purchasing_textiles/tips_for_purchasing_textiles.html

https://www.oeko-tex.com/en/manufacturers/test_methods/test_methods.xhtml