Body-compatible textiles carry the FKT label
FKT turns 20!
The FKT seal of approval is celebrating its 20th anniversary in the market these weeks. Join us in looking back on the successful development and establishment of body compatibility testing.
How safe is safe?
The skin is the biggest organ of the human body. On an area of just under two square metres, our skin not only protects us from injuries but also regulates our body temperature and helps us sense heat, cold and pain. We should be very careful about which materials and substances we allow to come into direct contact with our skin.
As a responsible consumer, you have a right to be safe: A right to textiles that don't irritate, inflame or damage your skin. A right to stay healthy. The FKT label „MEDICALLY TESTED – TESTED FOR TOXINS“ proves that the product it labels has successfully passed the tests for body compatibility.
Textiles that have been certified by us have proven their body compatibility and do not release any substances that irritate the skin or damage a person’s health.
Responsible producers of high-quality textiles assure their quality standards by this combination of tests for harmful substances and body compatibility. The FKT label represents an important criterion in the decision-making processes of wholesale customers and consumers when buying textiles.
Board
Chairman:
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Heinrich Planck
PolyMedics Innovations GmbH
Deputy Chairman:
Dieter Braun
Triumph International
Treasurer:
Christoph Larsén-Mattes
Mattes & Ammann GmbH & Co. KG
Secretary:
Prof. Dr. Michael Doser
Deutsche Institute für Textil- und Faserforschung Denkendorf
Member:
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Götz T. Gresser
Deutsche Institute für Textil- und Faserforschung Denkendorf
Member:
Dr. Claudia Gluth
Lenzing AG
Member:
Silvia Jungbauer
Gesamtmasche e.V.
Honorary Chairman:
Prof. Dr. Gerhard Egbers
History
In the 90ies, in the course of a project initiated by the Gesamtverband der deutschen Maschenindustrie e. V. (Association of the German knitting industry) and sponsored by the state of Baden-Württemberg, the Institut für Textil- und Verfahrenstechnik (Institute of Textile Technology and Process Engineering) together with leading textile companies in the region developed a science-based method for testing the effects that textiles have on the skin.
This was the first time that living cells were used as biosensors in textile testing with the help of which it became possible to show the effects on the skin when a textile product is worn. This testing procedure was developed on the basis of testing methods for implants in medical engineering.
Fördergemeinschaft Körperverträgliche Textilien e. V. was founded in Denkendorf near Stuttgart on 24-Jun-1998. It has authorised the certified testing laboratory of the ITV Denkendorf Produktservice GmbH to carry out body compatibility tests and awards the FKT label "MEDICALLY TESTED – TESTED FOR TOXINS".