Epson Earns Eco Passport by Oeko-Tex® Certification

Epson’s inks and printers have received the International Oeko-Tex^® Association's Eco Passport[1] certification for safe and sustainable textile chemicals. The Oeko-Tex^® Eco Passport is an internationally recognised safety and environmental certification for manufacturers of textile processing chemicals and chemical compounds such as dyes, additives, inks, finishing agents and detergents.

Before awarding the Eco Passport, Oeko-Tex conducts comprehensive tests for harmful substances in textiles and textile accessories based on a large range of criteria and safety standards.  

The Oeko-Tex^® Eco Passport provides end users and customers with certified assurance that Epson’s inkjet printers and inks have achieved high standards of environmental sustainability and are free of harmful substances. Epson’s certified Eco Passport ink products include the UltraChrome DS ink for the SC-F6000, SC-F6200, SC-F7000, SC-F7100, SC-F7200, and SC-F9200 series' of SureColor dye-sublimation transfer printers, as well as for UltraChrome DG ink and auxiliary fabric preparation products for the SureColor SC-F2000 direct-to-garment printer.

Jeroen van Beem, Head of Sales AFIS, Epson Europe B.V, commented: “Epson is delighted to have been awarded an Eco Passport from Oeko-Tex^®. Epson continually seeks to contribute to a sustainable society by reducing the environmental impact of its products and services. By achieving Eco Passport certification, we give our customers the confidence and assurance that our textile inks and printers meet the highest possible international safety standards.

“The environment is vitally important for Epson. As part of our drive for sustainability Epson has outlined its Environmental Vision 2050, targeting a 90% reduction in CO₂ emissions across the life cycle of all our products and services by 2050. Epson has already taken big strides towards reducing environmental impact across its products and manufacturing processes.”

Epson, which offers a range of inkjet printers equipped with the company's powerful Micro Piezo technology, promotes the digitalisation of textile and garment printing. The company's dye-sublimation transfer printers, garment printers, and digital inkjet textile printers enable faithful colour reproduction on textiles, which is difficult to achieve with analogue printing processes. They also render complicated designs down to the finest details while shortening the printing process.

To enable it to provide the same high level of product quality in any country and region in the world, Epson has established unified quality assurance and product safety management policies. Epson's product safety and environmental compliance requirements are explained in the Epson Quality Standard (EQS). This comprehensive set of unified standards is implemented across the Epson Group. EQS specifies independent controls that the company widely implements to meet or exceed legal and regulatory requirements in each country.

About Oeko-Tex
Oeko-Tex is the world's leading testing and certification system for verifying the safety of textile products. Oeko-Tex certifications for textile products cover all stages of production, from raw materials to end products. There is also a certification for environmentally friendly production sites. The Oeko-Tex Standard 100 is a certification system for products. In the more than two decades since its inception, more than 150,000 articles have been tested globally. This certification, which is only granted for articles that clear strict criteria for more than 300 harmful substances, also meets international restrictions on harmful substances, including Japan's azo restrictions in textile products. Eco Passport was established as a safety certification system that is applicable further up the supply chain than the Oeko-Tex Standard 100. http://nissenken.or.jp/english/service/oeko.html

About Epson
Epson is a global technology leader dedicated to connecting people, things and information with its original efficient, compact and precision technologies. With a lineup that ranges from inkjet printers and digital printing systems to 3LCD projectors, smart glasses, sensing systems and industrial robots, the company is focused on driving innovations and exceeding customer expectations in inkjet, visual communications, wearables and robotics.
Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the Epson Group comprises more than 73,000 employees in 91 companies around the world, and is proud of its contributions to the communities in which it operates and its ongoing efforts to reduce environmental impacts.
http://global.epson.com/

About Epson sub-Saharan Africa

Epson’s operations in sub-Saharan Africa were established in 1997 with headquarters based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Since then, Epson has established a panel of distributors and resellers throughout sub-Saharan Africa who are dedicated to serving Epson’s end-consumers with the highest quality products and levels of support. Epson now manages sales and support in 21 sub-Saharan African countries including South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Lesotho, Zambia, Malawi, Angola, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Southern Sudan, Eritrea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. www.epson.co.za 

Environmental Vision 2050    

http://eco.epson.com/