Why we prioritize OEKO TEX 100 certified materials
|
1,000+
Harmful substances tested for
|
99%
Solvents recovered in TENCEL™ production
|
Class I
OEKO-TEX rating, the strictest tier
|
I started Reprise because I got frustrated. I kept buying activewear that felt good for a few wears and then fell apart, or gave me a weird rash, or just made me feel vaguely uneasy when I thought about what was actually in it. The more I looked into it, the more I realized how little regulation exists around the chemicals used in clothing. Especially activewear, which is the category where your skin is most exposed.
When you work out, your body temperature rises, your pores open up, and you sweat. Sweat is a mild solvent. It can pull residual chemicals right out of fabric fibers and into your skin. That's not a scare tactic, it's just biology. And it's why I became obsessed with finding pieces that were genuinely clean, not just marketed that way.
Two things I kept coming back to: OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certification, and TENCEL™ as a material. I want to explain both, because I think once you understand them, you'll see why they matter.
What OEKO-TEX Standard 100 actually means
The fashion industry is full of claims that sound good but mean nothing. "Eco-friendly dyes." "Tested for safety." Tested by who? According to what standard? Those phrases can go on any label, with zero accountability.
OEKO-TEX Standard 100 is different. It's an independent, third-party certification. The organization doing the testing has no financial relationship with the brands being tested. They test every component of a finished garment, not just the main fabric. Threads, dyes, zippers, buttons, linings, coatings. All of it.
"They test for over 1,000 harmful substances. Lead, formaldehyde, PFAS, BPAs, carcinogenic dyes. In every single component of the garment."
The certification also has tiers. Class I is the strictest, reserved for products designed for direct contact with sensitive skin, including baby clothing. When a product carries Class I certification, it has cleared a bar that most brands never even try to meet.
For me, this became the baseline. If a brand couldn't point to this certification, I wasn't interested in carrying them.
Why I love TENCEL™
TENCEL™ is made by a company called Lenzing, based in Austria. The fiber starts as sustainably harvested wood pulp, mostly from eucalyptus and beech trees grown in FSC-certified forests. These trees need far less water and far fewer pesticides than cotton. That part already puts it ahead of a lot of conventional fabrics.
But the production process is what really got me. Here's how it works:
| 1 |
Closed-loop production
The wood pulp is dissolved using a single organic solvent called amine oxide. It happens in a closed-loop system that recovers and recycles over 99% of the water and solvent. Almost nothing goes to waste, and almost nothing harmful leaves the facility.
|
| 2 |
No toxic residue
The solvent is non-toxic and completely removed during production. So the finished fiber has none of the harsh chemical residue you find in traditional viscose or rayon. It's a genuinely clean yarn by the time it becomes a garment.
|
| 3 |
OEKO-TEX Class I certified
TENCEL™ fibers carry OEKO-TEX Standard 100 Class I certification. That means they've been independently tested for harmful substances and cleared the strictest tier. The softness and performance come from the fiber itself, not from chemical coatings added on top.
|
✓ OEKO-TEX Standard 100, Class I ✓ FSC Certified Forests ✓ EU Ecolabel ✓ Biodegradable by TÜV AUSTRIA
And yes, it actually performs
I know what you're thinking. "Okay but does it hold up in a real workout?" Yes. That was my first question too.
TENCEL™ fibers have a smooth, round cross-section that sits gently against the skin and reduces friction naturally, without needing a finish applied to make it feel that way. They absorb moisture efficiently and release it quickly, which keeps you drier than a lot of synthetics that just trap heat. For anyone with sensitive or reactive skin, the difference is noticeable pretty fast.
|
💧 Moisture-wicking
Absorbs and releases moisture efficiently, with no chemical treatments needed to get there.
|
🌬️ Breathable
Air moves through the fiber structure freely. No heat-trapping, no stuffiness mid-workout.
|
|
🛡️ Hypoallergenic
Smooth fibers resist bacteria and dust mites. If you have reactive skin, this one matters a lot.
|
🚫 No microplastics
TENCEL™ breaks down cleanly. Unlike synthetics, it doesn't shed microplastics every time you wash it.
|
What this means for you when you shop with us
When you see OEKO-TEX Standard 100 on a Reprise product, that certification covers everything. Every thread, every dye, every piece of hardware on that garment has been independently tested. Not by us, not by the brand. By a third party with no stake in the result.
When it's also made with TENCEL™, you're getting the full picture. Clean sourcing, clean production, clean certification. I've spent a lot of time on this stuff so you don't have to. That's kind of the whole point of Reprise.
If you ever have questions about a specific product or want to know more about the materials we use, just reach out. I genuinely love talking about this.
Mary
Founder, Reprise
A few questions I get asked a lot
Shop Reprise
Activewear you can actually trust
Browse our OEKO-TEX certified styles, built for New York's pace, without the chemical compromise.
Shop certified activewear →
