Commission Decision 2014/350/EU of 5 June 2014 establishes the ecological criteria for the EU Ecolabel for textile products, OJ L 174, 13 June 2014. Two different antimony figures are printed. Both are voluntary label criteria.
Key numbers
Criterion 7(a) states that the level of antimony present in the polyester fibres shall not exceed 260 ppm (PDF p.11). Fibres manufactured from recycled PET bottles are derogated. The test is direct determination by atomic absorption spectrometry or inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, on a composite sample of raw fibres prior to any wet processing.
Appendix 1, point (iv), extractable metals, prints Antimony (Sb) 30,0 mg/kg for products intended for babies and children under 3 years old, and Antimony (Sb) 30,0 mg/kg again for all other products including interior textiles (PDF p.34). The comma in 30,0 is the printed decimal mark. The verification is final-product testing. Extraction is EN ISO 105-E04-2013 (acid sweat solution). Detection is ICP-MS or ICP-OES. Arsenic on those two lists is not the same (0,2 mg/kg for the under-3 list and 1,0 mg/kg for the other list). Antimony is the same figure on both lists.
A derogation for antimony trioxide used as a back-coating flame-retardant synergist on interior textiles prints an eight-hour occupational exposure limit of 0,50 mg/m3. That figure is a workplace air value, not extractable antimony in the fabric.
Methods (brief)
The 260 ppm figure is total antimony in polyester fibre before wet processing. The 30,0 mg/kg figure is extractable antimony in acid sweat. They are not interchangeable. The label is voluntary.
Evidence fitness
The page supports both printed antimony criteria and the workplace air value attached to the trioxide derogation. It does not support a U.S. federal textile limit. It does not support reading 30,0 as the OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 annex, which was not this decision.
Limitations
Later amendments are in the consolidated text of 6 January 2026. That consolidation is a separate file and has no legal effect of its own. The original decision is the authentic OJ text of these sentences.
Related evidence
- Antimony
- Antimony in baby products
- Clothing (onesies, pajamas, outerwear)
- Decision 2014/350/EU, consolidated text 6 January 2026
Update history
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