To import home textiles to Germany, or elsewhere in the EU, you take on the legal responsibility for the goods once they enter the market. That means checking chemical limits, labelling, product safety and the standards your retail customers require, whatever the Indian supplier promises.
Home textile importers in the USA and Europe face similar tasks, but the EU rules are more detailed on chemicals and on who is the responsible economic operator. Confirm the current position with your customs broker, a lab or the relevant authority.
Chemicals: REACH and dyes
REACH restricts certain substances in textiles, including some azo dyes that can release listed aromatic amines. The importer is responsible for compliance, so it is worth testing. See REACH and the textile chemicals it restricts. Many buyers also ask for OEKO-TEX Standard 100, which tests for a wider list; read OEKO-TEX Standard 100 for home textiles.
Labelling in Germany and the EU
The EU Textile Regulation sets rules for fibre names and composition on labels. Labels must be in the language of the country of sale, so goods for Germany need German wording. Care labels are not an EU-wide legal requirement, but retailers and consumers expect them, and some countries have extra rules. Check care label requirements for home textiles by market and then confirm the German requirements for your product.
Also consider the product safety rules. The EU General Product Safety Regulation applies to consumer products, and requires a responsible economic operator in the EU and traceability information on products or packaging. Ask your adviser what this means for your goods.
Retailer and buyer standards
German and European retailers often add their own conditions on top of the law. Typical requests include social audits, chemical management proof, certified organic or recycled content, and packaging requirements. These are commercial terms, so negotiate them early and give the factory the list before it quotes.
Plan the timeline around approvals. Retailers may need test reports and audit results before they release a purchase order, and these can take weeks. Start the paperwork while the sample is still being developed, so the buyer's sign-off does not become the slowest step.
What to ask the Indian supplier
Put these requests in writing before you order:
Check the claims that the supplier cannot control by itself. A mill can show an organic certificate, but the finished sheet is only organic if the whole chain is certified. Ask for the transaction certificate for the specific lot, and confirm it with the certifier. If you cannot trace the claim, do not print it on the pack.
- Test reports from an accredited laboratory for the restricted substances that apply.
- Certificates for any claim on the label, which you verify with the certifier.
- Labels printed to your wording, in the correct language.
- A packing and carton marking plan that suits your warehouse.
- Consistent lot numbers, so any problem can be traced to a batch.
Next step
We find and audit manufacturers, check samples and documents, have lots tested, and supervise production and loading. Book a free sourcing review and tell us the product and the countries you sell in.