Eleven years ago, when I started Ljvogues, the OEKO-TEX Class I standard was the goal. Today we have the certificate. Here's why Class I specifically — not the standard adult class — was the only standard that made sense for period underwear.

On July 8, 2026, Hohenstein Laboratories in Germany issued Ljvogues Certificate No. 26.HCN.12213, confirming our period panties meet OEKO-TEX Standard 100 Product Class I, the same class required for baby articles. It's valid until July 31, 2027. I want to walk you through what that actually means, why I pushed for the strictest class instead of the one most adult apparel uses, and what it should mean for anyone sourcing or buying period underwear.

This isn't a press release dressed up as an article. It's the reasoning behind a decision that took eleven years of choosing the right materials, the right suppliers, and the right testing process to arrive at.

What OEKO-TEX Standard 100 Actually Tests

If you've never had to dig into textile certifications, here's the plain version.

OEKO-TEX Standard 100 is an independent certification system that tests textile products — fabrics, trims, finished garments — for harmful substances. It's not a marketing badge a brand can slap on their packaging because they say their materials are "safe." It requires actual laboratory testing, done by accredited, independent institutes. In our case, that institute is Hohenstein Laboratories GmbH & Co. KG in Bönnigheim, Germany, one of the most respected textile testing bodies in the world.

The testing covers a long list of substances that have no business being anywhere near skin: pesticide residues, heavy metals, formaldehyde, pH imbalance, non-colorfast dyes, allergenic dyes, and other substances — hundreds of parameters in total, calibrated against limits that get stricter depending on how the product will be used.

Two things matter here that a lot of marketing copy glosses over:

It's not a declaration — it's a test. A brand can write "chemical-free" on a label with no one checking. OEKO-TEX certification means a lab has physically tested the finished product and its components against defined limits.

It expires every year. This isn't a certificate you earn once and reference forever. It has to be renewed annually, which means it reflects what's coming off the production line now, not what was tested three years ago.

Anyone can verify a certificate directly. Go to oeko-tex.com, enter the certificate number, and confirm it's real, active, and matches the company claiming it. For ours, that number is 26.HCN.12213.

The Four Product Classes — and Why Class I Matters

Here's the part most people outside the textile industry don't know: OEKO-TEX Standard 100 isn't one uniform bar. It has four product classes, and they exist because a curtain and a diaper don't carry the same risk profile.

• Class I (Baby Articles): For products used by babies and toddlers up to 36 months old, or products that contact the most sensitive areas of skin. This carries the strictest limits — the lowest allowable levels of any regulated substance.

• Class II (Direct skin contact): Everyday items worn against adult skin — underwear, T-shirts, bedding. Meaningfully less strict than Class I.

• Class III (No direct skin contact): Outer fabrics, linings, interfacings.

• Class IV (Decoration articles): Curtains, tablecloths, wall coverings.

Most adult apparel — including most conventional underwear — is certified under Class II, and that's reasonable for a T-shirt. It is not reasonable for period underwear.

Here's my actual reasoning, not a sales pitch. Period underwear sits against the vulvar area for hours during menstruation. That skin is thin, highly vascular, and highly absorptive — closer in exposure profile to an infant's skin than to the skin on your arm or torso, which is what Class II standards were built around. Add the duration factor: this isn't a garment you put on for an hour. Women wear the same pair for eight, ten, sometimes twelve hours during a cycle, often overnight. Prolonged contact plus high absorption plus sensitive tissue is exactly the combination Class I exists to protect against.

So when I decided to pursue Class I certification instead of the standard Class II that most period underwear on the market carries, it wasn't a marketing decision. It was the only standard that matched the actual biology of how the product is used.

What Ljvogues' Class I Certification Covers

I want to be specific here, because vague certification claims are exactly what I'm arguing against.

Certificate 26.HCN.12213 covers period panties made from:

• Modal/elastane knits

• Viscose (bamboo)/elastane knits

• Cotton/elastane knits

• 100% polyester knits (including fleece)

• Polyamide/elastane knits

• Laminated fabric made from any of the above, with or without colourless transparent or white thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) film

That last part matters — TPU is the waterproof barrier layer in leak-proof underwear, and it's explicitly included in scope, not treated as an exempt component.

The certificate also covers every accessory that touches the garment and, by extension, the body: elastic band, lace, sewing thread, and printed label. All of it is produced exclusively using components that are themselves pre-certified under OEKO-TEX Standard 100. That's a detail worth sitting with — it means we're not just testing the finished product and hoping the inputs were clean. Every input already had to clear the bar before it entered our production line.

The certificate is issued by Hohenstein Laboratories GmbH & Co. KG in Germany, supported by test report 26.1294459 and a declaration of conformity under EN ISO 17050-1. It's valid until July 31, 2027, and verifiable at any time at oeko-tex.com.

What This Means for Brand Buyers

If you're sourcing period underwear for your own brand, here's what this certificate actually changes for you, in practical terms.

You get a verifiable certificate, not a claim. When you source from Ljvogues, your products carry Class I OEKO-TEX certification with a specific number that any customer, retailer, or regulator can check independently. That's a very different position than telling your customers "our materials are tested" with nothing to point to.

Class matters more than the logo. The OEKO-TEX logo alone tells you almost nothing. If a supplier says they're "OEKO-TEX certified" without volunteering the product class, ask directly. Class II and Class III carry meaningfully looser substance limits than Class I. A manufacturer certified under Class II for period underwear is operating to the same bar as a T-shirt maker — not to the bar the product's actual use case demands.

The scope covers components, not just the shell fabric. Our certificate applies to the lace, the TPU film, the elastic, the thread, the label — everything that can contact skin. A lot of certifications in this industry cover only the primary fabric and leave the rest unaddressed. Ask what's actually in scope.

Annual renewal means current production, not historical testing. A certificate that hasn't been renewed in three years tells you what a factory was doing three years ago. Ours reflects what's on the line now.

My blunt note on this: if a manufacturer can't tell you their OEKO-TEX product class and certificate number off the top of their head, the certification probably isn't doing the work they claim it is. This is not obscure information for someone who actually holds the certificate — it should be immediate recall, not a follow-up email three days later.

And a related point worth stating directly: any manufacturer selling period underwear without this class of material verification is asking their customers to trust them on the most sensitive question in textile safety — without showing their work.

(Buyers evaluating manufacturing partners can review our full documentation on the Certifications page or explore working with us directly through OEM/ODM Services.)

The Broader Certification Stack

OEKO-TEX Class I doesn't stand alone in how we approach safety — it sits inside a wider compliance structure:

• BSCI and SEDEX SMETA 4-Pillar for ethical manufacturing practices

• FDA Establishment Registration under 21 CFR Part 807 for US menstrual device compliance

• EU REACH, CPSIA, GRS, and ISO 9001 for chemical, safety, recycled-content, and quality management standards

• PFAS-free verification through SGS finished garment testing and EPA Method 533, applied to every production batch since Q2 2024

It's worth being precise about how these pieces relate to each other, because they're not redundant. OEKO-TEX Class I limits harmful substances across the material and component level — dyes, heavy metals, formaldehyde, pH, and the rest. PFAS-free SGS testing is a separate, targeted verification that no per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds are present in the finished garment. One governs material inputs broadly; the other closes a specific chemical-class gap that's become a regulatory flashpoint in the US and EU. Together, they cover two different dimensions of the same underlying commitment: nothing goes near this part of the body without being tested for it first.

If Material Safety Is a Priority for Your Brand

If you're building a period underwear brand and material safety is a priority, I'm happy to share the full certification documentation — including the certificate, the test report number, and our PFAS test reports. Ask for them. That's what they're for.

You can reach me directly:

• Email: info@ljvogues.com

• WhatsApp: +86-199-2880-2613

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ljvogues-ceo

• Website: ljvogues.com

— Ocean Yang (杨钧雄)

Founder & CEO, Shenzhen Ljvogues Sports Fashion Limited