Ownership of the “eco-INSTITUT Label” certification programme will be taken over by LCPO GmbH (Labeling and Certification Program Organisation), based in Cologne, with effect from 27 September 2026. eco-INSTITUT Germany GmbH will remain the certification body and thus the independent supervisory body responsible for regularly verifying compliance with the assessment criteria and for conducting the certification procedures. The reason for this change is the organisational separation between the owner of the certification programme (scheme owner) and the independent third-party body responsible for monitoring and verifying compliance with the certification requirements (third party). The division of these functions between two separate companies supports the compliance of the eco-INSTITUT label certification programme with the requirements of the EU EmpCo Directive* and the UWG reform, which comes into force on 27 September 2026 and transposes the European requirements into German law.

That means you can congratulate yourself because the bought product is low-emission and low-pollutant: so it very health agreeable and may be used without concerns in indoor spaces.

Products complying with eco-INSTITUT-Label criteria fulfill the strictest requirements on pollutants and emissions going far beyong legal standards.

Usually a certificate is valid for 2 years. The exact end date of its validity you can see in the entry of the product in our Database Certified Products or the certificate of a product.

Expired certificates you find in our database in the section of Expired Certificates.

If you are interested in the test report of one the products certified by us please contact the respective manufacturer of the product. For legal reasons LCPO GmbH does not publish test results, test reports or evaluations nor does the certification body.

The testing criteria of eco-INSTITUT-Label you find here.

Products not fullfilling the requirement are not certified.

LCPO GmbH as system owner does not recommend any products. Also the certification body eco-INSTITUT  does not recommend any products  being an independent testing laboratory operating as joint body between involved manufacturers and health-oriented consumers.

So we can only guarantee every mattress bearing our label complies with the strictest requirements on pollutants and emissions going far beyond legal standards as the mattress fulfills the criteria of eco-INSTITUT-Label.

In this sense every mattress certified by us can be recommended.

Not necessarily. When a product is not certified with eco-INSTITUT-Label it can have different causes like:

• the manufacturer was not interested in getting his product tested or certified by us
• the product does not comply with the requirements of eco-INSTITUT-Label criteria
• the manufacturer does not know the eco-INSTITUT-Label and thus could not get his product accordingly certified (Not possible? Tell you favorite manufacturer of laminate flooring about us!)

Construction and furnishings products may emit a big number of unwanted substances harming one’s health into indoor air. Energy saving and airthight ways of buildings may aggrevate this so caused indoor air pollution.

By emissions testing it is measured what  – and how much of it – emits into the indoor air and whether these substances and their concentrations harm one’s health.

A quality label is only effective and trustworthy when it is reliable and transparent. Therefore all certified products are listed in the Database Certified Products: all products bearing the eco-INSTITUT-Label are listed there with their certificate, their individual certification ID and validity period.

Usually a certificate is valid for two years.

When a product has not been recertified or its certificate is not valid anymore the product is marked as “expired”.

There a various reasons why a product was not recertified, amongst others:

• the manufacturer was not interested getting his product recertified.
• the product is not produced anymore and so a recertification would not make sense.
• the product does not fulfill the strict requirements of eco-INSTITUT-Label criteria anymore, may it be because the criteria were updated and have become stricter by now, may it be because the product is now produced in a different way.

eco-INSTITUT-Label is awarded following the test criteria of eco-INSTITUT-Label. These are based on highest national and international requirements on emissions and pollutants of indoor products. Additionally claims on odour are stipulated and indoor air guide values are considered.

The criteria are regularly updated by the Criteria Commission appointed by LCPO GmbH following the latest state of art, science, research, legal developments and demands of manufacturers, consumers, architects and building project planners.

The sample label presented here may only be used by LCPO GmbH and in publications approved by LCPO GmbH (e.g. label comparisons in print media). Manufacturers are not permitted to use the sample label; in such a case, it may be illegal advertising. Please let us know if you find the sample label displayed and are unsure whether it has been approved by us.