Volvo Car Corporation is the only automobile manufacturer with a complete model range featuring textiles certified to the Oeko-Tex standard. The textile standard was introduced in the early 1990s by a partnership of 14 textile research and test institutions in Europe and Japan as a response to the growing demand from consumers for textiles which posed no risk to health.
Paul Welander, Senior Vice President, Quality & Customer Satisfaction at Volvo Cars, proposed the idea of certifying Volvo vehicles to the Oeko-Text standard after noticing the certification in the overalls he had recently purchased for his daughters.
"What if we had the same certification of upholstery in our cars?" Welander asked. "Just imagine the sense of security our customers would have."
Executive management at Volvo Cars gave Welander the green light and when the Volvo S80 was launched in 1998, the car was Oeko-Tex certified.
Today, all Volvo vehicles feature Oeko-Tex certified textiles, providing a desirable option for the 35 to 40 percent of the western world's population that suffer from allergies or sensitivities to certain textile compounds.
At Volvo Cars, all the textiles inside the passenger compartment are tested, including the roof lining, floor mats, luggage compartment mats, upholstery, door panels, leather-trimmed steering wheels and seat belts.
"There is a list of more than 100 substances or emissions that are not to exceed a given level," explains Andreas Andersson, responsible for passenger compartment development at Volvo Cars. "For instance, the materials used may not leak heavy metals. There are many people with various allergies today and over-sensitivity has increased drastically in recent years. Having a clean in-car environment is important. Personal health is important both to our customers and to us as a company."
Volvo Cars of Canada Corp. is part of the Volvo Car Corporation of Göteborg, Sweden. The company provides marketing, sales, parts, service, technology and training support to the 42 Volvo automobile retailers across the country. The company's product range includes the stylish and sporty C30, the elegant C70 hardtop convertible, the compact S40 sedan, the S60 sport sedan, the S80 flagship sedan and the versatile V50 and V70 wagon. For customers looking for a Volvo vehicle with all-road capability, the company offers the versatile XC70 and XC90. Volvo Canada is also expanding its line-up with the introduction of the new XC60, a crossover with the award-winning City Safety system on the standard equipment list.
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Media Web site: www.media.volvocars.com/ca
