No Allergies in Volvos

Volvo is one of leading manufacturer when it comes to car safety and they've recently announced that all their cars are certified according to Oeko-Tex standard. This means that none of the textile materials in a Volvo cause any allergies sustaining the fact that safety sometimes comes from different areas except car crashes.

The Oeko-Tex standard was first introduced at the beginning of the '90s by textile institutes to reassure customers that their products pose no risk whatsoever to their health and do not cause allergies of any kind. The association is a partnership of 14 different textile research institutes.

About 40% of the western world suffers from an allergy of any kind or an over-sensitivity to a material or another. Volvo is known to be the only car manufacturer that offers an entire fleet of automobiles that are certified in this way. The first one ever was, of course, another Volvo... the S80 back in 1998. Since then they've decided to make all their cars compliant with these standards.

All textile materials inside the passenger compartment are tested 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. For instance, the materials used may not leak heavy metals," says Andreas Andersson who is in charge of passenger compartment cleanness at Volvo Cars.

"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,” he added.