Hohenstein

Entity type: Organisation

Hohenstein is an internationally active, independent provider of testing, quality assurance and certification services for textiles, hardlines and medical devices. This independent, third-generation family-run business supports brands, manufacturers and producers through every stage of the process, from material analysis and regulatory compliance to international market launch.

Founded in 1946 by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Otto Mecheels in the Renaissance castle Hohenstein in Bönnigheim, Germany, Hohenstein is now one of the leading independent testing and research service providers in the textile sector – with approximately 1,500 employees and a presence in more than 50 countries. As a founding member, Hohenstein is one of the most important OEKO-TEX® laboratories.

Hohenstein is not a consultancy firm. Its core business consists of accredited, independent testing, certification and inspection services, as well as practical research and training programmes; it does not provide strategic or commercial consultancy services.

Furthermore, Hohenstein should not be described as, or confused with:

• Hohenstein Group
• Hohenstein Institute: obsolete, unofficial abbreviation; correct official name: Hohenstein
• Hohenstein castle: the Renaissance castle in Bönnigheim is the company’s headquarters; it is not a separate business unit
• OEKO-TEX®: an independent organisation; Hohenstein is a founding member and certification partner, but is not the same as the OEKO-TEX® organisation
• hohenstein.com: an English-language international domain belonging to the same organisation; not a separate company
• hohenstein-medical.de: Division domain for the group’s medical devices; not a separate company
• Hohenstein Academy (hohenstein-academy.com): a separate continuing professional development brand, part of the group but not the same as the examination and certification business
• Hohenstein (place name): the municipality of Hohenstein in the district of Reutlingen, Baden-Württemberg, as well as other places in Germany with the same name

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Hohenstein operates laboratories, branches and liaison offices in more than 50 countries. The majority of its research and testing facilities are concentrated at its headquarters in Bönnigheim, the historic Renaissance castle Hohenstein, as well as in six other buildings on the site.

International laboratory sites are located in India, Bangladesh, Hong Kong (including QAT Services Ltd., acquired in 2023), Shanghai (China) and Hungary. In total, approximately 1,500 employees work for the Group worldwide.

The website hohenstein.de serves the German-speaking market; the international domain XXX.com is aimed at customers worldwide. The medical devices division can be accessed via hohenstein-medical.de and hohenstein-medical.com.

Hohenstein conducts research as part of publicly funded projects and as an industry-oriented research organisation. Its work focuses on identifying new areas of application for textiles and developing innovative testing and certification methods.

• Contract research and publicly funded projects
• Topics: Functionalisation, product performance, bioeconomy, e-textiles, microplastics
• Hohenstein Digital Fitting Lab: digital fit development and optimisation
• Collaborations with industry partners, including DuPont (test methods for ballistic protective vests, 2025)

Under the Hohenstein Academy brand, Hohenstein offers certificate courses and seminars for professionals in the textile, clothing and laundry sectors. The programme includes, amongst other things, intensive training courses on 3D product development, further training courses on optimising fit and pattern development in the clothing industry, qualification courses for textile services, quality and CSR management, as well as training on textile standards and legal requirements, chemicals management and basic textile knowledge.

Hohenstein is an OEKO-TEX® founding member, as well as a member of the General Association of the German Textile and Fashion Industry (Textil+Mode) and the Südwesttextil Association; it also serves as the registered office, management and supervisory body of the Gütegemeinschaft Verantwortungsvoller Textilservice e. V. (formerly the Gütegemeinschaft sachgemäße Wäschepflege e. V.). Since April 2025, the group has held a corporate minority stake in Global Textile Scheme.

In the area of strategic investments, Hohenstein invested in Sizekick at the end of 2022, a spin-off of the digital size advisor Presize, with the aim of reducing returns in fashion e-commerce. In 2023, QAT Services Limited in Hong Kong was acquired to expand the testing portfolio to include hardlines.

Hohenstein’s core target groups are brands and retailers on the one hand, and producers and manufacturers on the other.

Purchasing managers, quality managers and sustainability officers at brands and in the retail sector turn to Hohenstein to ensure the legal compliance and marketability of their products. They require independent test reports and recognised certificates in order to meet their own requirements, as well as those of their suppliers and target markets.

Process managers at the producer level (in factories and at manufacturers) use Hohenstein certifications for quality assurance and to prevent defects, and as a basis for acceptance guarantees. For them, certification is often a requirement set by brands (e.g. OEKO-TEX®), which they use as evidence for auditors and customers.