To address the growing concerns about industry standards, Dow worked with other industry leaders to develop and deploy Chem eStandards – the uniform standards of data exchange developed specifically for the buying, selling and delivery of chemicals. Designed to make eBusiness faster, easier and less expensive for the chemical industry, Chem eStandards are based on the universally recognized "gold standard" for electronic data exchange, eXtensible Mark-Up Language (XML).

CIDX follows three principle guides concerning the development and release of Chem eStandards.

1. Industry standards must be open and exist free of charge to both CIDX members and non-members.
2. These standards must remain neutral and support all current and emerging business models.
3. All standard transaction processes must be platform independent.

XML and Chem eStandards have rapidly been adopted as the "standard" language for transacting business electronically over the Internet, and CIDX has led the effort to standardize data and business processes within the chemical industry through Chem eStandards. By implementing the standards, Dow and its customers, suppliers and logistic providers enjoy seamless interactions and avoid the complexity and expense of creating customized connections.