Eurofins | Newsflash - March 2018 | Textile and Consumer Goods

Europe - Textile

New Draft Amendment for Annex XVII of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 On February 1st 2018, the European Commission notified World Trade Organization (WTO) draft  Commission Regulation amending Annex XVII to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (REACH) as regards certain substances classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction (CMR) category 1A or 1B. This draft would introduce a new entry into Annex XVII to REACH. It would prohibit the placing on the market of the substances listed in Appendix 12 (above specified concentrations) in: Clothing or related accessories Textiles other than clothing which, under normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use, come into contact with human skin to an extent similar to clothing Footwear Click here for getting the draft text.

Europe - Textile

New Amendment to Textile Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011

On 26^th January, an amendment to Annexes I, II , VI, VIII and IX to Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 on textile fibre names and related labelling and marking of the fibre composition of textile products was published in the Official Journal of the European Union
 
The main points of this amendment are:
 

 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
 
Click here for getting the official publication.

Europe - Textile

Recently Published Standards

Below you will find a list of standard references that have been recently published by CEN (European Committee for Standardization) related to Textile:
 

Europe - REACH

ECHA’s Enforcement Forum’s Latest Project (REF-4)

On 8 February 2018, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) published the REF-4 project report.

As mentioned in this report: “The aims of the project were to raise awareness of restrictions in REACH Annex XVII, to identify non-compliance related to restrictions in the EU-market, to follow-up with enforcement action and to achieve a greater degree of compliance and thus a greater degree of health and environmental protection”

The scope of the project included 14 different restriction entries in REACH Annex XVII as included in Table 1 of the project report as extracted below:
 

 
Within other non-compliances, the highest non-compliance rates in the scope of the project were with: phthalates in toys, Cadmium in brazing fillers and Asbestos

As a summary, the results from this enforcement project show that there are significant amounts of non-compliant products (products containing restricted substances) on the EU/EEA market.

An extract from the ECHA’s project report: “As the non-compliance relating to REACH restrictions is not something that can be seen by just looking at the product, the only way to get into more compliance is to influence and enhance the responsibility of companies in the supply chain. They need to get information on the chemical composition of products they buy from their suppliers, and they need to have such agreements in force in the supply chain, that it is not worth selling non-compliant products further in the supply chain. In addition, the enforcement authorities need to continue enforcing the REACH restrictions by analysing products on the market”

Click here for getting the ECHA’s REF-4 project report.

Europe - Consumer Goods

Plastic and Circular Economy The European Commission has adopted a strategy concerning plastic materials which is established as a part of the transition towards a more circular economy. It’s expected that all plastic packaging on the EU market will be recyclable by 2030, the single-use plastic consumption will be reduced, and the intentional use of micro-plastics will be limited. Click here to access the European Commission Press release

Europe - Consumer Goods

Green Public Procurement Criteria for Paints, Varnishes and Road Marking In January 2018, the European Commission published the new Green Public Procurement (GPP) Criteria for paints, varnishes and road marking. These criteria are voluntary and are designed to make it easier for public authorities to purchase goods, services and works with reduced environmental impacts. Click here for getting the Commission staff working document

US - Textile

California Proposes to List Carpets and Rugs Containing Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) As a Priority Product

Recently, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) released a Product-Chemical Profile which proposes to add carpets and rugs with perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) as a Priority Product.

PFASs are a class of fluorinated organic chemicals showing high environmental persistence, bioaccumulation, toxicological and other environmental hazard traits. PFASs have been widely used as surface treatments for leather and textiles, food packaging, metal plating fume suppressants, detergents and so on. Treated carpets and rugs with stain- , soil-, oil or water-resistance are main exposures to PFASs.

The following products are not covered in this proposal:

• Carpets and rugs for outdoors use;
• Carpets and rugs for planes, trains, buses, automobiles, or any other indoor environments besides buildings;
• Resilient floor covering;
• Artificial turf;
• Wall hangings and coverings;
• Table mats;
• Camping mats;

Comments can be submitted by March 23, 2018.

US - Textile

New Rule for the Use of House Marks in Textile Labels On 23 January 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published an amendment to the Textile Rules 16 CFR 303. It is in force since 22ndFebruary. With this new amendment, the Commission is eliminating an obsolete provision requiring that house word trademark owners furnish the agency with a copy of the mark’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) registration before using the mark on labels, since FTC recognizes that registered house marks can be found by searching online or at the USPTO’s Website. Click here to access the FTC website

US - Consumer Goods

California Proposition 65 Reformulations (February, 2018)

California Proposition 65 is the ‘Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986’, which has been effective for almost 30 years. Due to the implement of California Proposition 65, more and more court cases are settled to reduce the exposure to carcinogenic and toxic for reproduction chemicals by reformulating consumer products containing such chemicals.

In order to keep retailers and manufacturers up-to-date, highlights of some recent consent agreements are summarized as below:
 

US, Canada - Consumer Goods

New Window Covering Safety Standards At the beginning of this year, the Window Covering Manufacturer Association (WCMA) announced the approval of a new window covering standard, ANSI/WCMA A100.1-2018 which will be in force from 15 December 2018. This new safety standard, strengthens window-covering safety by requiring that all stock products sold in stores and online (in the US and Canada) to be cordless or have inaccessible or short cords. For more information check below source: Source: The Window Covering Manufacturers Association (WCMA)

China - Textile

Public Consultation on 47 Textile Industry Draft Standards

On Feb 8, 2018, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People’s Republic of China launched public consultation on 47 textile industry draft standards such as wall cloth, silk bedding, wind coat, etc. The deadline for comments is 11 March 2018.

Some examples of the above mentioned draft standards:
 

 
The complete list can be found here (in Chinese).

For any further information contact us