Eurofins Softlines & Leather Monthly Bulletin (August 2021)
EUROPE
Closer to a new General Product Safety regulation
The European Commission are working on the update of the General Product Safety Regulation. Below is a summary table containing recent proposals and drafts related to this matter:
Perfluorinated carboxylic acids restricted under REACH Annex XVII Entry 68
On 5 August 2021, the European Union (EU) published Regulation (EU) No 2021/1297, which updated Annex XVII of REACH. Certain perfluorocarboxylic acids (C9-C14 PFCAs), their salts and C9-C14 PFCA-related substances will be banned from being placed on the market or used in most applications from 25 February 2023 onwards.
The following table summarises the most recent standard updates and upcoming dates of withdrawal (non-exhaustive):
FRANCE
New environmental labelling for consumer products
In 2020, French Law No. 2020-105 (Loi AGEC) was published with the aim of fighting against waste and promoting the circular economy. One of the main points is to encourage sustainable production, in particular by the deployment of environmental labelling (article 15) to encourage companies to eco-design and, additionally, provide a simple guide for consumers. Garments and textiles are one of the consumer product categories prioritised for the implementation of this requirement.
UK
UK Government extends UKCA marking deadline
On 24 August 2021, the UK government announced that businesses have been given an additional year to apply the UKCA marking to their products, businesses now have until the 1st January 2023 to apply the UKCA marking to their products.
U.S.
Table summarises some recent ASTM standards updates:
CHINA
The following table summarises some recent ASTM standards updates:
Below you will find a monthly summary of product recalls and alerts in Europe (Source “RAPEX”) and the U.S. (Source “CPSC”).
Europe
RAPEX (European Commission Rapid Alert System for dangerous non-food products – Alerts reported by EU national authorities).
US
Between 21 July and 20 August 2021, the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) published the following recalls: 6 recalls of textile & leather products.
