Eurofins Softlines & Leather Monthly Bulletin (Jan 2021)

EUROPE

New update of Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs)

On 19 January 2021, the ECHA (European Chemicals Agency) released the new Candidate List of SVHCs. With the addition of two new substances, the latest list of SVHCs now contains 211 substances.

The table below shows he two new substances included:

Nº	Substance name	EC number	CAS number	Reason for inclusion
1	Bis(2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl)ether	205-594-7	143-24-8	Toxic for reproduction (Article 57 (c))
2	Dioctyltin dilaurate, stannane, dioctyl-, bis(coco acyloxy) derivs., and any other stannane, dioctyl-, bis(fatty acyloxy) derivs. wherein C12 is the predominant carbon number of the fatty acyloxy moiety	-	-	Toxic for reproduction (Article 57 (c))

Click here to read the official news from ECHA’s website.

ECHA updates the list of testing methods for azocolourants (REACH Annex XVII)

On 16 December 2020, the European Union (EU) has published the following amendment:

Commission Regulation (EU) 2020/2096 of 15 December 2020 amending Annex XVII to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), as regards carcinogenic, mutagenic or reproductive toxicant (CMR) substances, devices covered by Regulation (EU) 2017/745 of the European Parliament and of the Council, persistent organic pollutants, certain liquid substances or mixtures, nonylphenol and testing methods for azocolourants.

This regulation updated certain restricted liquid substances or mixtures, nonylphenol and testing methods for azocolourants under Annex XVII of REACH. The main points related to textile products are:

In entry 46 (Nonylphenol), the references to CAS number and EC number in paragraph (a) of column 1 are deleted
In Appendix 10, the table has been replaced by the following table:

Appendix 10 Entry 43 – Azocolourants – List of testing methods
European standardization organisation	Reference and title of the harmonized standard	Reference of the superseded standard
CEN	EN ISO 17234-1:2015 Leather – Chemical tests for the determination of certain azo colorants in dyed leathers – Part 1: Determination of certain aromatic amines derived from azo colorants	EN ISO 17234-1:2010
CEN	EN ISO 14362-1:2017 Textiles – Methods for determination of certain aromatic amines derived from azo colorants – Part 1: Detection of the use of certain azo colorants accessible with and without extracting the fibres	EN 14362-1:2012
CEN	EN ISO 14362-3:2017 Textiles – Methods for determination of certain aromatic amines derived from azo colorants – Part 3: Detection of the use of certain azo colorants, which may release 4-aminoazobenzene	EN 14362-3:2012

Please click here to read full updates at ECHA website.

CEN standards updates

See the below table summarising the most recent standard updates and upcoming dates of withdrawal (non-exhaustive):

CEN
Reference	Title	Date of Availability (*)	Date of Availability Announcement (**)
CEN/TS 17394-1:2021	Textiles and textile products - Part 1: Safety of children's clothing - Security of attachment of attached components to infants' clothing - Specification	2021-01-13	2021-04-30
CEN/TS 17394-3:2021	Textiles and textile products - Part 3: Safety of children's clothing - Security of attachment of metal mechanically applied press fasteners - Test method	2021-01-13	2021-04-30
CEN/TS 17394-4:2021	Textiles and textile products - Part 4: Safety of children's clothing - Security of attachment of components except buttons and metal mechanically applied press fasteners - Test method	2021-01-13	2021-04-30
EN 17394-2:2020	Textiles and textile products - Part 2: Safety of children's clothing - Security of attachment of buttons - Test method	2021-01-13	2021-04-30

(*) Date of availability: date when the definitive text in the official language versions of an approved CEN/CENELEC publication is distributed by the Central Secretariat

(**) Date of announcement: latest date by which the existence of an EN (and HD for CENELEC), a TS or a CWA has to be announced at national level

(***) DATE OF WITHDRAWAL: LATEST DATE BY WHICH NATIONAL STANDARDS CONFLICTING WITH AN EN (AND HD FOR CENELEC) HAVE TO BE WITHDRAWN.

New specifications for community face covering

The British Standards Institution (BSI) has issued the first version of BSI Flex 5555 Community face coverings — Specification for free in its website.

The main points of Specification are to provide:

minimum performance requirements to filtration and transmission, and use of materials;
general information on single and multi-use face coverings, plus cleaning requirements for multi-use coverings;
a test method for testing houses;
washing conditions, markings and instructions for use.

A second version of the Specification is expected to be published in February 2021 after the end of consulting period.

U.S.

Flame Retardants Bill in Massachusetts

On 1 January 2021, the Governor of State of Massachusetts signed the Bill H.4900 An Act to protect children, families, and firefighters from harmful flame retardants by regulating flame retardants in different product categories, such as bedding, carpeting and children’s products.

Effective since 31 December 2021, these products must not contain following chemical substances or similar in an amount greater than or equal to 1000 ppm:

Tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl)phosphate (TDCPP) (CAS number: 13674–87–8);
Tris(2-chloroethyl)phosphate (TCEP) (CAS number: 115–96–8);
Antimony trioxide (CAS number 1309–64–4);
Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) (CAS number 25637–99–4);
Bis(2-Ethylhexyl)-3,4,5,6- tetrabromophthalate (TBPH) (CAS number 26040–51–7);
2-EthylhexYl-2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoate (TBB) (CAS number 183658– 27–7);
Chlorinated paraffins (CAS number 85535–84–8);
Tris (1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCPP) (CAS number 13674–84–5);
PentaBDE (CAS number 32534-81-9);
OctaBDE (CAS number 32536-52-0);
Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) (CAS number 79-94-7);

California Proposition 65 settlement agreements

Companies operating their businesses in California are required to state the presence of hazardous chemical substances in their products in accordance to California Proposition 65 warnings, as a measure to protect the drinking water and public in the state.

Failing to be in compliant with the regulation could lead to court cases. Several key Prop 65 settlement agreements recently concern the following substances:

Chemical substance	Source of substance	Examples where it could be found
DI(2-ETHYLHEXYL)PHTHALATE (DEHP)	Flexible plastics parts of a product.	Shower curtains, furniture and automobile upholstery, garden hoses, floor tiles, and coverings on wires and cables, rainwear and shoes, lunchboxes, binders, and backpacks. In plastic food packaging materials. In medical devices and equipment, including some types of blood and intravenous solution bags, tubing for dialysis, feeding tubes, oxygen masks, and surgical gloves.
Lead and Lead Compounds	It is a metal that is found in nature and used in many industries and products.	Ceramic dishes and pottery and pewter and crystal glassware. Baby bibs, purses, garden hoses, and other products made of vinyl or imitation leather. Toys, white oil paints, costume jewellery, traditional cosmetics (such as kohl, kajal, al-kahal, or surma), and hair dyes. Brass faucets and fittings. Lead-acid batteries used in motorized equipment and vehicles such as cars, trucks, motorcycles, and boats. Lead fishing sinkers and curtain weights.
Diisononyl Phthalate (DINP)	Flexible plastics parts of a product.	Polyvinyl chloride (PVC, vinyl) flooring, materials used in automobile interiors, wire and cable insulation, gloves, tubing, garden hoses, and shoes. Inks and pigments, adhesives, sealants, paints and lacquers.
Butyl Benzyl Phthalate (BBP)	Flexible plastics parts of a product.	Vinyl flooring, sealants, and paints. Handbags, belts, footwear and other artificial leather items that are made with polyvinyl chloride (commonly referred to as vinyl).
Di-n-hexyl Phthalate (DnHP)	Flexible plastics parts of a product.	Vinyl products although its use has decreased.
Di-n-butyl Phthalate (DBP)	Flexible plastics parts of a product.	Wire and cable insulation, gloves, tubing, garden hoses, shoes, and personal care products, including some perfumes and other products containing fragrances, and nail polishes.
Di-isodecyl Phthalate (DIDP)	Flexible plastics parts of a product.	Polyvinyl chloride (PVC, vinyl) tubing, materials used in automobile interiors, garden hoses, raincoats, binders, storage cases, tile flooring, shower curtains, and bath mats.
Diisononyl Phthalate (DINP)	Flexible plastics parts of a product.	Polyvinyl chloride (PVC, vinyl) flooring, materials used in automobile interiors, wire and cable insulation, gloves, tubing, garden hoses, and shoes. Non-PVC products, such as some inks and pigments, adhesives, sealants, paints and lacquers. non-PVC products, such as some inks and pigments, adhesives, sealants, paints and lacquers.

ASTM Standards updates

Please see below a table summarising the most recent ASTM standards updates:

Reference			Title
ASTM D2812 - 07(2021)			Standard Test Method for Non-Lint Content of Cotton
ASTM D3025 - 07(2021)			Standard Practice for Standardizing Cotton Fiber Test Results by Use of Calibration Cotton Standards
ASTM D8365 - 20			Standard Test Method for Corrosion of Metal Produced by Contact with Leather
ASTM F2075 - 20			Standard Specification for Engineered Wood Fiber for Use as a Playground Safety Surface Under and Around Playground Equipment

INDIA

Footwear Quality Control Orders

In July 2021, the following three orders regarding Quality Control Orders related footwear products will come into effect in India:

These orders indicate the India standards list that should be complied for footwear products and the compulsory use of the BSI Standard Mark. The BSI Mark should be under a license from the Bureau as per Scheme-I of Schedule-II of Bureau of Indian Standards (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018.

Regulatory proposals notified to WTO

Please see the below table summarising the most recent Indian notifications made to the World Trade Organization (WTO) (non-exhaustive):

Notification number	Countries	Title
G/TBT/N/IND/185	India	100 Percent Polyester Spun Grey and White Yarn (Quality Control) Order, 2020
G/TBT/N/IND/188	India	Polyester Industrial Yarn (Quality Control) Order, 2020
G/TBT/N/IND/189	India	Polyester Continuous Filament Fully Drawn Yarn (Quality Control) Order, 2020
G/TBT/N/IND/190	India	Polyester Partially Oriented Yarn (Quality Control) Order, 2020
G/TBT/N/IND/191	India	Polyethylene Material for moulding and extrusion (Quality Control) Order, 2020
G/TBT/N/IND/192	India	Polyester Staple Fibres (Quality Control) Order, 2020
G/TBT/N/IND/193	India	Styrene-Butadiene Rubber Latex (Quality Control) Order, 2020
G/TBT/N/IND/195	India	Sewing Machines (Quality Control) Order, 2021

PRODUCT RECALLS/ ALERTS

Below you will find a monthly summary of product recalls and alerts in Europe (Source “RAPEX”) and in the U.S. (Source “CPSC”)

Europe

RAPEX (European Commission Rapid Alert System for dangerous non-food products – Alerts reported by EU national authorities)

The following five alerts regarding textile & leather products have been reported, from week 1 until week 3 of 2021.

Type of Risk	Number of alerts	Notes
Choking	1	Baby sweater: It has small parts. Does not comply with EN 14682.
Chemical	2	Leather clothes: It contains chromium (VI). Does not comply with the REACH Regulation.
Injuries	1	Children's shorts: They have long drawstrings with free ends to be tied at the front of the waist area. Does not comply with EN 14682.
Strangulation	1	Children's sweatshirt: There are long functional cords with free ends in the hood of the product. Does not comply with EN 14682.

U.S.

Between the 1 January 2021 and the 20 January 2021, the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) published the following recalls: 0 recall on textile & leather products.