Softlines & Leather regulatory updates January 2022
EUROPE
New update of Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs)
On 17 January 2022, the ECHA (European Chemicals Agency) has released the new Candidate List of SVHCs. With the addition of 4 new substances, the current list of SVHCs contains 223 substances.
Guidance publication related to the consumer rights Directive
On 29 December 2021, the European Commission published the Commission notice Guidance on the interpretation and application of Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on consumer rights.
Please find a table summarising recent public initiatives (non-exhaustive).
FRANCE
Destruction of unsold non-food items prohibited
From 1 January 2022, unsold non-food items can no longer be destroyed by incineration. The objective for 2022 is to reuse or recycle unsold non-food products and therefore prevent a large part of the millions of unsold non-food items from being destroyed and causing more greenhouse gas emissions.
Alignment with the European Directive on consumer rights
On 23 December 2021, the Minister of Economy, Finance and Recovery issued the Ordinance No. 2021-1734 of December 22, 2021 transposing Directive 2019/2161 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 and relating to the better application and modernisation of EU rules on consumer protection.
SWEDEN
Clothing and Footwear Products without chemical tax
On 24 November 2021, the Swedish Parliament decided that a proposed tax on chemicals in clothing and shoes would not be introduced.
CANADA
Quebec repeals the label requirements for upholstered and stuffed articles
On 9 December 2021, The Bill 103 was published which repealed the Act regarding Stuffing and Upholstered and Stuffed Articles with immediate effect in Quebec.
CHINA
China publishes updated GB Standards
On 11 October 2021, the announcement Nº 12 of 2021 was published on approving the Release of 602 National Standards by China National Standardization (SAC).
INTERNATIONAL
Invisible pollution from textiles
On 19 January 2022, the First Sentier MUFG Sustainable Investment Institute published a document related to microfibres and the invisible pollution from textiles. All textiles shed microfibres, including natural, synthetic and semi-synthetic textiles.
Find a monthly summary of product recalls and alerts in Europe (Source “RAPEX”) and the U.S. (Source “CPSC”).
