Eurofins Softlines & Leather Monthly Bulletin (December 2021)

FRANCE

Public Consultation about AGEC law

The AGEC Law, law n° 2020-105 of 10 February 2020, is the anti-waste law related to the circular economy. The aim is to limit waste and preserve natural resources, biodiversity, and the climate.

Recently, two public consultations have taken place about the French draft Decree related to the framework of article 13.I of the AGEC law. They aim to promote the implementation of the obligation laid down in Article L. 541-9-1 of the Environmental Code relating to consumer information on the environmental qualities and characteristics of waste-generating products.

One of the public consultations was the Draft decree in the Council of State relating to public information on the qualities and characteristics of products generating waste, in application of Article L. 541-9-1 of the Environment Code which was open from 12 October until 17 November 2021.

A public consultation hosted by the European Commission was opened from 4 October until 5 January 2022 regarding this same decree. See the Decree on consumer information on the environmental qualities and characteristics of waste-generating products (2021/644/F) here.

For textile products, the environmental qualities and characteristics relating to consumer information are:

• The incorporation of recycled material (excluding leather articles):
  
  This information shall be expressed with the following sentence: « produit comportant au moins [%] de matières recyclées » (“product containing at least [%] recycled materials”).
  
  Note: It shall be measured as the overall proportion of the mass of materials derived from recycling.

• The recyclability is characterised by the following points (excluding leather articles):
  
  (1) The ability to be efficiently collected
  (2) The ability to be classified
  (3) The absence of elements or substances that will disrupt the sorting, recycling or limit the use of the recycled material
  (4) The extent to which the recycled material produced represents more than 50% of the bulk of the waste collected
  (5) The ability to be recycled on an industrial scale and that the recycling chain can demonstrate sufficient ability to be integrated into other products.
  
  If the product complies with these 5 points (section VI of this draft decree), the words «produit recyclable» recyclable product ou «emballage recyclable “recyclable packaging” can be used as information on recyclability.
  If the recycled material produced by the recycling processes represents more than 95% of the bulk of the waste collected, the words «produit entièrement recyclable» “fully recyclable product” may be affixed.
  
  Where the materials are predominantly re-incorporated in products of an equivalent nature that meet the same use and destination, the producer may use the words «produit recyclable en boucle fermée» “closed loop recyclable product” or emballage recyclable en boucle fermée»
  
  Note: These requirements are also applied for packages used to market products consumed or used by households, including those consumed outside the home.

• Geographical indication of the country where each of the following operations is mainly carried out:
  
  For textile products:
  
  (1) The cultivation or production of the fibre or raw materials
  (2) Spinning and weaving
  (3) Dyeing and printing
  (4) Manufacturing
  
  For footwear:
  
  (1) Production of the raw materials
  (2) Cutting
  (3) Stitching
  (4) Assembly
  (5) Finish

• The presence of plastic microfibers:
  
  This information shall be made available where the proportion of synthetic fibres exceeds 50%.
  
  It shall be expressed by the words “shedding of plastic microfibers into the environment during washing”. «rejette des microfibres plastiques dans l’environnement lors du lavage».

• For all products and packaging, the use of words such as “biodegradable”, «biodégradable», «respectueux de l’environnement» “environmentally friendly” or any other equivalent are prohibited.

This decree provides for the effective implementation of this measure from 1 January 2022.

Standards updates

The following table summarises the most recent standard updates and upcoming dates of withdrawal (non-exhaustive):

(*) Date of withdrawal: latest date by which national standards conflicting with an EN (and HD for CENELEC) have to be withdrawn.

INTERNATIONAL

Revised ISO 6330 Standard for washing and drying procedures

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) released a new version ISO 6330:2012.

This specifies domestic washing and drying procedures for textile testing and is the fourth revision, replacing the old version ISO 6330:2012.

The main changes in the new version:

• Update to the optional detergent information, especially adding new detergent used for delicate or hand washing
• Updates the instrument parameters and washing procedures
• Re-regulated the selection method of washing load
• Other technical parameter changes

For more information, consult the ISO website here.

PRODUCT RECALLS / ALERTS

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).

There following 18 alerts regarding textile & leather products were reported between week 46 and week 50 of 2021.

U.S.

Between 21 November and 20 December 2021, the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) published the following recalls: 1 recall of textile & leather products.