Eurofins Softlines & Leather Monthly Bulletin (July 2021)

EUROPE

New update of Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) for consumer products

Read full news at here.

Domestic laundry and microfibre pollution

The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and several organisations are working on standards to determine and evaluate fibre loss from fabrics during washing.

The draft International Standard for determination of microplastics using the canisters method is under development and this means that by the end of this year or beginning of next, the method could be published.

Standards updates

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(*) Date of withdrawal: latest date by which national standards conflicting with an EN (and HD for CENELEC) have to be withdrawn.

(**) 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.

Regulatory proposals notified

The table below summarises recent regulatory proposals made to the European Commission (Non-exhaustive):

U.S.

Carpets and Rugs with PFASs are priority products

On 1 July 2021, California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) adopted carpets and rugs containing per- or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) as a Priority Product in accordance with the process identified in Article 3 of the Safer Consumer Products (SCP) regulations.

Carpets and rugs under Section 69511.4 of Article 11, Chapter 55, Division 4.5 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations are defined as:

“any consumer product made from natural or synthetic fabric intended to be used as a floor covering inside commercial or residential buildings that contains any member of the class of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs). This includes carpeted door mats”

Those responsible for the product containing PFASs must submit a priority product notification (PPN) by 30 August 2021, along with the preliminary alternatives analysis (PPA) report, through DTSC’s CalSAFER portal.

For more information, consult the DTSC’s website here.

Maine’s ban on PFAS in carpets and fabric treatment

On 15 July 2021, the State of Main published the law LD 1503 An Act To Stop Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Pollution.

This law indicates that as of 2023, a manufacturer of a product containing intentionally added PFAS , and which is for sale in the State, shall submit to the department a written notification that includes:

(1) A brief description of the product;
(2) The purpose of PFAS in the product;
(3) The amount of each of the PFAS;
(4) The name and address of the manufacturer;
(5) Any additional information.

This law is similar to legislations on PFAS ban that have been introduced in other States, such as California, Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, Oregon and Vermont.

The Care Labelling Rule was not repealed

On 21 July 2021, the Federal Trade Commission published this statement on the proposed repeal of the Care Labelling Rule on 23 July 2020. The Commission voted 5-0 to notify the public that it will not repeal the Care Labelling Rule. The Commission will continue to consider ways to improve the Care Labelling Rule.

For more information, consult the Federal Trade Commission’s website here.

Final rule for “Made in USA” labeling

On 14 July 2021, the Federal Trade Commission published the final “Made in USA” (MUSA) rule. The rule will take effect 13 August 2021.

The Commission has decided to adopt the substantive provisions of the rule as initially proposed. It covers labels on products that make unqualified MUSA claims. It also codifies the Commission's previous MUSA Decisions and Orders and prohibits marketers from making unqualified MUSA claims on labels unless:

• Final assembly or processing of the product occurs in the United States,
• all significant processing that goes into the product occurs in the United States, and
• all or virtually all ingredients or components of the product are made and sourced in the United States.

The rule also covers labels making unqualified MUSA claims appearing in mail order catalogues or mail order advertising.

For more information, consult the Federal Register website here.

Standards updates

The table below summarises some recent ASTM standards updates:

CHINA

China Totally Ban on the Production and Use of Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD)

On 8 June 2021, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the PRC, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the PRC, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of the PRC and the State Administration for Market Regulation jointly-published announcement No. (2021) 237. It made a clear statement that starting from 26 December 2021, the production, use, import and export of HBCDD will be prohibited. All the provinces (including autonomous regions and municipalities) shall formulate provincial implementation plans to actively promote this important compliance task and ensure the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is well implemented in China.

In order to meet the schedule, the following strategies shall be well deployed:

• Investigating and dynamically tracking the production and the use of HBCDD, establishing a ledger and strengthening dynamic management
• Guiding and urging enterprises to earnestly fulfil their own obligations
• Enforcing the supervision and management, imposing penalties on illegally production and marketing activities
• Strengthening the environmental supervision and management of the disposal of waste stocks

The completed notification can be found here (in Chinese).

INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

The table below summarises some recent regulation news:

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).

The following 18 alerts regarding textile & leather products were reported, between week 25 and week 29 of 2021.

US

Between 21 June and 20 July 2021, the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) published the following recalls: 8 recall of textile & leather products.