Softlines & Leather | Monthly bulletin | February 2020

Regulatory news - Commercial news 

Regulatory news

UK

The United Kingdom has left the European Union

On the 1^st February 2020, the United Kingdom left the European Union. At this moment there is a transition period until the end of 2020 while the UK and EU negotiate additional arrangements. The current standards and legislations for the UK and EU will continue to apply during the transition period. New legislations will take effect on the 1^st January 2021.

For further general information about Brexit click here to visit the GOV.UK website.

Europe

Standards updates

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(*) Date of withdrawal: latest date by which national standards conflicting with an EN (and HD for CENELEC) have to be withdrawn.

US

Standards updates

See below a table summarising the most recent ASTM standards updates:

China

China published or updated GB Standards

On the 31^st December, 2019, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) and the Standardization Administration of China (SAC) approved and released a total of 169 GB standards; some of them are closely related to our testing industry.

Leather and fur standards:

The complete update can be found here (in Chinese).

International

Upcoming dates of application

As a reminder, please see the below standards and legislation that will come into effect within the next six months:

• Legislations:
  
  Manufacturers and importers should carefully consider these upcoming dates of application and confirm that their products comply with these restrictions:
  
  
• • Brazilian Ordinance n.° 296, 12 June 2019
    The Resolution MERCOSUR/GMC/RES Nº 62/2018 has now been incorporated into the legal system of the MERCOSUR countries, as Ordinance No. 296.
    According to Article 6 of Ordinance n.° 296, Inmetro Ordinance No. 45 of January 17, 2011 will be revoked in 2020/07/10.

Product Recalls / Alerts

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

Europe

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

The following 8 alerts regarding textile & leather products have been reported, from week 1 until week 3 of 2020.

US

From the 21^st December 2019 to the 20^th January 2020, the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) has published the following recalls: 0 recall regarding Childcare and children’s products.

Commercial news

Eurofins | BLC One Day Leather Processing Course

Eurofins Textil Testing Spain in partnership with Eurofins | BLC Leather Technology Center will offer in Alicante a special traininig next 26^th February. This course is ideal for tannery staff, leather processors, chemical companies as well as those interested in a greater understanding of raw to finished leather processing, this course provides an overview of the whole leather making process in just one day.

Read more >>

Webinar on Ensuring Chromium VI Compliance with Proposition 65 among Your Supply Chain

Exposure to Hexavalent Chromium, or more commonly known as Chromium VI, has become one of the key factors for 60-Day Notices issued by California Attorney General under The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65).

Read more >>

Training on Environmental Awareness in the Textile Industry

This one-day training is designed for fashion and apparel industry retail buyers and merchandisers, sourcing teams, quality and CSR teams willing to start addressing the environmental risks in their supply chain, and willing to identify clear priority actions that can be taken at the production sites level. The course consists of lecture and interactive activities, inluding case study discussion and quiz to help you understand all topics more thoroughly. (Feb. 27 - Karachi, Pakistan).

Read more >>

Meet us at Booth 32 in 2020 ICPHSO Annual Meeting Symposium

ICPHSO returns to Orlando, FL to hold its Annual Meeting and Training Symposium on February 18 - 21, 2020 at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress. The four-day Annual Meeting and Training Symposium provides an opportunity for global health and safety professionals to participate in discussions that further enhance the safety of consumer products throughout the world.

Eurofins Softlines & Leather will be exhibiting at Booth 32 in ICPHSO. Our experts Ben, Maria, Leslie and David will be there to understand your sourcing challenges and offer solutions in term of product testing, inspection, factory audit, regulatory support and more. 

Read more >>

2019 was a fantastic year for the Chem-MAP^® Team at Eurofins | BLC

The team worked with over 200 companies in the leather, textile, and chemical industries on achieving better chemical management

This video highlights their 2019 achievements and will give you valuable insight about how the Chem-MAP^® Team is aiming to support businesses in 2020.

Chem-MAP^® is a ZDHC certified programme focused on the implementation of robust chemical management systems in the leather, textile and synthetic materials supply chains. The aim of the programme is to prevent harmful chemicals from entering the materials supply chains, thereby protecting workers, consumers, and the environment.

Watch the video >>

Chem-MAP^® chemical management systems for the entire supply chain

Discover How MRSL Testing can Help Reduce RSL Failures in Manufacturing and Support ZDHC Objectives

Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL) testing is an essential component of chemical risk management, focusing upstream in the supply chain, beyond Restricted Substance Lists (RSL) testing. MRSL testing through Chem-MAP^® can help to minimise RSL failures, providing a long-term financial benefit for your business and further reducing chemical risk to your customers, and the rest of the supply chain. Chem-MAP^® MRSL test methods are used to determine the quantity of individual chemicals within a supplied chemical formulation, against those listed on the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) MRSL.

Read more >>