Eurofins Softlines & Leather Monthly Bulletin (April 2025)

EUROPE

European Proposal Agreement to Reduce Textile Waste

On 19 February 2025, the European Council and Parliament reached a provisional agreement aimed at reducing textile waste.

This agreement establishes harmonised rules for the extended producer responsibility (EPR) for textiles and fashion brands among others. The aim is for those responsible for these types of products to pay a fee covering the costs associated with collecting, sorting and recycling waste generated from items such as clothing, footwear, blankets, bed and kitchen linen, curtains, hats, etc.

On 19 March 2025, the provisionally agreed text was published (2023/0234(COD)).

The status of this proposal is a second-reading agreement, meaning that if no proposal to reject the Council’s position and no amendments to that position are tabled within the set time limits for tabling and voting on amendments or proposals to reject, the President shall announce in Parliament that the proposed act has been adopted.

Standard updates

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

(*) Date of withdrawal: The latest date by which national standards conflicting with a European Norm (EN) (and Harmonisation Document (HD) for the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation (CENELEC)) have to be withdrawn.

The European Committee for Standardisation (CEN)
Reference	Title	*Date of withdrawal ()**	Supersedes
EN ISO 19952:2025	Footwear - Vocabulary (ISO 19952:2025)	31 August 2025	EN ISO 19952:2005
EN ISO 23649:2025	Chemicals for the leather tanning industry - Determination of cyclosiloxanes (ISO 23649:2025)	31 August 2025
EN 1885:2018+ A1:2025	Feather and down - Terms and definitions	31 August 2025	EN 1885:2018/FprA1 EN 1885:2018
EN 12934:2025	Feather and down - Composition labelling of processed feathers and down for use as sole filling material	31 August 2025	EN 12934:1999
EN ISO 20537:2025	Footwear - Identification of defects during visual inspection - Vocabulary (ISO 20537:2025)	31 July 2025

FRANCE

New French Ban on the Use of PFAS in Consumer Products

On 28 February 2025, the French National Assembly and the Senate adopted Law No. 2025-188 of 27 February 2025, aimed at protecting the population from the risks associated with perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) substances.

The main requirements are:

Ban the use of PFAS in consumer products
Additional restrictions on all PFAS-containing textiles
A tax on manufacturers whose activities lead to PFAS discharges. The fee rate is set at €100 per hundred grams of PFAS discharged per year into the water

Main dates	Manufacture, import, export, and placing on the market, whether for payment or free of charge, of any textile product containing PFAS is prohibited
1 January 2026	Cosmetic product Wax products containing Textile clothing products, footwear, and waterproofing agents for consumers except for textile clothing and footwear designed for the protection and safety of individuals, particularly in the performance of national defence or civil security missions
1 January 2030	Any textile except for products necessary for essential uses, those contributing to the exercise of national sovereignty and for which there is no substitute and technical textiles for industrial use.

France's PFAS restrictions are still being defined, with key details such as exemptions and residual thresholds to be addressed in upcoming decrees.

For more information, please refer to the official publication on the Legifrance website here.

New Step to the French Environmental Cost Framework of Textile Items

A public consultation was held from 28 November to 19 December 2024, which addressed two significant regulatory texts that would outline the French environmental cost framework for textile items. Following the consultation, the regulatory proposal was submitted to the European Commission for review on 13 February 2025. The legal texts are:

Decree on the methods for calculating and communicating the environmental cost of textile products (2025/0086/FR)
This text defines the methodology for calculating environmental impacts and establishes communication guidelines. The proposed methodology builds on the PEF technical framework recommended by the European Commission while adding elements guided by the need to take into account the preservation of biodiversity and water resources and the fight against fast fashion.
Order on signage and methodology for calculating the environmental cost of textile clothing products (2025/0087/FR)
This order specifies the product categories, calculation methods, and labelling requirements. It outlines the official logo and various communication formats while also establishing exclusion criteria for certain items. It is voluntarily disclosed to the consumer by the producer, importer, or any other marketer when the product is purchased.

Brands that choose to voluntarily display aggregated environmental product scores must comply with the environmental methodology and labelling requirements indicated in these two legislations.

The main dates to comply with this new requirement are:

Between April 2025 and April 2026, brands can choose to voluntarily display their environmental cost scores. Brands can calculate and submit their environmental costs on the public portal and third parties cannot publish scores without the brand’s consent.
From April 2026, there will be a general deployment in which third parties (e.g., distributors or apps) can calculate and submit environmental scores if the brands themselves haven't published their own scores.

While the French environmental cost label is not yet mandatory, brands can voluntarily calculate their scores using the Ecobalyse methodology and an online calculator.

Regulatory proposals notified to the WTO

The table below summarises the most recent notifications made to the World Trade Organization (WTO) (non-exhaustive):

Notification number	Countries	Title
G/SPS/N/GBR/83	United Kingdom	The introduction of risk-based import checks on hair and wool produced from animals other than those of porcine species, due to the risk of introducing diseases that can be transmitted via untreated wool and hair.

PRODUCT RECALLS / ALERTS

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

Europe

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

The following 23 alerts regarding clothing, textile and fashion items were reported between week 4 and week 11 of 2025.

Type of Risk	Number of alerts	Notes
Chemical	2	Sandals It has an excessive concentration of bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and cadmium. The product does not comply with the REACH Regulation.
	1	Children's sandals The plastic material of the sandals has an excessive concentration of dibutyl phthalate (DBP), bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), di-‘isononyl’ phthalate (DINP), lead, and cadmium. The product does not comply with the REACH Regulation.
	1	Gloves The leather in the product contains chromium VI. The product does not comply with the REACH Regulation.
	1	Bicycle gloves The plastic labels attached to the Velcro fasteners have an excessive concentration of bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP). The product does not comply with the REACH Regulation.
	1	Bag The rate of nickel release is too high. The product does not comply with the REACH Regulation.
	1	Children's flip-flops The plastic material of the product has an excessive concentration of bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP). The product does not comply with the REACH Regulation.
	1	Tiara The plastic material of the product has an excessive concentration of bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP). The product does not comply with the REACH Regulation.
	1	Flip flops The plastic material of the product has an excessive concentration of bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP). The product does not comply with the REACH Regulation.
	1	Water shoes The plastic material of the product has an excessive concentration of bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP). The product does not comply with the REACH Regulation.
	1	Shower cap The plastic material inside the shower cap contains an excessive amount of bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP). The product does not comply with the REACH Regulation.
	1	Children's slippers The migration of lead from the surface material is too high. Moreover, the plastic material of the product has an excessive concentration of di-‘isononyl’ phthalate (DINP). Additionally, the plastic material of the product has an excessive concentration of bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP). The product does not comply with the REACH Regulation nor with the European standards EN 18219-1, EN 18219-2, and EN 14389.
Chemical, Environment	2	Children's boots The plastic material of the sandals has an excessive concentration of dibutyl phthalate (DBP), bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), and short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs). The product does not comply with the REACH Regulation.
	1	Hooded jacket The product contains an excessive amount of Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). The product does not comply with the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP) Regulation.
	1	Mattress protector The product contains an excessive concentration of 2-(N-Ethylperfluorooctane-1-sulphonamido)-ethanol. The product does not comply with the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP) Regulation.
Choking	1	Children's shoes The decorative bow on the sandals can easily detach. The product does not comply with the General Product Safety Regulation.
	1	Children’s shoes The tassel and the textile/rhinestone element of the tassel can easily detach. The product does not comply with the requirements of the General Product Safety Directive.
	1	Children's clothes The decorative bow on the sandals can easily detach. The product does not comply with the General Product Safety Regulation.
Choking, Injuries	1	Nappy cover The product has small parts (buttons) that can be easily detached. Moreover, it has decorative bows around the waist with loose cords. The cords with free ends in the waist area are too long. The product does not comply with the requirements of the General Product Safety Regulation or EN 14682.
Cuts	1	Earmuffs The product has a sharp point which can protrude through the end of the heart-shaped cushions. The product does not comply with the General Product Safety Regulation.
Injuries	1	Children's dress The product has long functional cords with free ends in the shoulder area which can become trapped during various activities of a child, leading to injuries. The product does not comply with the General Product Safety Regulation or EN 14682.
Injuries	1	Children's bikini The product has functional cords with free ends to be tied at the head, neck, and upper chest area. The product does not comply with the requirements of the General Product Safety Directive or EN 14682.

United Kingdom

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) issues Product Safety Alerts to the UK market. The following 6 alerts regarding clothing, textile and fashion items were issued between week 4 and week 11 of 2025.

Hazard	Number of alerts	Notes
Chemical	2	Flip Flops The plastic material from the strap contained phthalates, namely DEHP. This exceeds the maximum limit of 0.1% by mass of the plasticised material, as the sum of the four phthalates BBP, DBP, DEHP and DIBP, as specified by UK REACH. The product does not meet the requirements of the REACH Enforcement Regulations 2008 or the General Product Safety Regulations 2005.
Cuts	1	Children's shoes The decorative bow on the sandals can easily detach. The product does not comply with the General Product Safety Regulation.
	1	Children's clothes The product has a small part (red pom pom) that can easily detach. The product does not comply with the requirements of the General Product Safety Directive.
	1	Sleepsuits, hooded towel and pyjamas It has been identified that the red pom-pom attachments can become fully or partially detached from the garment. The detached pom-poms could be swallowed by a child. The products do not meet the requirements of the General Product Safety Regulations 2005.
Strangulation	1	Children’s clothing It has decorative cords around the neck which exceed the maximum permissible length. The product does not meet the requirements of the General Product Safety Regulations 2005.

U.S.

From 6 February 2025 to 27 February 2025, the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) published the following recalls: 5 recalls of textile & leather products

Hazard	Number of alerts	Notes
Burn	4	Sweatshirts The recalled sweatshirts and hoodies violate the federal flammability standard for clothing, posing a burn hazard to consumers.
		Children’s nightgowns The recalled children’s nightgowns, pyjama sets and robes violate the federal flammability standards for children’s sleepwear, posing a risk of serious burn injuries or death to children.
		Children’s bathrobes The recalled children’s bathrobes violate federal flammability regulations for children’s sleepwear, posing a risk of burn injuries and death to children.
		Children’s pyjamas The recalled children’s pyjamas violate the federal flammability regulations for children’s sleepwear, posing a risk of burn injuries to children.
Strangulation	1	Children’s jackets The drawstring in the hood of the recalled jackets can get caught on objects and cause death or serious injury to children due to the strangulation hazard. The jackets are in violation of federal regulations for children’s upper outerwear and present a substantial product hazard.