Europe
EU textile labelling revision
On 19 December 2023, the European Commission opened a public consultation related to EU textile labelling rules with the aim of ensuring accurate, intelligible and comparable information to consumers, notably on environmentally relevant aspects and reducing compliance costs by introducing comprehensive requirements on the physical and digital labelling of textiles and related products. It also addresses shortcomings in the current rules as well as diverging labelling requirements between Member States.
This public consultation is open until 15 April 2024. The input will be considered as the European authorities further develop and fine-tune this initiative.
The Commission’s adoption of this proposal for a regulation shall be planned for the fourth quarter of 2024.
For more information, visit the European Commission initiatives website here.
US
Standards updates
See below a table summarising some recent ASTM standards updates:
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Reference
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Title
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ASTM D7340 (2023)
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Standard Practice for Thermal Conductivity of Leather
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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 17 alerts regarding clothing, textile and fashion items were reported between week 4 and week 7 of 2024.
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Type of Risk
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Number of alerts
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Notes
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Chemicals
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1
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Hat with headset
The plastic material (cable) of the product has an excessive concentration of bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP).
The product does not comply with the REACH Regulation.
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2
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Wallet
The plastic material (cable) of the product has an excessive concentration of bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and cadmium.
The product does not comply with the REACH Regulation.
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1
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Children's tracksuit
The plastic material (cable) of the product has an excessive concentration of nickel.
The product does not comply with the REACH Regulation.
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Choking
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1
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Baby sleeping bag
The stitching at the bottom end of the zip fastener may be missing, causing the slider to become detached from the zip.
The product does not comply with the requirements of the General Product Safety Directive.
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1
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Babies' clothing set
The small decorative rhinestones of the garment can be easily detached.
The product does not comply with the requirements of the General Product Safety Directive.
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3
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Children's dress
The small decorative elements (rhinestones) of the garment can easily be detached.
The product does not comply with the requirements of the General Product Safety Directive.
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Choking, Injuries
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1
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Children's dress
The small decorative rhinestones of the garment can be easily detached. Moreover, the safety pin is easily accessible.
The product does not comply with the requirements of the General Product Safety.
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Health risk / other
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1
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Socks and tights
The inside area of the sock is made with an uncut loop. The uncut loop in the product may lead to tightness in the toe area.
The product does not comply with the requirements of the General Product Safety Directive.
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Environmental
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1
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Flashlight gloves
The solders in the product have an excessive concentration of lead.
The product does not comply with the requirements of the Directive on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS 2 Directive).
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Injuries
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1
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Children's sweatshirt
The product has long functional cords in the waist area.
This product does not comply with the requirements of the General Product Safety Directive nor with EN 14682.
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1
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Children's slippers
The velcro fastening on the shoes may fail.
The product does not comply with the requirements of the General Product Safety Directive.
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Injuries, Strangulation
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1
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Children’s hat
The product has long functional cords with free ends in the neck area.
The product does not comply with the General Product Safety Directive and EN 14682.
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1
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Children's jacket
The product bears protruding loops on drawstrings with no free ends at the neck area.
The product does not comply with the requirements of the General Product Safety Directive.
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1
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Sweatshirt
The product bears functional cords close to the neck.
The product does not comply with the requirements of the General Product Safety Directive or EN 14682.
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UK
OPSS issues Product Safety Alerts on the UK market.
The following 3 alerts regarding clothing, textiles and fashion items were reported between week 4 and week 7 of 2024.
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Type of Risk
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Number of alerts
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Notes
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Strangulation and entrapment
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1
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Girl’s parachute cargo trousers
The toggle drawstring feature at the waist and hem is not correctly secured to the trousers.
The product does not meet the requirements of the General Product Safety Regulation 2005.
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Strangulation
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1
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Children’s Jacket
It has cords with free ends meaning that the cords may become trapped during various activities of a child, leading to strangulation.
The product does not meet the requirements of the General Product Safety Regulations 2005.
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Injuries
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1
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Baby socks/tights
The material inside of the socks may cause a tourniquet around a child’s toe.
The product does not meet the requirements of The General Product Safety Regulations 2005.
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U.S.
From 1 February to 22 February 2024, the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) published the following recalls: 4 recalls of textile & leather products
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Hazard
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Number of alerts
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Notes
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Burn
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3
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Children’s nightgowns
The recalled children’s nightgowns violate the federal flammability regulations for children’s sleepwear, posing a risk of burn injuries to children.
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Children’s bathrobes
The recalled children’s bathrobes violate federal flammability regulations for children’s sleepwear, posing a risk of burn injuries to children.
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Fire
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1
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Rugs
The rugs violate the federal flammability regulations for carpets and rugs, posing a fire hazard.
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