Softlines

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has mandated compliance to the requirements in California Technical Bulletin (TB) 117-2013 for upholstered furniture used indoors. California TB 117 is a flammability standard that contains the requirements, procedures and apparatus for testing the smolder resistance of materials used in upholstered furniture. It covers fabrics, barrier materials, resilient […]

China’s new product standard for one/half-piece bras – FZ/T 73046-2020 – came into effect on April 1, 2021. The updated standard was released by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and included in No. 48 announcement of 2020’s approved industry standards. It replaces the previous iteration – FZ/T 73046-2013. The standard applies to

SGS, the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company, has announced the appointment of Yvonne Tse as Vice President, Global Softlines division. Yvonne joined SGS in 2011 as Deputy Director of Global Softlines and in 2017 was promoted to International Business Head. Across a career spanning almost 25 years, Yvonne has established an outstanding

China has released a new national standard that covers the terminology, definition and identification of biobased materials – GB/T 39514-2020. The standard covers materials made from biomass and/or by a biological manufacturing process. They include biobased: Chemicals Polymers Plastics Chemical fibers Rubber Material additives Composites Biodegradable paints Products made from a variety of biobased materials

SGS, the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company, has published an article that gives stakeholders an insight into China’s growing online retail market for clothing. Even before the 2020 pandemic, more and more people were shifting their shopping habits from ‘bricks and mortar’ shops to online retailers. E-commerce has multiple advantages, such as accessing

SGS, the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company, has been officially approved as a Third-Party Laboratory Member and will soon be extending its fiber fragmentation testing services beyond consortium member organizations. The textile industry has become increasingly aware of the issue of fiber fragmentation and its potential as a serious environmental polluter. The

SGS, the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company, is to host a live webinar to help apparel, textile and footwear brands better understand the ZDHC Wastewater Guidelines and take action to remedy non-conformance. The interactive webinar ‘Root Cause Analysis for Chemicals in Wastewater’ will set out the purpose and requirements of ZDHC Wastewater

SGS, the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company, has launched new comprehensive testing protocol for footwear packaging – a first for the footwear industry. The innovative testing protocol is designed to support brand owners and retailers, including e-commerce, to have confidence that their packaging will perform well, meet environmental and sustainability standards and

In October 2020, the Swedish government announced it was postponing the implementation of its new chemical tax for clothing and footwear until 2022. The decision follows the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. First announced in May 2020, the tax is designed to phase out the use of hazardous chemicals in clothing and footwear. It is