Product Safety and Restricted Substances in Apparel

Product Safety and Restricted Substances in Apparel emphasis on the overview of the restricted substances present in fabrics, apparels and accessories and their acceptable limits or total ban, management of such restricted substances in the supply chain, standard and regulatory test methods. Manufacturing Restricted Substances address hazardous substances potentially used and discharged into the environment during manufacturing and related processes, not just those substances that could be present in finished products. Safety requirements and review of risk of different garments have been covered including varieties of accessories. Global and country specific regulations on the restriction of various harmful chemicals used in the manufacturing process of fabrics, apparels and related accessories are also discussed in detail. The book is aimed at textile and apparel industry professionals, retailers, factory heads, buying offices and students intending to join the industry in the areas of quality assurance covering safety and chemical compliance.

Introduction Risk analysis of textile and apparel Sources of restricted substances in textile and apparel Evaluation of restricted substances Legal requirements of harmful substances Product compliance for environmental protection Need for chemical management system References Management of restricted substances in the textile and apparel supply chain Purpose and importance of restricted substances list Risk associated with restricted substances Education of the supply chain Importance of evaluation through testing Implementation procedure of a RSL program References Review of restricted substances in textile and apparel supply chain Introduction Restricted substances in fabric Restricted substances in trim Restricted substances in embellishments Restricted substances in apparel Overview of Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL) (41, 42) References Compliance of restricted substances in safety aspects of textile and apparel Introduction Banned amines in azo dyes Allergenic disperse dyes Carcinogenic dyes Formaldehyde Heavy metals Pentachlorophenol, tetrachlorophenol, and orthophenylphenol Organotin compounds Chlorinated organic carriers Fluorocarbons Phthalates Polyvinyl chloride Alkyl phenol ethoxylates Flame retardants Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) Solvents Dioxins and furans Residual pesticides Chlorinated paraffins Dimethyl fumarate (DMFu) Isocyanates Asbestos Adsorbable organic halides (AOX) References Product safety requirements of children’s apparel Importance of safety issues Small parts – choking hazards Metal fasteners Zipper fasteners Dungaree clips (hasps) and sliders D-rings Functional and non-functional drawstrings, cord/ties Toggles Fixed bows Buttons Pom-poms and frings Decorative trims and embellishments Bead Sequins Jewel Heat transfer diamante (rhinstone) and stud guidelines Fire safety Sun protection References Safety review of children’s apparel Introduction Safety review Flammability requirements in children apparel References Some important test methods to evaluate restricted substances in textile and apparel Introduction Lead content in surface coating Lead content in substrate (metal) Lead content in substrate (non-metal) Cadmium in coated/plastic items Evaluation of phthalates Nickel release test: BS EN 1811 (22) and BS EN 12472 (23) Test method for formaldehyde (24) Test method of azo dyes (25, 26) Test method of azo dyes (polyester fabric) (27, 28) New standard for azo dyes Miscellaneous test methods References Global regulatory requirements on harmful substances in textile and apparel Introduction Canada Hazardous Products Act Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA) EU regulations Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) OEKO- TEX Standard 100 US regulations China (GB18401–2010) Korea Certification Japanese regulation (28, 29) Regulation of Vietnam (32, 33) Regulation of Taiwan (34) Regulation of India (35, 36, 37) References Understanding chemical management system for compliance in textile/apparel supply chain Introduction Practices for restricted substances compliance (1) Role of NGO campaigns to tackle toxic chemicals Understanding of 11 classes of priority chemicals (2) Impact of zero discharge of hazardous chemicals on the supply chain (2) References Conclusion

Subrata Dasis the Textile and Apparel Sustainability Professional, Technical Assessor – ISO/IEC 17025:2005 and Technical Expert – GOTS, NABCB, Quality Council of India.