SOFTLINES

NO. 101/15

The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) has published the 16th edition of the AAFA Restricted Substances List (RSL) which covers apparel, footwear, travel goods, home textiles and other fashion accessories. The list provides apparel and footwear companies with information related to hazardous chemicals / substances that are restricted in consumer products and regulated around the world.

The AAFA is the national trade association representing apparel, footwear and other sewn products companies and their suppliers by providing a variety of tools to facilitate compliance in the global marketplace and helps to make optimum sourcing decisions and assists the industry in creating a safer and sustainable supply chain. The latest AAFA RSL Release 16 [1] was published with the major changes outlined in Table 1.

Table 1 - Outline of the AAFA RSL changes from Release 15 to Release 16

Restricted Substance, Test Method, Limit and Comments Modification

Sections

Changes

Arylamines

  • Added Turkey as other countries that also regulate Arylamines
  • Added Indonesian National Standard SNI 7617:2013
  • Added to comments - "GB 30585-2014 (Safety technical specification for children's footwear) will apply on 1 Jan 2016"

Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases

  • Removed Regulation (EC) No. 842/2006
  • Added Regulation (EU) No. 517/2014

Metals

  • Added Turkey as other countries that also regulate Cadmium

Restriction for Textiles:

  • Added Indonesia Regulation, No.07/M-IND/PER/2/2014 with test method ISO 105-E04 followed by ICP-OES/AAS analysis for leachable Cadmium (0.1 ppm), Lead (0.2 ppm), Copper (25 ppm) and Nickel (1 ppm); Infant apparel (0-36 months)
  • Added Turkey as other countries that also regulate leachable Nickel
  • Added China Regulation, GB 30585-2014 (Safety technical specification for children's footwear) - will apply on 1 Jan 2016 with test method QB/T 4340 Footwear - Chemical test method - total heavy metal content - Inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy for Arsenic (100 mg/kg), Lead (100 mg/kg) and Cadmium (100 mg/kg); Applies to children's footwear (14 year old), size of the shoes

Restriction for Leather:

  • Added China Regulation, GB 30585-2014 (Safety technical specification for children's footwear) - will apply on 1 Jan 2016 with test method QB/T 4340 Footwear - Chemical test method - total heavy metal content - Inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy and QB/T 22807 Leather and fur - Chemical test - Determination of chromium VI content for Arsenic (100 mg/kg), Lead (100 mg/kg), Cadmium (100 mg/kg) and Chromium (Cr 6+) hexavalent (10 mg/kg); Applies to children's footwear (14 year old), size of the shoes

Restriction for Metal Parts:

  • Added China Regulation, GB 30585-2014 (Safety technical specification for children's footwear) - will apply on 1 Jan 2016 with test method QB/T 4340 Footwear - Chemical test method - total heavy metal content - Inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy for Arsenic (100 mg/kg), Lead (100 mg/kg) and Cadmium (100 mg/kg); Applies to children's footwear (14 year old), size of the shoes

Restriction for Plastics and Plastic Film:

  • Added China Regulation, GB 30585-2014 (Safety technical specification for children's footwear) - will apply on 1 Jan 2016 with test method QB/T 4340 Footwear - Chemical test method - total heavy metal content - Inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy for Arsenic (100 mg/kg), Lead (100 mg/kg) and Cadmium (100 mg/kg); Applies to children's footwear (14 year old), size of the shoes

Miscellaneous

Formaldehyde

  • Added to comments - GB 30585-2014 regulates Formaldehyde in children's shoes (14 year old), size of the shoes

Nonyl phenol / Nonyl phenolethoxylates

  • Added Turkey as other countries that also regulate nonyl phenol and nonyl phenolethoxylates

N-Nitrosamines

  • Added China Regulation, GB 30585-2014 (Safety technical specification for children's footwear) - will apply on 1 Jan 2016; only applicable to rubber parts of infant shoes

Organotin Compounds

  • Changed the maximum limit from "Prohibited" to "0.1 percent by weight of tin" for Triphenyltin (TPhT)
  • Added European Union Regulation, REACH Regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006 Annex XVII for Triphenyltin (TPhT)
  • Added recommended test method EN ISO 17353 (modified)/ EN ISO/TS 16179:2012 for footwear for Triphenyltin (TPhT)
  • Added Turkey as other countries that also regulate Dibutyltin (DBT) and Dioctyltin (DOT)

Pesticides

  • Removed Belgium regulation "The Minister for Public Health and the Minister for Consumer Protection, The Minister for Public Health and the Minister for Consumer Protection, Ministerial Decree concerning the prohibition of placing articles and products containing DMF on the market. Belgian Official Journal, 12.1.2009"
  • Added to comments - 0.1 mg/kg - China (GB 30585-2014) will apply on 1 Jan 2016 for Dimethyl Fumarate

Phthalates

  • Added to comments - China GB 30585-2014 regulate infant's footwear (0-36 months, footwear 170 mm, but 250 mm): DEHP, DBP, BBP: 0.1% by weight

Other changes from Release 15 to Release 16:

  • Updated the REACH SVHC Candidate List in Appendix I - Reporting

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For enquiries, please contact:

Louann Spirito
Director Technical Support, Softlines

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