Newsletter Buying & Production 1, 22

Legislation

• Upcoming update EU product safety legislation (GPSR)

Trade

• New GB customs rule will affect you from 1 January 2022 
• ​Euratex on new data: “Brexit is a loss-loss situation for the textile industry”

Sourcing

• Corona hits China hard: factories close, ships are stuck 
• The ten apparel sourcing countries to watch in 2022 
• Netherlands to help boost morocco’s textiles sector 

REACH

• Majority of inspected products sold online breach EU chemicals laws

Legislation
Upcoming update EU product safety legislation (GPSR)
MODINT this week participated in a consultation with the Dutch government and several market parties (Bol.com, Amazon, Marktplaats and the toy industry) about the new proposals from the European Commission to update the current General product safety legislation. Products intended for sale and use in the European Union or European Economic Area must comply with legal requirements for safety, health and the environment. As a manufacturer, brand owner or importer, you are responsible for ensuring that the products comply with all applicable European product requirements. Entry into force will take place in mid-2024 according to current expectations. The current General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) dates from 2001. In the meantime, the market has been organized substantially differently due to, among other things, e-commerce developments. 

MODINT is pleased that this new legislation is now coming, because it also addresses the “level playing field” of all entrepreneurs and imports that are sold on the EU market. The design clearly states that online sales must also all comply with the EU guidelines for product safety, Reach, etc. MODINT emphasizes clear coordination with other relevant legislation in this legislation, such as the digital services act, the AVG and Reach legislation. sight is lost. The drawstring standard is currently covered by the GPSD. There are plans to make Safety Gate (formerly RAPEX notifications) more accessible to consumers. The directive will become a regulation. This means that there will be fewer legal differences and/or different interpretations between Member States. We argue for the position of SMEs, especially when it comes to the feasibility and administrative burden of, for example, the traceability of products. 

Please find below relevant passages under Article 8 as obligations for entrepreneurs 

• Manufacturers shall keep its technical documentation for a period of 10 years from the date of placing on the market and make it available to market surveillance authorities upon request. 
• Manufacturers shall ensure that their products bear a type, batch or serial number or other means of identification that is easily visible and legible to the consumer or, where the size or nature of the product does not allow this, that the required information is stated on the packaging or in a document accompanying the product.
• Manufacturers shall indicate their name, registered trade name or registered trade mark and the electronic and postal address at which they can be reached on the product or, if this is not possible, on the packaging or in a document accompanying the product. The address should indicate a single point where the manufacturer can be contacted.
• Manufacturers ensure that their product is accompanied by instructions and safety information in a language that consumers can easily understand, as determined by the Member State where the product is made available on the market. This requirement does not apply where the product can be safely used as intended by the manufacturer without such instructions and safety information. 

MODINT will keep you informed of further developments and the introduction of this new legislation. For more information, please contact Antonio F. Barberi Ettaro or Miriam Geelhoed.

Trade
New GB customs rule will affect you from 1 January 2022 
From 1 January 2022, full customs controls will apply to all goods moving between the EU and Great Britain. If you move goods between the EU and Great Britain, you must register for the Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) now. The GVMS system has been designed to enable fast and efficient movement of goods and will be used by many UK ports. From 1 January, if you are not registered and attempt to move goods through a GVMS port, you will not be able to board the ferry or shuttle, cross the EU/UK border or clear your goods through customs. More information on GVMS can be asked at MODINT, Antonio Barberi Ettaro.

Euratex on new data: “Brexit is a loss-loss situation for the textile industry”
Since the introduction of 'Brexit', significant losses have been seen in the textile industry, both in the EU and in the United Kingdom. The most recent trade data (from January to September 2021) shows that imports have fallen by 44 percent and exports by 22 percent, European trade organization Euratex reported in a press release. Imports and exports are expected to fall even further, now that the full package of Brexit measures has come into effect on January 1, 2022, FashionUnited reports. Read more (in Dutch)>>

Sourcing
Corona hits China hard: factories close, ships are stuck
The corona virus has also disrupted shipping in Chinese ports. On the photo: container ships in Shanghai. Now that Omikron is forcing more and more Chinese cities to take strict corona measures, the production process is again being severely disrupted. The outbreaks in many cities threaten to slow down the Chinese economy further, Belgian newspaper De Standaard reports. Read more (in Dutch) >>

The ten apparel sourcing countries to watch in 2022
Just Style has evaluated the scores within GlobalData's Apparel Intelligence Center to reveal the top ten apparel sourcing countries to watch in 2022.There’s a real mix of likely and unlikely suspects in Just Style‘s top ten list of apparel sourcing countries to watch in 2022, including two intercontinental countries and two based in Central America.It’s also worth noting that a number of key apparel sourcing countries did not make it into the top ten list for 2022 at all. Sri Lanka, for example, just missed out as it comes eleventh, Bangladesh takes the twelfth spot, and India is further down the list in sixteenth position, followed by Pakistan, which sits in eighteenth place. Read more>>

Netherlands to help boost Morocco’s textiles sector 
The Netherlands will help Morocco in supporting 35 textile businesses and helping them expand operations in Central and Northern Europe through increased imports over a period of five years as per a new deal between the Moroccan Association for Textile Manufacturing (AMITH) and Netherlands’ Agency for Promoting Imports from Developing Countries (CBI) to support 35 textile businesses and help them expand operations, reports FashionatingWorld. Read more>>

REACH
Majority of inspected products sold online breach EU chemicals laws
In the latest project of ECHA’s Enforcement Forum, enforcement authorities found that most inspected products sold online were non-compliant with at least one requirement under relevant EU chemicals legislation being checked. The inspections resulted in more than 5 000 enforcement actions.
Helsinki, 8 December 2021 – Inspections of nearly 6 000 products covered REACH, the Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) and the Biocidal Products (BPR) regulations.

For REACH, inspections focused on restricted chemicals and found that 78 % of checked products were non-compliant. The products included both professional and consumer products and articles including, for example, textiles, leather, childcare articles, toys and jewellery.
Around 2 600 products were checked against requirements for restricted substances. More than 1 800 were carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic substances (CMRs), such as lead in solders for welding needs and boric acid. Products containing restricted CMRs should only be available for professional users. However, 99 % of the inspected products that contained CMRs were available for consumers to buy online. Other non-compliances were found for phthalates in toys and cadmium in jewellery.

Under CLP, non-compliances were related to a lack of information on the hazards of the chemical product in the online advertisement. In 75 % of inspections, the information was missing and for those where it was available, it was often not clearly visible.
In relation to biocides, 77 % of inspected biocidal products were found to be non-compliant with at least one requirement under the BPR. The highest rate of non-compliance was for repellents and attractants (79 %). Most identified non-compliances were for products sold to the public. 17 % of inspected products breached the BPR because they had misleading statements in the advertisements such as “low-risk biocidal product”, “non-toxic”, “harmless”, “natural”, “environmentally friendly” or “animal friendly”.

Following the inspections, national enforcement authorities initiated more than 5 000 enforcement measures. In most cases, written advice was issued, asking companies to remove the product offer from their websites or bring their advertisements into compliance.
The rate of non-compliance was higher for marketplaces than for web shops. ECHA urges all actors to proactively improve consumer protection for online sales.
For any questions regadring compliancy and more particular on REACH please contact Antonio Barberi Ettaro.