SGS, the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company, has published a SafeGuardS to help stakeholders understand the new test method to help the textile industry reduce textile shedding during laundering from International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

SafeGuardS 031.23 contains details of the background to the development of ISO 4484-1, about why microplastics are now a major concern to governments, consumers and the scientific community. It also contains details of the scope and provisions in the test method.

SGS began participating in the Cross Industry Agreement (CIA) in 2018, as a research organization helping to develop a harmonized test method for fiber fragmentation. This has now been handed to CEN.

SGS is also able to test to ISO 4484-1and AATCC TM212-2021 and is approved by The Microfiber Consortium (TMC) to provide small-scale TMC test services for the industry. Additionally, SGS can offer fiber fragmentation testing to in-house full-scale methods.

Stakeholders are advised to review original SafeGuardS 031.23 for more information, including links to other useful documents.

SGS Softlines Services

SGS has a worldwide network of over 40 state-of-the-art laboratories, including 10 in China, specializing in testing of apparel, footwear, and home textiles. Their committed team is drawn from multi-disciplinary backgrounds, allowing them to conduct a comprehensive range of physical, chemical, and functional testing services for components, materials and finished products. SGS helps companies ensure quality, performance, and compliance with international, industrial, and regulatory standards worldwide. In the end, it’s only trusted because it’s tested. Learn more about SGS’s Softlines Services.

SGS SafeGuardS keep you up to date with the latest news and developments in the consumer goods industry. Read the full ISO Launches New Test Method to Determine Material Loss from Fabrics During Washing SafeGuardS.

Subscribe here to receive SGS SafeGuardS direct to your inbox.

For further information contact:

Louann Spirito

Consumer and Retail – Softlines

US & Canada Softlines Business Head

Tel: +1 973 461 7919

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Website: www.sgs.com/softlines

LinkedIn: sgs-consumer-goods-&-retail

About SGS

We are SGS – the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company. We are recognized as the global benchmark for sustainability, quality and integrity. Our 97,000 employees operate a network of 2,650 offices and laboratories, working together to enable a better, safer and more interconnected world.

SGS, the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company, has published a SafeGuardS covering recent amendments to the standards that demonstrate presumption of conformity with France’s Decree 91-1292 on childcare article.

The updated list was published in the French Official Journal on February 2, 2023. The text states that articles conforming to the previous standards can still be produced and imported until December 1, 2023. It will also be possible to continue selling already constituted stocks of childcare products that comply with the previous standards, until they are exhausted.

The updated list includes the latest versions of the following standards:

• NF EN 1888 + A1: 2022 – Childcare articles – Wheeled child conveyances – Part 1: Pushchairs and prams
• NF EN 716-1 + AC: 2019 – Furniture – Children’s cots and folding cots for domestic use – Part 1: Safety requirements

Stakeholders should also be aware that latest versions of European standards, when published in the Official Journal of the European Union, also demonstrate presumption of conformity with the French regulation

SGS has published original SafeGuardS 021.23 to give stakeholders a better understanding of the impact of the new list of standards. This includes details of SGS solutions that are available to childcare product businesses wishing to operate in France.

SGS Childcare Product Services

SGS offers a wide range of services to ensure that products comply with relevant standards for childcare articles and children’s equipment. They provide consulting, training, product development, testing, audit and inspection services to ensure that products comply with strict regulations worldwide, demonstrating the safety and quality of juvenile products being brought to the market. After all, it’s only trusted because it’s tested. Learn more about SGS’s Childcare Product Services.

SGS SafeGuardS keep you up to date with the latest news and developments in the consumer goods industry. Read the full France Updates Standards for Presumption of Conformity with Decree 91-1292 on Childcare Articles SafeGuardS.

Subscribe here to receive SGS SafeGuardS direct to your inbox.

For further information contact:

Catherine Follin-Arbelet

Juvenile Products Global Experts

Tel: (+852) 2774 7420 

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Website: www.sgs.com/hardlines

LinkedIn: sgs-consumer-goods-&-retail

About SGS

We are SGS – the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company. We are recognized as the global benchmark for sustainability, quality and integrity. Our 97,000 employees operate a network of 2,650 offices and laboratories, working together to enable a better, safer and more interconnected world.

SGS, the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company, is delighted to announce the enhancement of their product conformity assessment (PCA) services for textile businesses exporting to Saudi Arabian markets.

Exporters to Saudi Arabia are regulated under the requirements of the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO) and must obtain certification under the SABER scheme. Expert interpretation is needed to ensure the challenges of product variety, and the geographical spread of production, supply chains and potentially hazardous raw materials, are interpreted and understood effectively. Without this knowledge, repeat testing, delays and additional costs can be incurred.

In direct response to these challenges, SGS have developed their trade facilitation solutions for SABER certification. Testing parameters for textile, leather, footwear and accessory products under the regulations include pH value, color stability, and toxicity. Consolidation of existing services now allows for faster testing times and trusted verification. Information from the client’s master list of products (including materials/styles and sources) is analyzed by SGS to assemble an optimized list of items that can then be tested against the SASO regulations.

SGS expertise is available at all stages of SABER certification, and this strategic selection of products allows for a faster, and more assured conclusion to the process. Close collaboration with the client is key to this, and the benefits of this optimization include better risk management of the certification process, quicker testing times and resource savings.

For more details about SGS’s consolidated PCA services for Saudi Arabia, please contact:

Gerardo Panopio

Global Product Conformity Assessment Technical Manager

SGS

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About SGS

We are SGS – the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company. We are recognized as the global benchmark for sustainability, quality and integrity. Our 97,000 employees operate a network of 2,650 offices and laboratories, working together to enable a better, safer and more interconnected world.

SGS, the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company, is pleased to announce it has, for the fourth consecutive year, been awarded the contract to provide pre-verification of conformity (PVoC) services for Uganda.

Granted by the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), the new contract starts on March 1, 2023. There is no change to the chargeable fees, which remain consistent with the previous contract and shall apply to all countries of export (net of taxes).

Being awarded the contract for a fourth time is a testament to SGS’s expertise in providing trusted product conformity assessment (PCA) services that facilitate trade while protecting the environment and safeguarding consumers from harmful, substandard products.

The Ugandan PVoC program mandates that products with compulsory standards specification, as guided by the UNBS Act 1983, must be verified as complying with relevant technical regulations, standards and/or approved equivalents. Approved products are issued with a Certificate of Conformity (CoC), which helps facilitate clearance of the certified consignment and allows access to Ugandan markets.

SGS has considerable experience in supporting the trade fraternity – exporters, importers and their appointed clearing and forwarding agents – with guidance and solutions that aid compliance with appliable Ugandan requirements.

Learn more about Uganda – Pre-Export Verification of Conformity. [www.sgs.com/en/services/uganda-product-conformity-assessment-pca]

For more information, please contact:

Hellen Aching
Regional Manager
Trade Facilitation Services, SGS

e: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

About SGS

We are SGS – the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company. We are recognized as the global benchmark for sustainability, quality and integrity. Our 97,000 employees operate a network of 2,650 offices and laboratories, working together to enable a better, safer and more interconnected world.