SGS, the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company, has published a SafeGuardS to help stakeholders stay up to date with the latest news relating to consumer products and California Proposition 65 (Prop 65).

Prop 65, or the ‘Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986’, is a unique piece of legislation that requires the state to maintain a list of chemicals, the Prop 65 List, known to cause cancer, birth defects and/or reproductive harm. There are now over 900 chemicals on the list.

Unless exempted, businesses operating in California must provide ‘a clear and reasonable warning’ (Prop 65 Warning) before knowingly and intentionally exposing anyone to a substance on the Prop 65 List. Once a chemical is listed, companies have twelve months to comply with this requirement.

SGS has published SafeGuardS 087.23 to provide stakeholders with details of multiple settlements for a wide variety of consumer goods. These settlements cover products containing:
- Chromium V
- Lead
- N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA)
- Proscribed phthalates

Products covered by the settlement agreements include everything from leather wallets, brass hose nozzles and planters to latex swimming caps, oils and umbrellas.

Stakeholders are advised to review SGS’s original SafeGuardS 087.23 to learn more about the products involved and the settlement agreements that have been reached.

Settlement agreements are only legally binding on named parties, but they do provide an indication of how manufacturers and suppliers should progress when operating in California.

SGS Prop 65 Services
With a global network of laboratories, SGS can offer comprehensive testing, product assessment and consultancy services related to California Proposition 65. SGS can assist your risk management strategy in consumer goods, such as DIYs, electrical and electronics, hardgoods products, juvenile products, and textile & toy products. In the end, it’s only trusted because it’s tested. Learn more about SGS’s Prop 65 Services.

SGS SafeGuardS keep you up to date with the latest news and developments in the consumer goods industry. Read the full California Proposition 65 Reformulation of Chemicals in Consumer Products SafeGuardS.

Subscribe here to receive SGS SafeGuardS direct to your inbox.

For further information contact:

Dr. HingWo Tsang
Global Information and Innovation Manager
Tel: (+852) 2774 7420

Ms. Melanie Schubert
Senior Technical Manager
Tel: +1 312 414 9394

Email: cp.media@sgs.com
Website: www.sgs.com/cp
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 quality and integrity. Our 96,000 employees operate a network of 2,700 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 been accredited by the International Organic Accreditation Service (IOAS) to extend its Textile Exchange product certification services to India.

The scope of the certification scheme, which SGS has delivered across Spain since 2021, includes Content Claim Standard (CCS) and Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) for textile, leather, plastic, paper and metal product categories.

The scope also includes the Organic Content Standard (OCS); Responsible Down Standard (RDS) andRAF (covering Responsible Wool Standard (RWS), Responsible Mohair Standard (RMS) and Responsible Alpaca Standard (RAS)).

SGS will provide the full spectrum of Textile Exchange certification services to manufacturers, traders, recyclers and brands through its teams strategically located in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Gurgaon, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Mumbai and Tirupur. 

Shailesh Sharma, Director, Connectivity & Products, Softlines at SGS said: “We are delighted to have gained IOAS approval to expand our global textile and footwear certification services to give us maximum local presence across India. We are now even better placed to provide organizations across the region with the tools and expertise to achieve their sustainable sourcing goals and demonstrate the accurate recycled and organic content of their products."

Textile Exchange is a global non-profit organization that works closely with all sectors of the textile supply chain. It identifies and shares best practices regarding farming, materials, processing, traceability, and product end-of-life to create positive impacts on water, soil, air, animals and the human population created around the world by the textile industry.

IOAS is a non-profit organization dedicated to the integrity of ecolabel claims in the field of organic and sustainable agriculture, environmental management, social justice and fair trade. IOAS works internationally to assess the competence of organizations providing certification to ‘sustainability’ standards.

To find out more about SGS services for textiles and clothing, footwear, bags and accessories, jewelry, and linens and towels, visit www.sgs.com/softlines

For further information, please contact:

SGS Softlines
Email: cp.media@sgs.com

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 98,000 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 a proposal by the European Union (EU) to regulate undecafluorohexanoic acid (aka perfluorohexanoic acid, PFHxA), its salts and PFHxA-related substances under Annex XVII of REACH.

When/if adopted, the restriction will affect a wide variety of consumer goods, including:

- Food contact paper and cardboard
- Footwear
- Mixtures
- Textiles, leather, furs and hides in clothing and related accessories
- Textiles, leather, furs and hides other than in clothing and related accessories for the general public
- Cosmetics
- Fire-fighting foams for:
1. Municipal fire services
2. Training and testing (except functional testing of the fighting systems)
3. Civil aviation

SGS has published SafeGuardS 086.23 to help stakeholders understand the implications of the proposals for their business (if adopted). It includes a definition for PFHxA, its salts and PFHxA-related substances and a table detailing the requirements in the draft regulation and proposed effective dates.

Stakeholders are advised to review SGS’s original SafeGuardS 086.23 to learn more.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) circulated the draft document in June 2023. It proposes an adoption date of Q4 in 2023.

SGS REACH Services
SGS keeps interested parties informed about developments and changes to the REACH regulations. In addition, they offer comprehensive solutions to help business ensure their products remain in compliance with the latest requirements governing the registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemicals in the EU. In the end, it’s only trusted because it’s tested. Learn more about SGS’s REACH Services.

SGS SafeGuardS keep you up to date with the latest news and developments in the consumer goods industry. Read the full EU Intends to Regulate PFHxA and PFHxA-related Substances Under REACH SafeGuardS.

Subscribe here to receive SGS SafeGuardS direct to your inbox.

For further information contact:

Dr. HingWo Tsang
Global Information and Innovation Manager
Tel: (+852) 2774 7420
Email: cp.media@sgs.com
Website: www.sgs.com/cgnr
LinkedIn: SGS Connectivity & Products

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 to provide stakeholders with an overview of the new European Union (EU) General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR).

Regulation (EU) 2023/988, the GPSR, was published in the Official Journal of the EU on May 23, 2023. It replaces and repeals:
– General Product Safety Directive 2001/95/EC
– Directive 87/357/EEC

It also amends:
– Regulation (EU) 1025/2012
– Directive 2020/1828

The General Product Safety Directive has been a safety net for consumers when products do not fall under the scope of other regulations. Replacing it with a regulation means clear and detailed rules for product safety are imposed across the EU without the risk of divergent transposition by Member States.

The introduction of the GPSR seeks to address some of the concerns that have been raised in relation to products currently in circulation in the EU that do not meet safety requirements.

These include:

– Challenges linked to new technology
– Challenges related to the growth of online sales
– Complex market surveillance rules – not fully efficient and often not consistent with rules relevant for harmonized areas
– Potential lack of efficacy in recalling unsafe products from consumers
– Inconsistency of application for safety rules for food-imitating products across the EU
– Need to align provisions on standardization with relevant regulation

It can be assumed these problems will only increase as globalization and digitalization evolve.

The GPSR applies to products placed or made available on the European market, whether new, used, repaired or reconditioned, insofar as there are no specific provisions with the same objective of safety under Union law.

SGS has published SafeGuardS 088.23 to provide stakeholders with an overview of the move from the General Product Safety Directive to the GPSR. It includes details of several novelties introduced by the new regulation, covering subjects such as the definition of ‘economic operator’, the challenges associated with growth in online sales and the integration of the regulation for food imitating products.

To learn more, interested parties are advised to review SGS’s original SafeGuardS 088.23 to gain a more complete idea of how the introduction of the GPSR is going to affect their business.

Published on May 23, 2023, the GPSR entered in force on June 13, 2023. There is now an 18-month transition period, with the new regulation being applied from December 13. 2024.

SGS Consumer Product Services
SGS provides news about the development of regulations affecting consumer products as a complimentary service. With an unrivalled global network of laboratories, they offer physical/mechanical testing, analytical testing and consultancy work for technical and non-technical parameters applicable to a comprehensive range of consumer products. In the end, it’s only trusted because it’s tested. Learn more about SGS’s Consumer Product Services.

SGS SafeGuardS keep you up to date with the latest news and developments in the consumer goods industry. Read the full Europe publishes new Regulation on General Products Safety SafeGuardS.

Subscribe here to receive SGS SafeGuardS direct to your inbox.

For further information contact:

Catherine Follin-Arbelet
Juvenile Products International Expert
Tel:  (+33) 0628502588
Email: cp.media@sgs.com
Website: www.sgs.com/hardlines
LinkedIn: SGS Connectivity & Products

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.