A Cut Ahead: Trending Textiles & Labeling Regulations In September 2024

This blog was originally posted on 24th September, 2024. Further regulatory developments may have occurred after publication. To keep up-to-date with the latest compliance news, sign up to our newsletter.

The textiles regulatory environment is ever-changing, especially considering chemical, labeling, and extended producer responsibility (EPR) issues that the industry faces today. With a 26% growth in textile regulations since 2020, its more important than ever to stay ahead of changing regulatory requirements.

To help you stay a cut ahead of textiles regulations, we gather some of the most interesting recent inquiries from Compliance & Risks customers around trending textile labeling regulations across the world.

Q1) What are the products in scope of the textiles regulations in Canada?

Under the Canadian Textiles Labeling Act, the following products must be labelled before they can be sold in Canada:

• Any textile fiber, yarn or fabric
• Any product made in whole or in part from a textile fiber, yarn or fabric. 

The Act provides the following definitions for the above:

A fabric is any material that is woven, knitted, crocheted, knotted, braided, felted, bonded, laminated or otherwise produced from, or in combination with, a textile fiber.

A textile fiber is any natural or manufactured matter that is capable of being made into a yarn or fabric. This includes kapok (fiber from the kapok tree), feathers and down, and animal hair or fur that has been removed from an animal skin.

A textile fiber product is any consumer textile item or any textile fiber, yarn or fabric used in such an item. Consumer textile items do not include textile fiber products that are used in the manufacturing, processing or finishing of any product for sale.

The Textiles Flammability Regulations furthermore apply to bedding and textiles products. Textile products are defined as ‘products that are composed of textile fibers, other than bedding.’ 

Q2) Is the Lacey Act applicable to footwear?

Footwear is included in Phase VII of the enforcement schedule of the Lacey Act which is scheduled to begin on 1 December 2024.

The types of footwear included are as follows:

Ch. 64 Headings (Footwear)

• 64029923-footwear with a base or platform of wood with outer soles and uppers or rubber or plastics; and uppers of which over 90 percent of the external surface is rubber or plastics
• 64029925-footwear with a base or platform of cork with outer soles and uppers of rubber or plastics; and uppers of which over 90 percent of the external surface is rubber or plastics
• 64035111-footwear covering the ankle, with outer soles of leather, made on a base or platform of wood, not having an inner sole or a protective metal toe-cap
• 64035910-other footwear, with outer soles of leather made on a base or platform of wood, not having an inner sole or a protective metal toe-cap
• 64039111-other footwear covering the ankle made on a base or platform of wood, not having an inner sole or a protective metal toe-cap
• 64039910-other shoes made on a base or platform of wood, not having an inner sole or a protective metal toe-cap
• 64039920-other footwear made on a base or platform of wood

This new phase was under consultation until 30 July 2024. Its enforcement will not begin until at least 6 months’ notice to persons and industries affected, i.e. until 1 December 2024.

Q3) What is the main information to be included in the Digital Product Passport for textiles products under the ESPR?

The requirements for the DPP are set out in Chapter III and Annex III of the ESPR. In accordance with Article 4, the EU Commission will adopt delegated acts to establish the relevant eco-design information to be contained in the DPP for each product category.

Currently the Commission hasn’t issued any delegated acts. The latest update on the DPP for textiles is the Study published in June by the European Parliamentary Research Service. This Research has identified 16 categories of information which could be contained in the DPP (page 16 onwards): product description, composition, supply chain, transport, documentation, environmental impact, social impact, impact on animals, circularity, health impact, information on the brand, communication/identification media, granularity, quantity, costs, after-sale tracking and tracing, customer feedback.

The Study also suggests a three-phase deployment scenario with a phase 1 requiring a minimal and simplified DPP for textile at short-term horizon 2027. There is also a simplified DDP model shown in Figure 13 for the initial phase.

However, these are only non-binding indications and we have to wait for the publication of the draft delegated act for textiles to identify more precise obligations (there is no precise timeline but the textiles delegated act should be one of the first to be issued, probably not earlier than next year). 

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