European Council Reaches Agreement on Revising EU Textile Labeling Rules
The European Council has reached agreement on a draft regulation aimed at revising the European Union system for the standard description of fibers and the labeling of textile products.
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(In general, it is the European Commission that proposes new legislation and the Council and Parliament that pass the laws. The procedure that is most commonly used now is “co-decision” in which Parliament and the Council share power equally. Most laws passed in co-decision are, in fact, adopted either at the first or second reading as a result of good cooperation between the institutions. In this case, the agreement reached enables the Council to establish its position at first reading, which will be forwarded to the European Parliament for a second reading, where adoption is likely.)
Would Revise Rules on Fiber Names, Fiber Composition, Textile Marking
Under the terms of the agreement, the future regulation would revise current rules on the use of textile fiber names, labeling, marking and determination of the fiber composition of textile products, with a view to improving the functioning of the internal market and to providing accurate information to consumers.
The regulation would also contain provisions on the following (partial list):
Importer/mfr responsibility for label accuracy - explicitly state the responsibility of manufacturers and importers for ensuring compliant and accurate labeling or marking of textile products placed on the market.
Further harmonize fiber names - further harmonize the names of textile fibers and the indications appearing on labels, markings and documents which accompany textile products at the various stages of their production, processing and distribution.
Faster adoption of new fiber names - reduce the administrative burden for national authorities, by allowing a faster adoption of new fiber names to be applied at the same time throughout the EU.
Allow markings for small fiber quantities - not prevent economic operators from indicating, in addition to compulsory rules on composition labeling and marking, the presence of small quantities of fibers requiring particular attention to keep the original quality of the textile product.
EU standards for sampling, analysis - lay down methods for the sampling and analysis of textile products that can be turned into European standards.
Consolidate directives - reinforce legal clarity, by replacing the three existing relevant directives (73/44/EEC, 96/73/EC and 2008/121/EC) by a single legal instrument.