Garment Regulations in the European Union

August 07, 2023
Table of Contents

Planning to import and sell clothing or other textile products in the European Union? In this article, you will learn how to comply with EU clothing regulations, including REACH and labeling.

You will also learn how and when to book lab testing, how to create textiles label files and much more.

REACH

Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) restrict chemicals, heavy metals, and pollutants in all consumer products sold in the European Union - including clothing and other textiles.

REACH sets limits for hundreds of substances, referred to as ‘Substances of very high concern’ (SVHC). For example, products containing restricted substances, such as lead and cadmium, above the limits cannot be sold in the EU.

Examples of restricted substances

Here are a few examples of substances covered by REACH, that may also be found in textiles:

  • Azo dyes
  • Lead
  • Cadmium
  • Mercury
  • Formaldehyde

Further, you don’t need to keep track of the substances that should be included in a REACH SVHC lab test, or the maximum limits for that matter. The testing company makes that assessment for you.

All they need to know is the textile fiber (e.g. polyester or nylon). Based on this information, the third-party testing company can then assess the following:

  • Relevant substances
  • Substance limits
  • Number of tests

This makes REACH convenient for everyone involved in the supply chain, from the raw material supplier down to the export factory and importer. All you need to refer to is REACH.

That’s not nearly as complex as if you’d be forced to keep track of hundreds of substances (with more being added each year) and their respective limits.

REACH testing

The only way to verify if your textiles products are compliant is through third-party lab testing. Companies such as Bureau Veritas can test your fabric samples to confirm if the product is REACH compliant.

Costs

Unlike for quality inspections, there is no ‘standard price’ for REACH compliance testing. The cost depends on the number of materials, type of materials, colors and other variations. The cost may also increase if additional chemicals, heavy metals or other substances are added to the list of SVHCs.

That said, REACH testing can cost anything from a few hundred US dollars and up.

When should I get my samples tested?

I recommend that you book lab testing before the products are shipped. A few years ago we had a situation when a customer was in a rush and decided to not wait for the REACH test report to come in.

When the test report came in, which was just one day after the vessel departed from the Port of Shanghai, it turned out that the REACH test failed.

As such, they had a container full of products that they could not sell in the EU.

I recommend that you instruct your quality inspection company to collect material samples directly from the factory, during the quality check. That way you can be sure that the material samples submitted to the testing company are collected from your production run.

Otherwise, you cannot be truly sure that the tested samples originate from the same production run.

Can I get a test report from my supplier?

It’s rare that factories can provide REACH test reports. This is normally only the case when you use ‘brand’ materials. However, the average contract manufacturer simply doesn’t have test REACH reports.

EU Textiles Labeling

In addition to REACH, you must also ensure that your clothing is correctly labeled. This is not a difficult procedure, as long as you know what to include in your textiles label:

a. Clothing and other textiles products containing a minimum 80% by weight of textile fibers must be labeled with the correct fiber composition (e.g. 100% Cotton or 100% Polyester).

b. The label must be permanent. It must either be a sewed fabric patch (which is the most common) or printed directly on the fabric. Stickers are not sufficient.

Notice that size, country of origin or care symbols are not covered. That said, the information cannot be misleading. For example, you cannot claim that the product is made in Country A when it’s actually made in Country B.

How do I create the label?

I recommend that you create a ‘ready-made’ label file to your supplier. As such, you should design the label in Photoshop, Illustrator or other software to ensure that you create a label file in a way you want it represented on the final product.

In other words, the label file you see on the computer screen should look exactly like the label you want on the final product.

You must take this into consideration when designing the label file:

  • Fiber composition information
  • Dimensions
  • Font
  • Text size/li>
  • Color

Most factories prefer to use .ai (Adobe Illustrator) or .eps files, but you can also send them a .jpg file.

When do I need to create the textile label?

You must create the textile label before you place your order. It’s expensive to relabel the products later on, so make sure you send the correct label files to your supplier before they enter production.

Further, you should also instruct your quality inspection partner to check the labels during the quality check. That’s the only way to be sure that the supplier actually got it right.

Can I ask my supplier to create the label?

You should not ask your supplier to create the label file for you. Doing so means that you lose control over the process, and it may turn out that the supplier fails to provide a label that includes information about the fiber composition - meaning that the product must be relabeled.

Keep in mind that manufacturers are not EU textiles compliance experts. They expect you, as a buyer, to know which labeling rules apply in your target market.

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