New Vietnamese regulations on the requirements of formaldehyde and azo dyes in textile products have been released by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) on October 23, 2017. The new regulations were announced in Circular No. 21/2017/TT-BCT and will come into effect on May 1, 2018.
Earlier this year, the MOIT published a draft regulation on formaldehyde and azo dye limits [1]. The new regulations are currently promulgated in Circular No. 21/2017/TT-BCT [2], “the national technical regulation on the content of formaldehyde and certain aromatic amines derived from azo colourants in textile products”, and it contain specific requirements on the permitted limits for formaldehyde and azo dyes contents in textile products that are manufactured, imported, distributed and sold in the Vietnam market.
Limits on content of formaldehyde in textile products shall not exceed as prescribed below:
- Textile products for children under 3 years old: 30 mg/kg
- Textile products in direct skin contact: 75 mg/kg
- Textile products without direct skin contact: 300 mg/kg
Limits on content of aromatic amines derived from azo colorants:
- Content of each aromatic amine shall not exceed 30 mg/kg for all textile products
The regulations also allow exemptions for certain textile products. These include unbleached or undyed fabrics and textile products, textile products in transit or stored in warehouses for assembling, textile products temporarily imported for re-export, foreign tourist belongings temporarily entering Vietnam and commercial samples with no market value or samples for scientific study.
All textile products that are manufactured, imported, distributed and marketed in Vietnam are required to declare conformity with a CR mark at the point of sale and provide a conformity certificate either by (a) self-declaration or (b) by the appointed certifying organization.
(a) Self-declaration of conformity based on results of self-assessment made by the applicant. The testing for declaration of conformity shall be carried out by a testing organization certified by MOIT.
(b) Declaration of conformity based on results of certification or assessment made by the appointed certifying organization. The testing for declaration of conformity shall be carried out by a testing organization certified by MOIT.
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