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Reminder – South Korea – Revision of Safety Standards for Infant and Children’s Textile Products

SafeGuardSOctober 23, 2017

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) in South Korea has published two Notices of Revision, No. 2017-16 and 2017-17, in January 2017 regarding their safety standards for infant’s textile products subject to Safety Confirmation Act and children’s textile products subject to Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity Act respectively. The new amendments will be effective from February 1, 2018.

In general, all textile products for infants are regulated under the Special Act on Safety Management of Children’s Products – Enactment of Common Safety Standards of Children’s Products and Safety Confirmation Act Annex 1 – Textile Product for Infants. Products must be tested and certified by local authorized Korean testing and inspection institutions and the approved Korea Certification Mark (KC Mark) must be attached on the products before distribution to the Korean market. In accordance with  Notice 2017-16 [1], the major amendments on infant’s textile products include changes to the requirements on restricted substances:

  • Addition of NP and NPEO with total concentration less than 100 mg/kg in infant’s textile products

  • Addition of total cadmium with concentration less than 75 mg/kg in infant’s textile products

  • Change the requirement of Disperse Dyes from “Prohibited” to “50 mg/kg (each)” in infant’s textile products

Table 1 – Updated Consolidated Requirements for Infant Textile Products

ITEMS
REQUIREMENTS - Infant (< 36 months)
Formaldehyde
20 mg/kg
Organotin CompoundsDibutyltin (DBT)
1.0 mg/kg
Tributyltin (TBT)
0.5 mg/kg
Azo Dyes (24 items)
30 mg/kg (each)
Phthalates (DEHP, BBP, DBP, DINP, DNOP, DIDP)
0.1% (total)
Flame Retardants (TDBPP, PentaBDE, OctaBDE)
Prohibited
Dimethylfumarate (DMFu)
0.1 mg/kg
Total Lead
Coating / Painting / Plastic: 90 mg/kg
Metal: 300 mg/kg
Total Cadmium
75 mg/kg
Nickel Release (all metal parts)
0.5 µg/cm2/week
Allergenic Disperse Dyes (22 items)
50 mg/kg (each)
pH Value
4.0 – 7.5

Soluble Heavy Metals

  • For all polymer / paper substrates, and any painting / coating
Sb: 60 mg/kg, As: 25 mg/kg, Ba: 1,000 mg/kg,
Cd: 75 mg/kg, Cr: 60 mg/kg, Pb: 90 mg/kg,
Hg: 60 mg/kg, Se: 500 mg/kg
NP / NPEO
100 mg/kg (total)
Cords and Drawstrings
Compliance
Small Parts
No small part (as received and after abuse test)
Harmful Magnet
FAIL if >50 kG2mm2 and incompliance in small part test
Sharp Point / Sharp Edge
No sharp point / No sharp edge (For children products < 96 months only) (as received only)

Infant and children’s leather products and children’s textile products are regulated under the Special Act on Safety Managements of Children’s Products – Enactment of Common Safety Standards of Children’s Products and Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity Act Annex 1 – Leather Products and Annex 15 – Textile Products. The manufacturer or importer shall confirm conformance by self-test or test conducted by a third-party service provider (ISO 17025 accredited labs) for existence of any hazardous substances. The inspection agency shall verify the standard compliance according to the Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity Act. In accordance with Notice 2017-17 [2], the major amendments on infant and children’s leather products and children’s textile products include changes to the requirements of restricted substances

  • Addition of NP and NPEO with total concentration less than 100 mg/kg in children’s textile products

  • Addition of total cadmium with concentration less than 75 mg/kg in children’s textile products

  • Change the requirement of Disperse Dyes from “Prohibited” to “50 mg/kg (each)” in children’s textile products

  • Change the requirement of Cr VI from “0.5 mg/kg” to “3 mg/kg” in infant’s leather products

Table 2 – Updated Consolidated Requirements for Infant and Children’s Leather Products

ITEMSREQUIREMENTS
Infants (< 36 months)
Children (≥ 36 months to ≤ 13 yrs)
Formaldehyde
20 mg/kg
75 mg/kg
Chlorinated Phenols (PCP)
0.5 mg/kg
5.0 mg/kg
Chromium (VI)
3.0 mg/kg
Azo Dyes (24 items)
30 mg/kg (each)
Dimethylfumarate (DMFu)
0.1 mg/kg
Phthalates* (DEHP, BBP, DBP, DINP, DNOP, DIDP)
1000 mg/kg (sum)
** 1000 mg/kg (sum)
Organotin
Compounds
Dibutyltin (DBT)
1.0 mg/kg
--
Tributyltin (TBT)
0.5 mg/kg
1.0 mg/kg
Total Lead
Coating / Painting: 90 mg/kg
Metal / Plastic: 300 mg/kg
Total Cadmium
75 mg/kg
Nickel Release (all metal parts)
0.5 µg/cm2/week
Soluble Heavy Metals
-Infant: For all polymer / paper substrates, and any painting / coating
-Children: Products intended to be placed in mouth
Sb: 60 mg/kg, As: 25 mg/kg, Ba: 1,000 mg/kg,
Cd: 75 mg/kg, Cr: 60 mg/kg, Pb: 90 mg/kg,
Hg: 60 mg/kg, Se: 500 mg/kg
Harmful Magnet
FAIL if >50 kG2mm2 and incompliance in small part test
Small Parts*
No small part (for infant products < 36 months) (for products targeted for children between 36 and 72 months, a warning label should be displayed when small part test fails) (as received and after abuse tests)
Cords and Drawstrings
Compliance
Sharp Point / Sharp Edge*
No sharp point / No sharp edge (for children products < 96 months only) (as received only)

Note: *  Labeling Requirement for Children Products

         ** DEHP+BBP+DBP: 1000 mg/kg for children products not intended to be placed in mouth

             DEHP+BBP+DBP+DIDP+DNOP+DINP: 1000 mg/kg for children products intended to be placed in mouth

Table 3 – Updated Consolidated Requirements for Children’s Textile Products

ITEMS
REQUIREMENTS - Children (≥ 36 months to ≤ 13 yrs)
Formaldehyde
75 mg/kg
pH Value
4.0 – 7.5
Azo Dyes (24 items)
30 mg/kg (each)
OrganotinTributyltin (TBT)
1.0 mg/kg
Dimethylfumarate (DMFu)
0.1 mg/kg
Phthalates* (DEHP, DBP, BBP, DINP, DIDP, DNOP)
** 1000 mg/kg (sum)
Total Lead
Coating / Painting / Plastic: 90 mg/kg
Metal: 300 mg/kg
Total Cadmium
75 mg/kg
Nickel Release (all metal parts)
0.5 µg/cm2/week
Flame Retardants (TDBPP, PentaBDE, OctaBDE)
Prohibited
Allergenic Disperse Dyes (22 items)
50 mg/kg (each)

Soluble Heavy Metals

  • Products intended to be placed in mouth only
Sb: 60 mg/kg, As: 25 mg/kg, Ba: 1,000 mg/kg,
Cd: 75 mg/kg, Cr: 60 mg/kg, Pb: 90 mg/kg,
Hg: 60 mg/kg, Se: 500 mg/kg
NP / NPEO
100 mg/kg (total)
Cords and Drawstrings
Compliance
Harmful Magnet
FAIL if >50 kG2mm2 and incompliance in small part test
Small Parts*
No small part (for infant products < 36 months)
(for products targeted for children between 36 and 72 months, a warning label should be displayed when small part test fails) (as received and after abuse test)
Sharp Point / Sharp Edge
No sharp point / No sharp edge (for children products < 96 months only) (as received only)

Note: *  Labeling Requirement for Children Products

         ** DEHP+BBP+DBP: 1000 mg/kg for children products not intended to be placed in mouth

             DEHP+BBP+DBP+DIDP+DNOP+DINP: 1000 mg/kg for children products intended to be placed in mouth

Other amendments:

  • “Safe Quality Mark Act” has been renamed as “Supplier’s Suitability Confirmation Standard” subject to Quality Management and Safety Control of Industrial Product Act for textile and leather products designated for ages over 13 years old, Annex 1 – Household Textile Products and Annex 3 – Leather Products.

Reference:

SGS SafeGuardS No. 209/15 [3]

SGS SafeGuardS No. 210/15 [4]

SGS Global Softlines has an extensive network of over 40 laboratories worldwide, with a strong team of committed professionals from multi-disciplinary backgrounds. Our internationally accredited state-of-the-art testing laboratories offer a comprehensive range of physical, chemical and functional testing services for components, materials and finished products. We help your company ensure quality, performance and compliance with international, industrial and regulatory standards worldwide. Discover more at www.sgs.com/softlines.

For enquiries, please contact:

Louann Spirito
Director Technical Support, Softlines
t: +1 973 461 7919

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