PURPOSE: to revise the EU’s systems for the standardized description of fibres and the labeling of textile products in order to ensure the good functioning of the internal market, to reduce the administrative burden on national authorities and to facilitate the more rapid adoption of new textile fibre names to be used simultaneously throughout the Union.
LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council on textile fibre names and related labelling and marking of the fibre composition of textile products and repealing Council Directive 73/44/EEC and Directives 96/73/EC and 2008/121/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council.
CONTENT: following an agreement with the European Parliament in second reading, the Council adopted a regulation revising the EU’s system for the harmonized description of fibres and the labeling of textile products.
Purpose and scope: with a view to improving their free circulation in the internal market and providing accurate information to consumers the Regulation lays down:
The Regulation does not apply to customised textile products made up by self-employed tailors or to independent firms that that carry out work from materials supplied without the property therein being transferred for consideration.
Placing on the market of textile products: textile products shall only be made available on the market provided that such products are labelled, marked or accompanied with commercial documents in compliance with this Regulation.
Textile products: only textile products exclusively composed of the same fibre may be labelled or marked as ‘100%’, ‘pure’ or ‘all’. A textile product shall be labelled or marked with the name and percentage by weight of all constituent fibres in descending order, except for derogations specified in the Regulation.
The tolerance concerning the presence of extraneous fibres, which does not need to be indicated on the labeling and marking, shall apply both to pure and mixed products.
As requested by the European Parliament, the presence of non-textile parts of animal origin in a textile product shall be indicated on the labeling or marking of a textile product when it is placed on the market. The labelling or marking should not be misleading and must be such as to enable consumers to make informed choices.
Requests for new textile names: any manufacturer or any person acting on a manufacturer's behalf may apply to the Commission to add a new textile fibre name to the list set out in Annex I. The application shall include a technical file compiled in accordance with Annex II.
Labeling and marking: textile products shall be labelled or marked to give an indication of their fibre composition whenever they are made available on the market. The labelling and marking of textile products shall be durable, easily legible, visible and accessible and, in the case of a label, securely attached. Abbreviations shall not be used with the exception of a mechanized processing code, or where the abbreviations are defined in international standards, provided that they are explained in the same commercial document.
When making a textile product available on the market, the textile fibre composition descriptions shall be indicated in catalogues and trade literature, on packaging, labels and markings in a manner that is easily legible, visible, clear and in print which is uniform as regards its size, style and font.
Market surveillance: market surveillance authorities shall carry out checks on the conformity of the fibre composition of textile products with the supplied information related to the fibre composition of those products in accordance with this Regulation.
For the purpose of determining the fibre composition of textile products, this shall be carried out in accordance with the methods set out in Annex VIII (Methods for the quantitative analysis of binary tertiary textile fibre mixtures) or with the harmonised standards to be introduced in that Annex.
The laboratories responsible for the testing of textile mixtures for which there is no uniform method of analysis at Union level shall determine the fibre composition of such mixtures, indicating in the analysis report the result obtained, the method used and its degree of accuracy.
Revision: by 30 September 2013, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council regarding possible new labelling requirements to be introduced at Union level with a view to providing consumers with accurate, relevant, intelligible and comparable information on the characteristics of textile products. The report shall be based on a consultation of relevant stakeholders and shall take into account existing related European and international standards. The report shall be accompanied, where appropriate, by legislative proposals.
Study on hazardous substances: by 30 September 2013, the Commission shall carry out a study to evaluate whether there is a causal link between allergic reactions and chemical substances or mixtures used in textile products. On the basis of that study, the Commission shall, where appropriate, submit legislative proposals in the context of existing Union legislation.
Reporting: by 8 November 2014, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the application of this Regulation, with an emphasis on the requests for and adoption of new textile fibre names and submit, where appropriate, a legislative proposal.
ENTRY INTO FORCE: 07/11/2011.
APPLICATION: from 08/05/2012.
DELEGATED ACTS: the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in respect of the adoption of technical criteria and procedural rules for authorization of higher tolerances, the amendment of the annexes for their adaptation to technical progress and the addition of new fibre names. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 20(5) and Article 21 shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of five years from 7 November 2011 (tacitly extended for periods of an identical duration, unless Parliament or the Council object). The delegation of power may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or the Council. The European Parliament and the Council may issue objections to a delegated act within a period of two months from its date of notification (this period may be further extended by two months). If the Parliament or Council issue objections, the delegated act does not enter into force.