AAFA Updates List of "Restricted Chemicals and Substances" in Textiles & Footwear
The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) published the 14th edition of its Restricted Substances List (RSL), which provides information on regulations and laws that restrict or ban certain chemicals and substances in finished home textile, apparel, and footwear products around the world. The AAFA generally releases the list every six months. The AAFA also recently released a mobile app, allowing users to use the RSL from a smartphone, it said. The app allows users to filter, search, and sort by categories such as chemical name, Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) number, country, regulation, or any other identifying factor, the association said.
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List Focuses on "Finished Product" Restrictions
The RSL includes only those materials, chemicals and substances that are restricted or banned in finished home textile, apparel, and footwear products because of a regulation or law. (It does not include regulations that restrict the use of substances in production processes or in the factory; rather the focus is on whether or not the substance can be found in finished home textile, apparel, and footwear products at a certain level.)
The RSL includes the following substances:
| Arylamines |
| Disperse Dyes |
| Solvents |
| Pesticides |
| Soluable Heavy Metals |
CAS numbers, Common Names, and Countries that Regulate Listed
For each material, chemical or substance, the RSL identifies the following features, as applicable:
- CAS number
- Common chemical or color name
- Restriction Level
- Country where that Restriction/Limit is found
- Test Method
- Other countries that maintain equal or fewer restrictions
- Comments (if applicable)
Changes to 14th Edition Involve Pesticides, Flame Retardants, Etc.
The 14th edition reflects changes to chapters on pesticides, flame retardants, metals (textile restriction), miscellaneous and phthalates.
Does Not Cover All Safety Regulations or Products
AAFA said the RSL is not intended to address product safety regulations outside the chemical management area, such as Consumer Product Safety Commission regulations related to small parts. It is also not structured to cover toys, automotive textiles, other industrial textiles, packaging or related materials.
In addition, the list does not include two pieces of legislation which may warrant evaluation for applicability but were not included because they do not involve regulatory concentration limits: EPA legislation on ozone depleting compounds and California Proposition 65 which requires labeling for products containing chemicals known to the state to cause cancer.