AFIRM Group Releases Restricted Substances List (RSL) Guidance for Suppliers

Oct. 19, 2012 - PRLog -- The AFIRM Group is a multi-company working group including appeal and footwear companies with RSL regulatory, product safety and chemistry experts. The group aims to share best practices of RSL management, information and experiences and also to benchmark the compliance of international regulations.

The new RSL Guidance provides the most stringent substance limit and the corresponding test method for those commonly used restricted substances within the apparel and footwear supply chain. It gives vendors a tool to establish chemical management knowledge and processes, and it helps build a base compliance.

Apart from the RSL Guidance, the AFIRM Group also offers a Supplier Toolkit. This toolkit is a chemical guidance document containing detailed technical information about restricted substances in the apparel and footwear production process. The toolkit not only focuses on the elimination of restricted substances from finished products, but also provides extensive information about the possible pathways of discharge of chemicals into the environment, such as wastewater, air emission and solid waste. Both the RSL Guidance and the Supplier Toolkit are currently available to the public at the AFIRM website (http://www.afirm-group.com/supplierrsltool.htm).

According to the RSL Guidance, the recommended restricted substance list is classified in color coding with red, yellow and green which indicates that a substance is in high occurrence, mid occurrence or low occurrence, respectively in the apparel and footwear supply chain. Substances highlighted in red color are historically widely used during the production process and most are regulated by law. Highlights of these substances can be found in the latest SGS SafeGuardS bulletin, P. 2 (http://newsletter.sgs.com/eNewsletterPro/uploadedimages/000006/sgs-safeguards-15712-afirm-group-publishes-restricted-substance-list-rsl-guidance-for-suppliers-a4-en-12.pdf).

About SGS Softlines
SGS Global Softlines (http://www.sgs.com/softlines) has an extensive network of over 30 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. We understand sustainability is an integral part of doing businesses. With our global reach, local market knowledge and harmonized approach, brands, retailers & manufacturers trust us to deliver hassle-free, safe and expedient solutions throughout the textile and footwear supply chain, from raw materials to finished products on the shelf.

For more information about the RSL Guidance, please feel free to contact the SGS experts.

Contact details:
SGS Consumer Testing Services
Kris Wan
Global Softlines Development Office
SGS Hong Kong Limited
6/F, Metropole Square, 2 On Yiu Street, Siu Lek Yuen,
Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong
t.: +852 27747492
Email: cts.media@sgs.com
Website: http://www.sgs.com/pages/consumer-testing/sgs-consumer-goods-and-retail.aspx

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