Your regular update for technical and industry information
Your regular update for technical and industry information
FEBRUARY 2021 - SOFTLINES
Recently, the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) published four documents on the safety of children's clothing focusing on the security of the attached components.
Out of these four documents, one provides specifications and remaining three describe test methods. All these documents are voluntary, however, as the General Product Safety Directive (2001/95/EC) requires that only ‘safe product’ shall be placed in the EU market, the producers can use these standards to ensure safety of children’s clothing concerning small parts.
1. CEN/TS 17394-1:2021 - Textiles and textile products - Part 1: Safety of children's clothing - Security of attachment of attached components to infants' clothing – Specification1
This technical specification was approved on December 2020 and provides requirements for the security of attachments for clothing components such as buttons, press fasteners, rivets, sequins, etc. that can potentially present hazards of choking, swallowing, ingestion, inhaling (aspiration) or insertion into eyes, nose or ears for infants.
This technical specification covers textile clothing for infants (Up to 36 months and height of 98 cm) including gloves, hats, scarves, hosiery, ties, and textile belts, however it does not apply to:
The following is the key requirements as per this standard:
| Components | Test Method | Requirements |
| Buttons including tack buttons and toggle buttons | EN 17394-2:2020 |
Removal force: |
| Metal mechanically applied press fasteners | CEN/TS 17394-3:2021 | Removal force: If the dimension of a component is ≥ 6 mm: 70N minimum If the dimension of a component is ≥ 3 mm to < 6 mm: 50N minimum No detached component or part of the component shall be a small part. |
| All other attached components including non-metal press fastenings, eyelets, textile, stitched on components |
CEN/TS 17394-4:2021 | The component shall not be detached in the standardised aggressive wash test. No detached component or part of component shall be a small part. |
2. EN 17394-2:2020 - Textiles and textile products - Part 2: Safety of children's clothing - Security of attachment of buttons - Test method.2
This standard was approved in August 2020 and defines a method to test the security of attachment of functional and decorative buttons attached to children’s clothing.
3. CEN/TS 17394-3:2021 - Textiles and textile products - Part 3: Safety of children's clothing - Security of attachment of metal mechanically applied press fasteners - Test method3
This technical specification was approved in December 2020 and defines a method to test the security of attachment of functional and decorative metal mechanically applied press fasteners attached to children’s clothing.
4. CEN/TS 17394-4:2021 - Textiles and textile products - Part 4: Safety of children's clothing - Security of attachment of components except buttons and metal mechanically applied press fasteners - Test method4
This technical specification was approved in December 2020.
This test method is complementary to the test methods EN 17394-2:2020 and CEN/TS 17394-3:2021 and applicable to all other components including labels, badges, sequins, rhinestones, rivets, eyelets and non-metal press fasteners, which are too small to be gripped in test equipment jaws or which integrity will be disrupted by gripping.
This test method uses extremely aggressive washing procedures to assess whether the components remain attached.
The washing temperature used is 10 ± 2°C above the maximum recommended wash temperature on the care label. For hand wash only garments, the washing temperature of 40 ± 2°C is used. Tumble dry at the hottest setting for 90 min is used, including garments labelled as “Do not tumble dry”.
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