CONSUMER PRODUCTS AND RETAIL E-SSENTIALS

Canada: Health Canada published new notice to stakeholders on use of flame retardants

JUNE 2021 - SOFTLINES, TOYS AND CHILDREN'S PRODUCTS

Recently, Health Canada published a new notice¹ to stakeholders on the use of flame-retardant chemicals in certain consumer products. 

The purpose of this notice is to encourage Canadian manufacturers, importers, advertisers and sellers of consumer products to comply with the flammability performance requirements for certain consumer products set out in regulations under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA)². The compliance of flammability performance can be achieved without using flame-retardant chemicals. Health Canada encourages the stakeholders to use safe and non-chemical alternatives.

The notice provides a summary of current requirements on the flame retardants in certain consumer products under CCPSA. Table A shows the details of the summary.

Health Canada also published an industry guide on the flammability of textile products³ to facilitate the understanding of the factors affecting textile flammability. Health Canada encourages the industry members to consider these factors when designing, constructing and sourcing the products.

Table A. Current requirements on flame retardants under CCPSA

[1]  Notice to stakeholders on the use of flame-retardant chemicals in certain consumer products in Canada

[2]  Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA)

[3]  Industry Guide to Flammability of Textile Products in Canada