The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) released the sixth version of the AAFA Restricted Substances List (RSL) covering product safety and environmental standards in the US and around the world.
The latest edition reflects changes prompted by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) well as new US state and international regulations and covers chemicals and other substances whose presence in a product is restricted through a government regulation or law.
AAFA was the first organization to publish a textile, apparel and footwear industry-wide RSL and now updates it every six months. On top of monitoring worldwide restricted substances policies and updating the RSL, AAFA continues to offer training sessions and workshops on regulating Restricted Substances in textiles, apparel and footwear.
“Since we started publishing AAFA’s Restricted Substances List, the US apparel and footwear industry has grown through supply chain efficiency and environmental stewardship,” said AAFA President and CEO Kevin M. Burke. “By effectively using this tool, the industry can more easily navigate complicated domestic and international regulations and remain competitive in the global marketplace.
“Over the last few years, our industry’s solid track record of producing safe clothes and shoes has been put into jeopardy because of rigid product safety reforms. With the implementation of the CPSIA, and now more aggressive enforcement of state-level regulations like California’s Proposition 65, the RSL continues to eliminate much of the regulatory confusion that has threatened our industry.”
The list, which has become the global industry standard for RSLs, together with a growing set of other chemical management tools, can be downloaded for free at the AAFA Web site.
