Textile and garment exports, three barriers to pay attention to

Textile workwear is China's traditional advantageous industry and an important export commodity in Ningbo. However, the global major market economy has been sluggish recently, and the textile workwear industry has also been affected. According to statistics from Ningbo Customs, in the first three quarters of 2016, the export of textile spinning yarn, fabrics and products in Ningbo was 89.42 billion yuan, and the export of work clothes and accessories was 50.03 billion yuan, down 1.5% and 5.3% year-on-year. In the context of declining market demand, the eco-environmental barriers dominated by Europe and the United States are still continuing to build up. The impact on China's export textile industry cannot be ignored and needs constant attention.

Two types of key additives enter the disable countdown

At the beginning of this year, the EU implemented a revision of the REACH regulation, which will prohibit textiles with an NPEO content exceeding 0.01% from entering the market. In October this year, the EU announced through the WTO that it will ban the production and sale of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) substances in an all-round way, and the PFOA content in any consumer products should not exceed 25 μg/kg (ppb), and the content of related substances should not exceed 1000 ppb. . NPEO is a nonylphenol ethoxylate. It is an extremely important printing and dyeing auxiliaries in the textile industry. It is widely used in the dyeing and finishing of textiles and leathers, while PFOA is a water and oil repellent in the industry. A key additive for functional workwear such as stain resistance.

The harm of NPE and PFOA has already attracted the attention of the society. Studies have shown that the former will wash into the environment with clothes, and break down environmental hormones such as nonylphenol, which interfere with human endocrine and reproductive health. PFOA has been proven to be a persistent, cumulative toxicant that is not easily degraded. It can be taken by the human body through skin contact and eating chains, causing damage to nerves, immune and reproductive systems.

However, NPE and PFOA are still two important additives in the current textile industry. The short-term ban will bring huge impact to the textile industry. Even in the mature EU, the attitude is very cautious, and the separation has set a transition period of three years and five years. Compared with the European Union, there are many small and medium-sized enterprises in China, and there are still gaps in technology. It is necessary to make great efforts to upgrade the technology during the transition period. Especially after NPE and PFOA are banned, enterprises are still on the verge of no mature substitutes. For example, similar substances such as perfluorodecanoic acid, which are similar in nature to PFOA, have also been included in the high-interest substances by the EU, and the price of C6 auxiliaries currently available for replacement. It is nearly doubled and performance is still insufficient. Under the meager profit of the industry, more and more traditional auxiliaries have been banned, which will force enterprises to accelerate their transformation and survive the fittest.

Green eco-textile barriers continue to escalate

In addition to the production process pressure, the ecological safety requirements of the finished products are changing with each passing day. The American Workwear and Footwear Safety Association announced the 17th edition of the Restricted Substances List at the beginning of the year, releasing more than 12 categories of work materials, footwear and home textile products that are banned or restricted, covering global chemical governance and products. The restricted substances specified in the safety requirements, such as the separation of lead and fire retardant requirements according to the EU REACH regulations and POP regulations, the rapid growth of the list means that the international environmental protection barriers for light textile products have increased.

As the weather vane of international eco-textiles, the OEKO-TEX100 standard released by the International Environmental Textile Association (OEKO-TEX) this year is greatly updated. Dozens of mold inhibitors, phthalates, organotins, and carcinogens. Substances such as dyes are included in the control. For example, nine kinds of chlorinated phenols have been added to the restriction list. These substances are commonly used as anti-mildew, anti-corrosion and bacteriostatic agents in woven pulp, but they are teratogenic and carcinogenic. The residual chlorinated phenol in the fiber is destroyed by burning old clothes. Dioxins are also formed, causing persistent damage. It is important to note that the list also includes three types of perfluoroheptanoic acid, perfluorodecanoic acid and perfluorodecanoic acid, which means that such substances will also be phased out with the PFOA.

The increasingly stringent green barriers have become increasingly prominent in the textile industry. According to statistics, since the beginning of this year, more than 100 incidents of China’s export textile workwear have been reported by foreign countries. Under the situation that technical barriers continue to build up, industrial risk prevention Do not let go.