European Commission: New Labeling Proposal For Textiles

The proposal proposes that all textiles produced outside the EU must be marked with origin labels, including the Mediterranean coastal countries and the Maghreb countries, excluding the EU candidate countries, Turkey and the countries that join the European Economic Zone, Switzerland and Norway.

It is reported that the proposal will be submitted to the Council of Ministers for revision, and the time limit for examination and approval is not yet fixed.

However, a parliamentary spokesman said that the time of examination and approval depends on the negotiation and political will among Member States. The European Parliament's attitude is clear that the legislative process should be completed as soon as possible, because this proposal is very important to consumers and the textile industry.

The report said that the content of the proposal adopted some new proposals which had not been approved by the Council in 2005, especially in the implementation of logistics and terms, and proposed that the textile enterprises in Europe should implement the same regulations. The proposal would follow the regulations of Italy in October of this year. At least two processes were completed in the production process of weaving, spinning, finishing and production of all garments, with the labels of "made in Italy", "made in France" or "made in Europe".

Finally, the proposal is also prepared to include penalties under violations.

According to the report, the European Commission will, according to the proposal of the European Parliament, draw up legislative proposals from the next two to two years, including product maintenance, health information (flammability, introduction of material allergen) and social security (protection sociale).