CSCC RELEASES UN GLOBAL COMPACT REPORT

CSCC is a member of one of the largest voluntary CSR initiatives in the world: The United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). The Global Compact consists of 10 principles on human rights, labor, the environment, and anti-corruption. In order to monitor compliance with the principles, the Global Compact requires member companies to submit annual progress reports detailing how the principles are being advanced in the company's day-to-day operations. CSCC just released our 2006 Communication on Progress, which has been recognized by the UNGC as "Notable", meaning the report is an example of reporting best practices.

Click here to access the report. We invite readers to provide feedback through the online survey referenced at the end of the report.

EVENTS/SEMINARS

CSCC Announces It's Upcoming Conference, "Creating Sustainable Paths To Improvements In The Supply Chain"
CSCC is pleased to announce it's upcoming conference, "Creating Sustainable Paths to Improvements in the Supply Chain", March 22, 2007 to be held at the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. The conference will tackle the dilemma that brands and retailers face in establishing sustainable solutions to substandard supply chain labor conditions. It will examine the strategies that brands and retailers can incorporate within their responsible sourcing programs to improve the efficiency and efficacy of their supply chain improvement efforts. It will include workshops and discussion groups to facilitate participant interaction. For more information, please visit our website at www.cscc-online.com.

STR-US To Present At ICPHSO's Annual Meeting
Susan DeRagon, STR's Manager of Toys and Premiums, will moderate the panel discussion, "Risk Management of Consumer Products", at the International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization's (ICPHSO) 14th Annual Meeting and Training Symposium. This event takes place February 26 - March 1, 2007 at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando, Florida. More Info.

Shuster Laboratories To Exhibit At Food Safety & Security Summit March 6-8, 2007
Please join Shuster Laboratories (Booth #506) at the Food Safety & Security Summit being held at the Washington, DC, Convention Center on March 6-8, 2007. To arrange a meeting with Shuster during the event, contact Katie Griffin at katie.griffin@shusterlabs.com. For more information about the event, please visit www.foodsafetysummit.com.

China International Consumer Products Safety Forum (ICPHSO)
STR is a contributing sponsor for the upcoming ICPHSO conference in Beijing, China. This conference is being conducted with General Administration of Qualityn Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China (AQSIQ) and will be held on May 21-22, 2007. Susan DeRagon, STR's Manager of Toys and Premiums will be co-chairing the Toys and Juvenile Product sessions. Additional information will be available in next month's issue of The Monitor. Click here for conference information.

STR To Attend UL STP 2007 Meetings
Standards Technical Panels (STPs) are an important part of the process by which UL develops and maintains its Standards for Safety. An STP is a group of individuals, representing a variety of interests, formed to review proposals related to UL Standards for Safety. When an American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/UL Standard for Safety is involved, an STP serves as the consensus body to review and vote on proposals prior to publication. Read more.

REACH Seminar Held At STR HK
On February 5, 2007, STR Hong Kong held a seminar on REACH - Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals. This seminar was hosted jointly by the marketing department and chemical department; Mr. Charles Ng was the speaker of the event. The purpose of this seminar was to highlight the main issues concerned in the REACH regulation. Issues included the evolvement-background of REACH; the scope and exemptions; role of importer/ manufacturer; and registration process and details. Read more.

FOOD INDUSTRY UPDATES

Food Labeling; Gluten-Free Labeling Of Foods
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to define the term "gluten-free" for voluntary use in the labeling of foods, to mean that the food does not contain ingredients in any species of the grains family (rye, barley, or a crossbred hybrid of these grains), or an ingredient that is derived from a prohibited grain and that has not been processed to remove gluten or if the use of that ingredient results in the presence of 20 parts per million (ppm) or more gluten in the food; or 20 ppm or more gluten. This proposed action is in response to the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (FALCPA). Read more.

EPA Final Rule: Spiromesifen Residues On Veggies, Grains, Etc.
On January 24, 2007 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule on Spiromesifen residues on veggies, grains and etc. This regulation revises a tolerance for combined residues of spiromesifen in or on vegetables, fruiting, group 8 and establishes tolerances for inadvertent or indirect combined residues in or on oat (grain, forage, hay, straw). Interregional Research Project No. 4 (IR-4) and Bayer CropScience (respectively) requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), as amended by the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA). Click here for the regulation.

FDA News Release On Food Safety 2008 Budget
On February 5, 2007, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced it is requesting nearly $2.1 billion to protect and promote public health as part of the President's fiscal year (FY) 2008 budget-more than a 5 percent increase over the budget submitted to Congress last year. Read complete release.

UL STANDARDS

UL Certification Clients Now Have Access To UL Standards
As previously announced, UL is now offering access to its standards materials at no charge to its certification customers. A new website has been created specifically for this purpose, where clients can:

• View standards online (HTML format)
• Download and print standards (PDF format)
• Add standards users within the same company
• Establish a customized "library", where email notifications of updates, revisions and proposals are sent for any standards in the library

Letters with details of the program, a registration identification number and a password have been sent to all certification customers. If you have not received, or are having difficulty in registering, please contact clientservices@comm-2000.com or alyce.mayer@strus.com.

STR UK ESTABLISHES AN ASSESSMENT AND CONSULTANCY TEAM

STR UK is pleased to announce the formation of its Consultancy and Assessment team. The team has been recruited in recognition of the ever changing needs of our UK and European customers. Each member is recognized within the industry as an expert within their field with Consultants specialising in a range of product categories including; Toys, Cosmetics, Electrical, and textiles.

With the burden of consumer product legislation increasing, the STR UK Assessment & Consulting Team means that expert assistance is just a phone call or email away! Read more.

Minimize your risk by working with the STR UK Assessment and Consultancy Team. For further information contact Ian Butler at 0044 118 939 8717 or via e-mail at ian.butler@struk.co.uk.

UK STANDARDS UPDATE

Plug-in Nightlights (BS EN 60598-2-12: 2006)
The first EN standard specifically for mains socket outlet mounted nightlights has recently been published as BS EN 60598-2-12: 2006. Its requirements may require a substantial redesign of some of the nightlights currently sold in the UK/EU market.

The transition period from the previous standard (which was the general EN 60598 standard and not a standard specifically for plug-lights), will end on 01-04-2009. Click here for the summarized requirements.

RoHS NEWS

China RoHS "In-Force" Date Rapidly Approaching
In addition to being cognizant of the March 1, 2007 "in-force" date, manufacturers need to be aware of the vast difference between the EU RoHS definition of "in-force" versus that of China RoHS: products coming off the manufacturing line must comply with China RoHS as of this date. The onus on the manufacturer is quite different: self-declaration and certificates of Compliance from its supply chain may not be sufficient. In addition, there are specific requirements for marking, labeling and material disclosure, including the obligatory "date of manufacture" marking on the product.

An excellent source for up-to-the-minute information on China RoHS is through STR's partner, Design Chain Associates. To access their website, click on www.chinarohs.com, or contact Alyce Mayer at alyce.mayer@strus.com for more information on DCA's services.

US Federal "RoHS" Bill Considered Likely
According to AeA (formerly, the American Electronics Association), a federal RoHS bill is considered a likely component of the US Democratic 2007 Environment Policy. This comes on the heels of similar reports voicing concern over the proliferation of individual state legislation, all of which have a core focus on the prohibition of materials thought to be harmful to human health and the environment. Issues that would need to be considered include the manner in which federal law would interact with state legislation, the federal law's fee and "take-back" structure, and an overall call for a stronger scientific basis on RoHS-like legislation. Click here for the AeA report.

TOY SAFETY UPDATES

New Version Of GB 5296.5 "Instructions For Use Of Consumer Interest - Part 5: Toys"
The China mandatory standard GB 5296.5-1996 "Instructions for use of toys" has been recently revised to the 2006 version and was officially published on July 11, 2006. This new GB 5296.5-2006 supersedes GB 5296.5-1996 which will be withdrawn by June 1, 2007. Click here for the changes.

Draft For Amendment To ISO 8124-1 And AS/NZS ISO 8124.1 "Safety Of Toys"
ISO 8124-1 - ISO Technical Committee 181 has distributed to its member countries for comment, the "Draft text for amendment to ISO8124-1 concerning toy scooters" (doc. 181 N327 of November 2006).

Under this draft amendment, toy scooter is defined as "ride-on toy which is propelled by the muscular action of the user or other means and may be foldable or not, intended for children with a body mass of 50 kg or less. Comprising at least one platform for standing, at least two wheels, and a steering system, equipped with an adjustable or fixed-length steering tube". The definition includes both ordinary "old-fashioned" scooters as well as foldable scooters. Read more.

TEXTILE REGULATIONS

UK Government Publishes "The Textile Products (Determination of Composition) Regulations 2006"
January 6, 2007 saw a change in the UK regulations for fibre composition determination in the UK. Publication 12 months ago of an EU directive introducing two new fibre names and associated test methods required introduction into UK law. As a result of this, the UK Government published Statutory Instrument 2006 No 3298. The introduction of this new law means current test methods, cited in the old regulations as BS4407, can no longer be used for checking compliance with UK law. The new regulations refer to test methods actually published in the EU Directive. These Directives are:

1. Directive 96/73/EC, amended by 2006/2/EC, of the European Parliament and of the Council on certain methods for the quantitative analysis of binary textile fibre mixtures.
2. Directive 73/44/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to quantitative analysis of ternary fibre mixtures.

EU Commission Approves New Fibre Name
A new fibre name, elastolefin has been approved by the EU commission. Amendments to the Directives concerning fibre names and fibre composition have been amended and can be found by following the links below. EU member countries have 12 months to implement this change in legislation.

EC Directive 2007/4/EC Amending 96/73/EC (Fibre Composition Analysis - Quantitative Analysis Of Binary Textile Fibre Mixtures)
As fibre elastolefin is added in EC directive 2007/3/EC (see below), test methods parts were revised for elastolefin. This directive shall enter into force on the 20th day of its publication, (published on Feb.3, 2007). EU Member States shall bring into force by February 2, 2008 the latest. Click here to access Directive 2007/4/EC.

EC Directive 2007/3/EC Amending 96/74/EC (Textile Names)
EC Directive 2007/3/EC concerns adding fibre elastolefin to the list of textiles fibres for labeling. This directive shall enter into force on the 20th day of its publication, (published on Feb. 3, 2007). EU Member States shall bring into force by February 2, 2008 the latest. Click here to access Directive 2007/3/EC.

Important Changes To The Wool Products Labeling Act
The Wool Products Labeling Act, which dates back to 1939, has recently undergone a major upgrade. The original Act, which required a permanent label identifying three pieces of information for the consumer (fiber content, country of origin, and identity of distributor), also went on to identify certain fibers as meeting the definition of "wool". Over the years the retail side of the wool garment industry has further "defined" wool characteristics in terms of fiber thickness with "un-scientific" names (i.e. Super 80, Super 100, Super 250, etc.) While this "thickness designation" was intended to assist consumers by identifying a product as containing a superior grade of wool (the higher the "superfine" rating, the finer the fiber), no governing U.S. standard existed that defined the precise diameter of fibers for each of these classifications. Read more.