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Trade and Industry Department The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
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Commercial Information Circulars

Ref : QP 502/6

Tel : 2829 4874

16 February 1996

All Textiles and Garment Manufacturers
Registered with the Trade Department

Major Trade and Industrial Organizations

Leading Testing Laboratories

Dear Sirs,

Quality Services Division

Health and Safety Standards Circular No 1/96

Hong Kong Polytechnic University -

Voluntary Registration Scheme for Harmless Dyestuffs

in the Textiles and Clothing Industry

 

Further to my circular No 14/95 concerning the German Regulation on the prohibition of the use of certain azo dyes, please be informed that the Institute of Textiles and Clothing (ITC) of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University has recently established a Voluntary Registration Scheme (VRS) for harmless dyestuffs. The scheme is essentially an information service listing out dyestuffs commonly used in Hong Kong and free of those harmful amines specified by the German Government. This VRS list is promulgated to manufacturers through the Internet (address is http://www.polyu.edu.hk/~ itc).

  1. Further to the establishment of the harmless list, the ITC has proceeded to stage two of the VRS by launching a certification scheme on 7 February 1996. The objective is to provide certification certifying that the dyestuffs used in a particular dyed or printed lot of fabric or garment do not contain any of the 20 banned amines. The certification service is provided free of charge to local manufacturers and traders and the main procedures involved are as follows :
    1. manufacturers to submit the list of dyestuffs they use to ITC; and
       
    2. experts in ITC will check whether the dyestuffs are included in the Voluntary Registration Scheme (VRS) list and then certify accordingly.

For ease of reference, a sample certification letter is at Annex I, and a leaflet outlining the voluntary Registration Scheme is at Annex II. Manufacturers and traders who wish to make use of the VRS list and/or the certification service may contact the Institute of Textiles and Clothing, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University direct at tel. 2766 6500 (fax 2773 1432).

  1. Also, there are news that the German Government will soon announce a standard method for the testing of the harmful amines. When the standard method is known, the Industry Department will consider developing a laboratory accreditation scheme for the testing. We shall keep you informed of any further developments relating to this issue.
     
  2. If you have any enquiries about this circular, please contact the undersigned at tel: 2829 4874 or our Principal Technical Officer, Mr. M C Tam at tel: 2829 4815.

 

Yours faithfully,

(Kenneth K C Lau)
for Director-General of Industry

[A:\INT-5.DOC]

(Name and address of manufacturer)

 

Re : Verification of Dyestuff

for XXX Manufacturer

 

The sample (reference number) is claimed to be dyed by XXX Dyeing Company with the following dyestuffs :

(itemised dyestuffs)

These dyestuffs are included in the Voluntary Registration Scheme and are free of amines which have been banned for importation purposes in Germany.

(PolyU Chop)

Academic in Charge

Voluntary Registration Scheme

for Harmless Dyestuffs

Institute of Textiles & Clothing

  1. In providing this service, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University's Institute of Textiles & Clothing ( the Institute ) aims, in accordance with its broad role as an educational institution, to promote stronger links between academics and the textile industry by providing a neutral and comprehensive selection of information for the textiles and clothing industry, especially persons engaged in wet processing, of dyestuffs which conform with the German Product Liability Act ( the Act )
     
  2. Where a Letter of Verification is supplied by the Institute, its purposes are limited to :-
    1. saving the time of recipients and end-users in obtaining the information needed;
       
    2. providing reasonably comprehensive information on wet processing to assist recipients and end-users in increasing their competitiveness; and
       
    3. providing such information as has been made available to the Institute on dyestuffs which comply with the Act, which may otherwise be unavailable.
       
  3. The Institute does not represent nor warrant any manner whatsoever that any dyestuffs are in fact harmless, safe or fit for any purpose whatsoever. The Institute relies solely upon, and provides only, information supplied to it by various industry sources. For clarification, the Institute does no more, when there is doubt as to the safety of dyestuffs provided by manufacturers or suppliers, than request that they submit test results of their analysis by reference to accredited testing houses. The Institute performs no independent testing or verification of dyestuffs nor any analysis of dyestuffs whatsoever.
     
  4. The provision by the Institute of any information or any Letter of Verification is wholly gratuitous and without acceptance of any liability whatsoever. The Institute, in so doing, is not entering into any contractual or other relationship between it or the dyestuffs manufacturers/suppliers providing information to it, and any recipient or end-user of such information or Letter of Verification or any other person (all of such persons being herein referred to as end-users.
     
  5. The provision by the Institute of any information or Letter of Verification shall in all cases be subject to the end-users admitting and agreeing in every respect :
    1. to full knowledge, awareness and understanding of the facts set out in Clauses 1 to 4 above;
       
    2. that neither the Institute, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, nor any of their respective officers, employees or agents shall be liable in any way to the end-users for any property loss or damage or any financial or other loss whatsoever arising directly, indirectly or in any way out of any act or omission or any inaccuracy, insufficiency or any other defect or inadequacy whatsoever, in or associated with, the provision of any information or any letter of Verification by the Institute.
       
    3. that the Institute shall be in no way liable whatsoever to any end-users or any other persons in respect of any loss, damage or injury occasioned by reliance on any information in any way contained in, append to, or referred to in any manufacturers or suppliers' letter of verification, any test or analysis documentation or any other information relied upon by the Institute or provided by the Institute to any end-user as part of the Institute's Letter of Verification; and
       
    4. that the law of Hong Kong shall be the only law which governs the interpretation and effect of these clauses