Commercial Information Circulars

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e-mail address : enquiry@tid.gov.hk

Ref : EIC 230/4/1

30 June 2014

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No.625/2014

European Union (EU) * : Community Eco-Label Award Scheme (Textile Products and Bed Mattresses)

Further to Commercial Information Circular No 566/2014 dated 12 June 2014, the European Commission (the Commission) has adopted two Decisions to establish the ecological criteria for the award of the EU Ecolabel for textile products and bed mattresses.  Details are set out in Commission Decisions 2014/350/EU and 2014/391/EU, which can be accessed through the following links:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:JOL_2014_174_R_0015&from=EN
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32014D0391&from=EN

DETAILS

2.Regulation (EC) No 66/2010 provides that specific EU Ecolabel criteria are to be established according to product groups.  Commission Decisions 2009/567/EC and 2009/598/EC have established the ecological criteria and the related assessment and verification requirements for textile products and bed mattresses respectively, which are valid until 30 June 2014.  To better reflect the state of the art of the market for the product groups and take into account the latest innovation, it is considered appropriate to modify the scope of these product groups and establish revised sets of ecological criteria.  Decisions 2009/567/EC and 2009/598/EC should therefore be replaced by the two Decisions.

Textile Products

3. In order to be awarded the EU Ecolabel, an item of textile products fall within the definition as stated in Article 1(1) of Decision 2014/350/EU should comply with the revised criteria as well as the related assessment and verification requirements as set out in the Annex of the Decision 2014/350/EU.  The criteria for the product group "textile products", as well as the related assessment and verification requirements shall be valid for four years up to 5 June 2018.

Bed Mattresses

4. In order to be award the EU Ecolabel, an item of bed mattresses fall within the definition as stated in Article 1(1) of Decision 2014/391/EU should comply with the revised criteria as well as the related assessment and verification requirements as set out in the Annex of the Decision 2014/391/EU.  The criteria for the product group "bed mattresses" as well as the related assessment and verification requirements shall be valid for four years up to 23 June 2018.

ENQUIRIES

5.For enquiries concerning the content of this circular, please contact the undersigned at telephone number 2398 5556.

Yours faithfully,

(Miss Anita WONG)
for Director-General of Trade and Industry

*The EU includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.