BUSINESS CHALLENGE

China continues to experience rapid consumer consumption growth with some estimates putting the China apparel retail market at over $100 billion USD by 2013. As such, many retailers and brands are gearing up for rapid China growth and expansion. National regulatory requirements in the People’s Republic of China require mandatory product standards to be met that specify general safety and technical requirements. The Chinese government also continues to randomly select products from shelves to perform testing to check for compliance, highlighting the need to meet the requirements of this regulation.

With complex and often developing legal and industry/product specific requirements and enforcement actions to clearly understand:

• How can you access China with minimal risk?
• What are the requirements for your particular products?
• What is the industry best practice?

OUR MARKET ACCESS SOLUTION

Partnering with an independent, experienced and knowledgeable partner like Bureau Veritas, who can help you meet the Chinese textile regulatory requirements (e.g. GB 18401, GB 5296.4, GB 20400 and GB18383) and other industry standards means that you can have the peace of mind that your brand will be protected against product recalls, risk of liabilities and financial loss.

Our solution is based on a star level approach. Depending upon your company and brand strategy, we will work with you to apply the right solution package for your product range. The table below details the different approaches available.

Star 1: Minimum Quality GB standard (Must Do) Applies to all products being sold in China	National Regulatory Requirements GB 18401 - National General Safety Technical Code for Textile Products GB 5296.4 - Instructions for Use of Products of Consumer Interest - Instructions for Use of Textiles and Apparel GB 20400 - Leather and Fur – Limit of Harmful Matter GB 18383 - General Technical Requirements for Products with Filling Materials
Star 2: Higher Quality GB standard + product standard such as FZ (Should Do) Recommended for established brands / retailers	Star Level 1 plus industry / product specific standards: See the service sheet for examples of common products standards.
Star 3: Maximum Quality GB standard, product standard, and client's Quality & Performance Standards (Could Do) Recommended for high quality brands – helps demonstrate quality as well as compliance	Star Level 2 plus client specific quality / performance requirements (if they are not included in the product standard), for example: Abrasion Bow & Skew Fabric Width Pilling Oil / Water Repellency Stretch/Recovery (Knit) Stretch/Growth (Woven) Tension & Elongation of Elastic Fabrics

Download our service sheet for more details Click here.