Our Specifications take into consideration three main risk types: chemical, mechanical and physical. They are then broken out into more specific risks, and refer to two classes of application:

• The first focuses on children under 36 months (with a few exceptions due to EU and non-EU law in which the category is extended to up to 14 years old);
• The second applies to the general demographic of a product’s end consumer.

Within these two classes, naturally the three risk types are structured differently, according to the specific needs for protection taken into account.

Additionally, in risk management, it is specified which of the relative obligations are laid down by applicable regulations and which are instead more severely regulated on a voluntary level.

The assessment criteria applied to the individual risks are based on the real probability of a claim in connection with the various materials used. Fabrics, clearly, but also leather, plastic and metal.

A critical topic to be managed.

This is the foreseeable possibility that, in normal conditions of use and maintenance, through exposure due to contact with skin or mucous membranes, inhalation or ingestion, there is danger for the end user caused by a specific chemical substance, the whole of chemical substances, or a combination of them, contained in the textile product or its trimmings.

The risk associated with a substance depends on its intrinsic properties and the intensity of exposure. The use of chemicals during manufacturing may lead to the handling of substances that are harmful to people and the environment.

Recently, attempts have been made to take a different path, considering chemistry to be a science engaged with sustainability pathways that include the selection of relatively secure chemical substances, the regulation of their production and application, and the design of new environmentally-friendly products and processes. Europe is committed to this difficult path, and the REACH Regulation, though not resolving the totality of issues, is a tool that is a step in the right direction when applied correctly and revised and modified where necessary.

The risk tied to the presence of toxic, allergenic, carcinogenic or mutagenic chemicals, or those capable of interfering with the natural balance of hormones, is generally valid for both children and adults. For children, however, the risk is clearly aggravated by the potential repercussions on their growth and development, and by the fact that the child can easily absorb the responsible substances, to a significant extent, via the oral mucosa.

A danger to the physical well-being of the user.

Mechanical risk is the foreseeable possibility that the use of an item, entirely or just its parts, is dangerous for the physical integrity and well-being of the user. For example: entrapment, puncture or other wounds, suffocation, inhaling or ingestion of small parts.

Issues related to mechanical risks and pertinent European and non-European laws are effectively limited to children's clothing. It’s a position consistent with the fact that the probability of similar risks for an adult and for traditional clothing is truly minimal.

For children, the problem arises principally from the presence of detachable parts (buttons, but also sequins or other decorative elements) that can block the air passageways if inhaled or swallowed, and cords or laces that pose a strangulation or entrapment risk.

Relationship between textiles and fire.

All textile materials (with rare exceptions) are flammable, even if they burn in different ways depending on the conditions in which they are found and their chemical qualities (the chemical make-up of their fibres) and physical qualities (mass/surface ratio, presence/lack of fibres that protrude from the surface, etc.).

It’s then easy to understand how the relationship between textiles and fire has always been a subject of interest, both in terms of technological research, development and manufacturing. Nevertheless, only a few European countries (Great Britain and Sweden, for example) have mandatory regulations for products destined for private use. This isn’t the case everywhere: in the USA, for example, attention to consumer safety is quite high.