Quality requirements for processed fabrics for export to EC countries

摘要

EC (European Community) countries or EU (European Union), comprising 15 countries, led by Germany, forms a major destination of our textile exports. By meeting their quality requirements, India's exports can appreciably go up in this market. Garments, made-ups and furnishing cloth offer the maximum scope, the first of the three requiring very high quality standards. Such quality parameters and their tests as well as standards for various export sorts are discussed in this paper, General testing requirements, both mandatory and supplementary, for apparels destined for EC markets, are described. The mandatory areas comprise fibre labelling, care labelling, fibre flamma-bility and the presence and limits of hazardous chemicals, metals and dyes. The supplementary ones deal with colour fastness to different agencies, performance criteria during the wear and the various strengths parameters. As it is now in the limelight, the paper dwells on the details of hazardous chemicals, metals and dyes. Sound policies on both quality and environment are vital for any manufacturer to step in or step up his export business to EC countries.