Directive 96/74/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 1996 on textile names

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 100a thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission⁽¹⁾,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee⁽²⁾,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189b of the Treaty⁽³⁾,

1. (1) Whereas Council Directive 71/307/EEC of 26 July 1971 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to textile names⁽⁴⁾ has been amended frequently and substantially; whereas, for reasons of clarity and rationality the said Directive should be consolidated;

2. Whereas, if the provisions of the Member States with regard to the names, composition and labelling of textile products were to vary from one Member State to another, this would create hindrances to the proper functioning of the internal market;

3. Whereas these hindrances can be eliminated if the placing of textile products on the market at Community level is subject to uniform rules; whereas it is therefore necessary to harmonize the names of textile fibres and the particulars appearing on labels, markings and documents which accompany textile products at the various stages of their production, processing and distribution; whereas the term ‘textile fibre’ is to be extended to include strips or tubes with an apparent width of not more than 5 mm, which are cut out from sheets manufactured by extrusion of the polymers listed under items 19 to 38 and 41 of Annex I, and subsequently drawn out lengthwise;

4. Whereas provision should also be made in respect of certain products which are not made exclusively of textile materials but have a textile content which constitutes an essential part of the product or to which attention is specifically drawn by the producer, processor or trader; whereas in item 30 in Annex II there is no need to distinguish between the different types of polyamide or nylon, the agreed allowances for which are therefore to be brought into line;

5. Whereas the tolerance in respect of ‘other fibres’, which has already been laid down for pure products, is also to be applied to mixtures;

6. Whereas, in order to attain the objective underlying national provisions in this field, labelling should be compulsory;

7. Whereas, in cases where it is technically difficult to specify the composition of a product at the time of manufacture, any fibres known at that time may be stated on the label provided that they account for a certain percentage of the finished product;

8. Whereas it is expedient, in order to avoid the differences of application that have become apparent in this connection in the Community, to specify the exact methods of labelling certain textile products consisting of two or more components, and also the components of textile products that need not be taken into account for purposes of labelling and analysis;

9. Whereas textile products subject only to the requirements of inclusive labelling, and those sold by the metre or in cut lengths, are to be offered for sale in such a way that the consumer can fully acquaint himself with the particulars affixed to the overall packaging or the roll; whereas it is for the Member States to decide on the measures to be adopted for this purpose;

10. Whereas the use of descriptions or names which enjoy particular prestige among users and consumers should be made subject to certain conditions;

11. Whereas it was necessary to lay down methods for the sampling and analysis of textiles in order to exclude any possibility of objections to the methods used; whereas however, the provisional retention of the national methods currently in force does not prevent the application of uniform rules;

12. Whereas Annex II to this Directive which sets out the agreed allowances to be applied to the anhydrous mass of each fibre during the determination by analysis of the fibre content of textile products, gives, in items 1, 2 and 3, two different agreed allowances for calculating the composition of carded or combed fibres containing wool and/or animal hair; whereas laboratories cannot always tell whether a product is carded or combed, and consequently inconsistent results can arise from the application of this provision during checks on the conformity of textile products carried out in the Community; whereas laboratories should therefore be authorized to apply a single agreed allowance in doubtful cases;

13. Whereas it is not advisable in a separate Directive on textile products, to harmonize all the provisions applicable to such products;

14. Whereas, Annexes III and IV, because of the exceptional nature of the items referred to therein, should also cover other products exempt from labelling, in particular ‘disposable’ products or products for which only inclusive labelling is required;

15. Whereas the provisions necessary for the determination and the adaptation to technical progress of the methods of analysis are implementing measures of a strictly technical nature; whereas it is therefore necessary to apply to those measures, and to the measures for adapting Annexes I and II to this Directive to technical progress, the committee procedure already laid down in Article 6 of Directive 96/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 1996 on certain methods for the quantitative analysis of binary textile fibre mixtures⁽⁵⁾;

16. Whereas the provisions laid down in this Directive are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for Directives relating to Textile Names and Labelling;

17. Whereas this Directive is not to affect the obligations of the Member States concerning the deadlines for transposition of the Directives set out in Annex V, Part B,

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