Everyone knows the advantages carried along with supplying and manufacturing goods from the Far East, especially from China.
But for avoiding any kind of legal issues that can result in the detention and in some extreme cases the destruction of your goods in the customs at your destination country, and represent a big loss of money, it is necessary that yours goods comply with several Certifications, these certifications will depend on the nature of the goods and final market, but there are some international norms that apply for majority of the cases, especially for items such as toys, apparel, shoes and other consumer products.
Below we enlist 8 Certifications you need to check when choosing your Supplier in China:
1.Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP) – Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP) is an independent, objective, non-profit team of global social compliance experts dedicated to promoting safe, lawful, humane and ethical manufacturing around the world through certification and education. Its certification covers 12 principles that include among others: Forced and child labour, compensations and benefits, discrimination, wages and environment measures. More info at www.wrapcompliance.org
2. Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS) – This certification applies to any business that sells applicable electrical or electronic products, sub-assemblies or components directly to RoHS countries (european union), or sells to resellers, distributors or integrators that in turn sell products to these countries. RoHS specifies maximum levels for the following six restricted materials, Lead (Pb), Mercury (Hg), Cadmium (Cd), Hexavalent Chromium (Cr VI), Polybrominated Biphenyls (PBB), Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDE), Bis(2-Ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) Benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP),Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and Diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP). More info at www.rohsguide.com
3. CE Mark– By placing the CE marking on a product a manufacturer is declaring, on his sole responsibility, conformity with all of the legal requirements to achieve CE marking. The manufacturer is thus ensuring validity for that product to be sold throughout the EEA. This also applies to products made in third countries which are sold in the EEA and Turkey. Not all products must bear the CE marking. Only those product categories subject to specific directives that provide for the CE marking are required to be CE marked. For all the list of products that need CE marking visit here.
4. Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (SEDEX)– Sedex, the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange, is a not for profit membership organisation dedicated to driving improvements in responsible and ethical business practices in global supply chains. More info at www.sedexglobal.com
5. Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) – The Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) is a leading business-driven initiative supporting retailers, importers and brands to improve working conditions in supplying factories and farms worldwide. BSCI works to tackle these challenges by offering one common Code of Conduct and one single Implementation System that enable all companies sourcing all types of products from all geographies to collectively address the complex labour issues of their supply chain. More info at www.bsci-intl.org
6. ISO International Standards – This certificates ensure that products and services are safe, reliable and of good quality. For business, they are strategic tools that reduce costs by minimizing waste and errors, and increasing productivity. They help companies to access new markets, level the playing field for developing countries and facilitate free and fair global trade.
Learn more about the benefits of ISO standards
7. ETL Mark – The ETL Mark is proof of product compliance to North American safety standards. Authorities Having Jurisdiction(AHJs) and code officials across the US and Canada accept the ETL Listed Mark as proof of product compliance to published industry standards. More info at www.intertek.com/marks/etl
8. REACH certificate (Regulation, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals) – REACH is a regulation of the European Union, adopted to improve the protection of human health and the environment from the risks that can be posed by chemicals, while enhancing the competitiveness of the EU chemicals industry. It also promotes alternative methods for the hazard assessment of substances in order to reduce the number of tests on animals. More info at echa.europa.eu/regulations/reach
It is important to mention that the certifications previously mentioned are not the only ones and that every product will require to comply with different regulations due its nature and destination market.