On 30 October 2015, Industrial and Trade Department of Vietnam issued Circular No. 37/2015/TT-BCT to amend limits for residues of formaldehyde and aromatic amine (from azo dye) in textiles to supersede Circular No. 32/2009/TT-BCT of 2009. And the amendment enters into force on 15 December 2015.

The new Circular is applicable to textiles intended for sale on the Vietnamese market, excluding untreated yarn and blank wool. The Annex I to the Circular lists all customs codes for textiles requiring formaldehyde and azo dye testing.

The limits hereof are consistent with Circular No. G/TBT/N/VNM/13/Rev.1 notified by Vietnam to the WTO as the following:
I. Formaldehyde: (residue)
1) Textiles for children under three years of age: ≤30mg/kg;
2) Textiles intended to come into direct contact with skin: ≤75mg/kg;
3) Textiles inaccessible with skin: ≤300mg/kg;
II. The aromatic amine residue in textiles shall not exceed 30mg/kg.

In the Circular, Industrial and Trade Department of Vietnam allows a transitional period as of 30 June 2016, which means Circular No. 32/2009/TT-BCT of 5 November 2009 is valid before the expiry date. However, Vietnamese customs should only permit the passage of textiles which have fulfilled the requirements for formaldehyde and azo dye as per Circular No. 37/2015/TT-BCT and obtained test reports from the designated inspection agencies. One thing to be noted is that Oeko-Tex®, EU – lable and other related marks for textiles shall not serve as evidence for compliance of Vietnamese standards but only for documents verification.

Reminder: Textile companies should adjust their technical procedures as soon as possible to strengthen quality control and test products to ensure they are compliant with Vietnamese standards.