Case study
Under the Fair Trading Acts in Australia and New Zealand, it is illegal to supply and/or sell children’s nightwear without the correct fire hazard label. Without these labels, products may place children at risk or injury or death. Therefore, the understanding and application of the correct safety requirements and labelling is extremely important.
Both the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the Commerce Commission New Zealand may pursue prosecution against individuals and companies who do not comply with the product safety regulations.
This case study demonstrates how NZWTA Textiles & Materials Testing provided technical advice to The Sleep Store to ensure the range of children’s nightwear they sell direct to consumers comply with the safety regulations and labelling requirements.
Client Background
The Sleep Store is a kiwi-owned one-stop-shop for parents looking for products and solutions to help support restful and regular sleep for both babies, toddlers and children.
The Sleep Store sources products from right across the world and has a responsibility to ensure that products comply with New Zealand safety standards, regulations and display appropriate fire hazard labels.
The challenge
The Sleep Store sources nightwear products from a range of locations across the globe, all with differing interpretations and standards of quality, as well as differing requirements of safety labelling. New product designs, new fabrics, or a change in manufacturer or factory can bring unpredictability and uncertainty in the final product. In these instances, compliance verification may be required.
To confidently state that their products are as safe as possible for the newest members of the family, The Sleep Store must ensure all their products in their range comply with AS/NZS1249:2014, along with the subsequent revisions.
NZWTA Textiles & Materials Testing was able to provide the necessary technical expertise to ensure The Sleep Store products, such as the Woolbabe range, were compliant and safe for the New Zealand market.
WHITE LABEL: Garments that meet Categories 1, 2 or 3 of the Standard require the white fire hazard label.
RED LABEL: Garments that meet Category 4 of the Standard require the red fire hazard label.
Implementation
Utilising NZWTA’s experience and knowledge of the standards and requirement, we were able to provide The Sleep Store advice on the classification of nightwear for children (and some daywear) into one of four categories, according to garment type, fabric, or design. These are summarised below:
Category 1
Garments made from fabrics that are deemed to be low fire hazard.
Category 2
Garments that are considered to be safe because of their form fitting design.
Category 3
All-in-ones of sizes 00-2, made from predominantly knitted fabrics with a pile or nap.
Category 4
Garments that are made from fabric or designs that are considered to have higher flammability risk than the other categories.
Working with The Sleep Store team, we were able to advise on proposed fabric types for products, and then complete tests on the materials to ensure they met with both the NZ and Australian requirements.
Throughout the process, it was important that we ensured The Sleep Store team were able to thoroughly understand the specifications for each product and category, assisting them with questions and queries from suppliers as needed.
A key understanding for suppliers such as The Sleep Store is that the safety labels for children’s nightwear in New Zealand and Australia are now the same – allowing only two labels, rather than the earlier standard allowing three in New Zealand.
Impact
NZWTA Textiles & Materials Testing was able to provide The Sleep Store with simple and comprehensive advice, technical support and testing programs for quality control to develop their supply chain and to meet the stringent compliance of New Zealand and Australian standards for children’s nightwear.
Prior to contacting NZWTA, The Sleep Store ran the risk of incorrectly labelling clothing or importing and selling clothing that did not meet safety standards, with the potential of requiring a complete product recall if the non-compliance was discovered. NZWTA was able to reassure the team on the safety of their products and give them the confidence to strengthen their supplier base and product range, and to proudly sell these products direct to parents and families.
