Japan – New Safety Standard for Cords and Drawstrings in Children’s Clothing (JIS L 4129 - 2015) Published

Vol. 883 | 11 Jan 2016

On 21 Dec 2015, the Japanese Standards Association (JSA) officially promulgated JIS L 4129 “Safety of Children’s Clothing – Cords and Drawstrings on Children’s Clothing – Specification” as a voluntary safety standard. The safety standard was published as a draft FD JIS L 4129 on 23 June 2014, for the industry to comment and for the preparation of compliance for the new safety requirements.

Being the first safety standard for children’s clothing in Japan, JIS L 4129 is written in the similar direction as the EU drawstrings standard EN 14682. It aims to minimize the risk of accidental entrapment by cords or drawstrings on children’s clothing by taking into account a child’s age; behavior and activities of children for their age and stage of development, for example playing in playgrounds, climbing trees and travelling by bus or train; children’s abilities and the level of supervision by a caregiver; and past relevant accidental statistics. The safety standard stipulates the safety requirements for cords and drawstrings on different body parts of children’s clothing for 2 different age groups; young children of 0-7 years of age; and older children of 7-13 years of age.

This new safety standard does not apply to the following products:

1. child use and care articles, for example bibs, nappies, soother holders and underwear
2. shoes, boots and similar footwear
3. gloves, hats, bonnets, scarves and socks
4. neckties designed to be worn with a shirt or blouse
5. belts, suspenders and armbands
6. celebratory clothing such as that worn at civil or religious ceremonies, national or regional festivals
7. specialty sportswear and activity wear worn for limited periods and under supervision except where those garments are commonly worn as day wear or night wear
8. theatrical costumes used for theatrical performances
9. aprons intended to be worn over day wear, for limited periods and under supervision, to protect clothing from soiling during activities such as painting, cooking, or during meal times
10. traditional clothing (e.g., newborn onesies, jinbei, or yukata)

 

For questions, please contact:

Kenny Chan
Email : Kenny.chan@intertek.com

Vienna Chow
Email : Vienna.chow@intertek.com