REACH compliance

Depending on the product that the importer is buying, he/she should know its obligations under REACH. If one of the obligations is that a substance has to be registered (e.g. because it contains substances intended to be released), then the importer should make sure that the substance is registered, or that the exporter appoints an only representative who registers the substance (although the latter is not very likely to happen in this case, in my opinion). In anyway it's always the EU company's obligation to meet the requirements under REACH, but the EU company might need extra information from it's supplier to know if and in what way the importer should undertake action to meet these requirements.

In any case the importer just wants to place safe products on the market and meet all EU requirements. In this matter he also wants to be sure that his products don't contain dangerous substances, which use is restricted on the European market (e.g. phthalates, azo-dyes etc.).These requirements were laid down in the so called 'dangerous substances Directive' 76/769/EEC), but these restrictions will be implemented in the REACH Regulation as per 1 June 2009. Of course an importer may require (certified) proof of the absence of possible dangerous substances (as is the case now, before the requirements are implemented in REACH).
by Ariane van Beuzekom, CBI

International Year of Natural Fibres

International Year of Natural Fibres (IYNF) 2009Every year, some 30 million tonnes of natural fibres are farmed from animals and plants across the globe, from China to the Andes22 January 2009, Rome – The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today officially launched International Year of Natural Fibres (IYNF) 2009 to celebrate the virtues of cotton, flax, sisal and hemp, but also of wool, alpaca, camel hair and angora. And, why not, cashmere too.IYNF – quickly dubbed Wild and Woolly 2009 – follows on IYP (International Year of the Potato), while 2004 was International Year of Rice and 2002 International Year of Mountains. All were coordinated by FAO at the request of the UN General Assembly to help promote and raise public awareness of the importance of familiar natural resources that are often taken for granted.At a ceremony launching Natural Fibres Year, Hafez Ghanem, FAO Assistant Director-General for Social and Economic Development, said production of animal and vegetable fibres was a major agricultural sector, worth some $40 billion annually to the world’s farmers.Fibres, he noted, could in some cases account for up to 50 percent of a developing country’s exports. “Farmers and processors in these countries depend on proceeds from the sales and exports of these natural fibres for their income and food security.”King CottonEvery year, some 30 million tonnes of natural fibres are farmed from animals and plants across the globe from China (cotton, wool, hemp, sisal, ramie silk etc) to the Andes (alpaca). The biggest crop is cotton, with an annual production of some 25 million tonnes while 2.2 million tonnes of wool is produced every year in almost 100 countries, with Australia accounting for roughly a quarter of that.In volume terms, jute, which comes from the bast, or skin, of Corchorus plants, is the world’s second biggest fibre crop (2.3-2.8 million tonnes) but is worth far less than wool in terms of cash. Main producers are India and Bangladesh.Sisal, henequen and similar hard fibres are produced from the leaf of the Agave mainly in Africa, Latin America and China. Coir, the fibre from the husk of the coconut, is used in upholstery and mattresses but is finding new applications in geotextiles and composite materials.Sausages and bank notesAbaca, from the leaf stalk of a plant closely related to the banana, is produced almost entirely in the Philippines and Ecuador and, while traditionally used for rope-making, is now pulped for a range of speciality papers for sausage casings, tea bags, coffee filters and bank notes.Once of strategic economic importance – England’s rise as a world power was built on wool and textiles, while silk for centuries held a central role in international trade – natural fibres have increasingly been displaced by synthetic materials.The main objective of the International Year of Natural Fibres is to raise the profile of these fibres and to emphasise their value to consumers while helping to sustain the incomes of the farmers. Wild and woolly, in other words, is wonderful.Celebrations of IYNF will include conferences, exhibits, and fashion shows in many countries, including an International Mohair Summit in South Africa and a Creative Fibre Festival in South Caterbury, New Zealand.FAO needs funding in order to coordinate activities and provide support to partner organizations around the world and is appealing to member countries and natural fibres industries to provide support. International Year of the Potato was made possible by $800 000 in donations.International Year of Natural Fibres 2009http://www.naturalfibres2009.org/

taken from: www.cosmoworlds.com

Alexa Lixfeld Designer

"I PRODUCE CULTURE," SAYS ALEXA LIXFELD.`CROSS-CULTURE`WOULD BE BETTER. WHETHER IT`S A PROJECT IN WHICH SHE TRIES TO USE CONCRETE AS AN ALTERNATIVE FOR CERAMICS IN HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS, A PERFUME, FOOD-DESIGN, AN EAT-ART PERFORMANCE IN WHICH THE PARTICIPANTS LADLE SOUP FROM A PLATE WITH A 1,4 METER DIAMETER, OR A SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION SHE SET UP IN SRI LANKA, TO HELP CHILDREN AND RUAL WOMEN - SHE OFTEN SEEMS TO GO FOR A CHALLENGE THAT OTHERS THINK IMPOSSIBLE. IN CREACETE™ SHE COMBINED HER PIONEERING EXPERIMENTS WITH CONCRETE IN THE FIELD OF TABLEWARE WITH THE ULTIMATE IN FINISHING, THE TRADITIONAL JAPANESE URUSHI LACQUERING TECHNIQUE FROM WAJIMA, WHILE LEAVING THE CONTRAST OPEN AND VISIBLE. AFTER A TEN-YEAR CAREER AS A MODEL, ALEXA LIXFELD STUDIED AT KÖLN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF DESIGN, UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED ARTS PFORZHEIM AND DESIGN ACADEMY EINDHOVEN, THE NETHERLANDS. SHE WORKS IN HAMBURG SINCE 2006, RUNNING HER OWN STUDIO.MAX BORKA
Alexa Lixfeld Design GmbH,
www.alexalixfeld.com

The Home Textile Market in Spain

Furniture/furnishing stores
The British Habitat operates through 6 stores on the Spanish market. Inditex extended its Zara offer with household textiles, including bath towels, table and bed linen. The number of Zara Home stores is 135 in 11 countries, of which 96 in Spain (http://www.zarahome.com). The
Spanish furniture and furnishing multiple Ka (http://www.ka-international.com) operates with 450 stores in 45 countries, of which over 200 on the domestic market. Another domestic chain is Moblerone (51 stores; http://www.moblerone.es). Foreign furniture and furnishing multiples on the Spanish market, besides Ikea and Habitat, are Roche Bobois (30 stores), Conforama (15 stores), Descamps (16 stores) and Geneviève Lethu (6 stores), all from France.
Department stores
The Spanish department store market remains very underdeveloped, with just one chain, El
Corte Inglés. This company achieves a broad national reach through 67 stores and dominates
non-food retail in Spain (http://www.elcorteingles.es). El Corte Inglés department stores have
a mid-market positioning and the group has strong brand recognition throughout Spain. Other
players are variety stores Dunnes Stores (5 stores, from Ireland) and Marks & Spencer (5
stores from the UK).
Home shopping stores
Home shopping activities are relatively weak in Spain. The major German and French players
are present in Spain, but their progress has been slow. Leading Spanish mail-order companies
with sales in household and furnishing textiles, besides general goods, are Venca
(http://www.venca.es part of Otto Versand) and La Redoute Catalogue
(http://www.laredoute.es).
Do-It-Yourself (DIY) stores
The Spanish DIY sector has grown in recent years, mirroring the strong performance in the
housing market. The French giant Leroy Merlin is the market leader, which operates through
41 stores of the same name as well as its other company AKI (24 stores), formerly a
competitor. The DIY sector is littered with domestic co-operative groups (like
Bricovalle/Bricofac, 275 stores; http://www.bricovalle.es) and buying groups (like Bricogroup,
60 stores; http://www.bricogroup.com), as the small independents work together in order to
defend themselves against the threat from bigger rivals.
Hyper- and supermarkets
Hyper- and supermarkets grew in number, as did textiles sales through these channels. The
number of hypermarkets grew from 315 outlets in 2002 to 360 in 2006. Major national
hypermarket chains are: Hipercor (37 stores; https://www.hipercor.es) and Eroski (84 stores;
http://www.eroski.es). Major international hypermarket chains came from France: Carrefour
(147 stores) and Alcampo (47 stores and part of Auchan). The number of supermarkets grew
from 6,600 in 2002 to 12,500 in 2006. Major national supermarket chains are: Eroski Centers
and City+ (567 stores), part of the Eroski group, Mercadone (1,050 stores), Caparabo (570
stores) and Dinosol Supermercados (415 stores). Major international supermarket chains are
Sabeco (126 stores, part of Auchan http://www.sabeco.es) and Carrefour (143 stores;
http://www.carrefour.es). German discounters, like Aldi (154 stores), Lidl (410) and
Tengelmann’s Plus (239) compete on the Spanish market with the French discount chain Dia
(1,961 stores, owned by Carrefour http://www.dia.es). The German Metro/Makro Cash & Carry operates through 34 stores in Spain

Source: CBI http://www.cbi.eu/

iSEARCH market information by Philexport Cebu

Taken from: Philexport Cebu, The Philippines:

iSEARCH provides you with:
value added pre-processed statistics, tables, charts and graphs on key market trends per industry sector
unique, short and up-to-date market reports for 8 major sector, including competitor reports
customizable data search where you can search using your own parameters
high quality links for further references and resources
an alerting system by sms and email so that you’re the first to know the latest trends in the priority markets

Free access!
Members of Philexport Cebu enjoy free access to iSEARCH. You only need to Sign up once to get your username and password. As a non-member, you may try the online features for thirty days free of charge upon registration. Annual membership is only Php 2000. Contact Philexport Cebu now!

Sectors covered
The core of iSEARCH is a database which market information on the following sectors:
furniture
housewares
holiday décor
costume jewelry
fine jewelry
footwear
leather goods
health and wellness

Sources
iSEARCH contains statistics on world trade with details down to the sub-product and country level. The data sources are: United Nations, European Commission, CBI, and other high quality sources.
Special research
iSEARCH is also capable of undertaking fee based special market studies for interested clients. Examples of such studies include identification of new potential markets, competitor profiles, market trends analysis, and credit background information on potential buyers from Dun & Bradstreet. Fees vary depending on the scope of work and time required to complete the studies.

Sign up for my iSEARCH Account
For more information, please contact Mr. Benjamin Chiu.
Note:iSEARCH, is a service of Philexport Cebu set-up with support from the Pearl2 Project, a development project of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and coaching by the Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries (CBI) of the Netherlands. It is part of Philexport Cebu's continued drive for effective and innovative servIces to the Cebu exporters community.

REACH a never ending story

taken from www.cbi.eu
information on REACH legislation
REACH is the new EU legislation on chemicals that entered into force on 1st June 2007. REACH establishes a single system for the registration, evaluation and authorisation of chemicals (REACH) throughout the 27 EU Member States. REACH involves chemicals, preparations as well as products containing chemicals. The legislation is applicable to EU producers and EU importers.

There are quite some unclarities on the correct implementation of REACH legislation. Please note that in the CBI market information database at www.cbi.eu/marketinfo you can find a document describing the implications of REACH for the CBI target group, as well as a clear outline of the legislation itself.

EU legislation: What exporters need to know about REACH

If you have any questions on REACH, please contact Ms. Ariane van Beuzekom, Programme Manager market access at marketaccess@cbi.eu. Also, any examples of REACH practices are welcome so we can document them and possibly include them in our information.