Article written by Bagco –

For twelve years now Nigel has insisted that all of our products are compliant. “It’s expensive, but it’s worth it, everyone will catch on soon and one day it will be UK law”. So here we are twelve years on and yes, more people are talking about it, more corporate End Users are expecting it, but I bet a lot of Distributors don’t really know what it’s all about.

One Distributor commented the other day that his customers don’t really care. Well, I shall ask this question, do they even know? Perhaps because all of the products that we buy retail are covered by safety standards, we assume the fabrics we buy are safe – we wouldn’t expect it to be any different. But fabrics coming into the UK for promotional purposes are not covered by Laws, only those of us who test know what is in or for that matter, not in our fabrics. Take five minutes to google REACH – some of those chemicals are very nasty!

So what does Bagco do? In short, all of our man made fabrics are REACH tested. A certificate and a list of all the chemicals tested for, is uploaded onto our website. We also commission extra testing for certain chemicals that are found in dyes. Natural fabrics like Cotton are also tested if they are dyed, these are called Okeo Tex Cotton Mill certificates.
Just as important is where the products are manufactured. Inspectors visit the factories and write a full report on the working conditions, pay etc. These reports are also available to read and download.

If nothing else this information must be an additional selling tool – do your clients really want to hand out products that are potentially harmful, or would they like to have the knowledge so they can make an informed decision? From September All Bagco samples and quotes will be sent out with full information of which certificates are available.
My advice, check with your suppliers that current certificates are available and let the End Users know – I believe they really would care if they knew more.