DEAR READER | ||
SG Mark for Leather Products Tested for Hazardous Substances |
CONTENTS | |
Maximum care in production and a commitment to responsibility along the entire value chain of leather and fur products is the message communicated by labelling of a product with the SG Mark. As of January 2015, this long-established quality seal will be awarded exclusively by PFI, the test institute with almost 60 years’ industry-specific experience. Products bearing the SG Label offer both consumers and manufacturers assurance that, according to our present knowledge, they pose no threat to health. Further details will be found in this Newsletter. Wishing you an enjoyable read Dr. Kerstin Schulte |
SG Mark: Responsibility for Consumer Health Dr. Sigurd Riemer Appointed New Head of Certification | |
NEWS | ||
SG Mark: Responsibility for Consumer Health In the interests of consumer and environmental protection, it is important that leather and fur are produced properly and with due care and that suitable auxiliary agents and environmentally friendly materials are used in production and processing. This high quality standard should be assured and certified by independent inspections. Labelling the products with the SG Mark (where SG stands for “Schadstoffgeprüft”, meaning “tested for hazardous compounds”) provides ideal support for these aims. | ||
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Dr. Sigurd Riemer Appointed New Head of Certification Dr. Riemer studied biology and environmental science and has a doctorate in biochemistry. He gained his professional experience in the pharmaceutical industry and as a consultant for further education and certification – specifically in the areas of medicine and health care. | ||
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The SVHC Candidate List is regularly updated twice a year. Last December the European Chemicals Agency (EChA) added six more substances to the candidate list. Thus a total of 161 substances of potentially very high concern are now listed (as of 1 January 2015). | ||
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GS Mark: Modified Demands Relating to PAH In December 2013, Annex XVII of the REACH Regulation was amended to include a ban on eight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in products. Meanwhile, the PAH-relevant test requirements for awarding the GS Mark have also come under scrutiny and been revised. | ||
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RESEARCH | ||
Apps for Information-age Shoe Fastening A swipe of the smartphone display dispenses with the need to stoop and tie: PFI will successfully complete a research project in the area of wearable electronics on 31 March. The set goal was to develop a system for automatic opening and closing of shoes controlled by an application installed on a smartphone or smartwatch. | ||
AutoShoe controlled by a smartwatch app | ||
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Optimum Slip Resistance? Some 280,000 slip, trip, and fall accidents were recorded by occupational insurance associations in Germany during 2010. The greatest risk factor for such accidents: Inadequate slip resistance of footwear. In order to reduce the considerable number of accidents and to better protect both individual persons as well as the economy, PFI is currently working on a research project entitled “Sole Design Guidelines with Regard to Optimised Slip Resistance and Breaking Strength”. The goal is to develop a method of optimising sole design in the area of slip resistance well before production of any prototypes takes place. | ||
Shoe during a slip resistance test according to DIN EN ISO 13287 | ||
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Miniaturised Measuring System Development of a system that can warn and athlete of overuse in running sports and hence of risk of injury is the goal of a joint research project conducted by the Department of Sport and Exercise Science of Stuttgart University and the Test and Research Institute in Pirmasens (PFI). The project with the working title “Sensor Control
Running” was the topic of an article in the PFI Newsletter back in 2013.
Meanwhile the finishing post has come into sight. The first test versions
of the system are currently undergoing trials. | ||
Weighing only 144 g, the measuring unit
is | ||
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Preservatives in Leather Production October 2014 saw the start of a research project concerning the amounts of preservatives used in leather production which is funded by the German Federation of Industrial Research Associations (“Arbeitsgemeinschaft industrieller Forschungsvereinigungen”– AiF) via the German Leather Research Council (Forschungsgemeinschaft Leder e.V.). It bears the title “Studies on Sustainable Application of Antimycotic Agents in Leather Production and on the Migration of Residual Preservatives Leather”. The project is being conducted jointly by the Test and Research Institute Pirmasens e.V. and the Research Institute for Leather and Plastic Sheeting (Forschungsinstitut für Leder und Kunststoffbahnen – FILK) in Freiberg, Germany. | ||
Image: Pixelio | ||
MASTHEAD | ||
PFI Group Phone: +49 6331 2490 0 Chairman: Ralph Rieker Managing Director: Dr. Kerstin Schulte Authors: Dipl.-Ing. Fabian Homberg, Dr. Michael Knauer, M.Eng. Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Ronny Weis Editor: Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Elisabeth Rouiller | Translation: Anthony J. Rackstraw B.Sc. (Hons) Please send us your comments and questions: newsletter@pfi-germany.de. | ||
Here's the German version
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