PDA

View Full Version : Laws on using Cotton Flannel in the UK


nicky haze
2nd August 2005, 19:13
Hello All,

I hope you are all well :)

I have a question concerning the material cotton flannel - I have been trying to find shops or internet sites in the UK that stock this material and have found it is very hard to find. In fact, someone told me that I would be better off to try and order from America.

That got me wondering if there was a particular law against using this material in the UK because of possible flammability, so I asked someone from the States who was selling it if it was fire resistant or not; they came back saying it is indeed flammable.

So, my question is, is it safe to use this material as long as you are not using it in childrens clothes? Or are there complete restrictions on this type of material?

I managed to find some winceyette material in a shop in town, and it has the same qualities as cotton flannel, but there didn't appear to be any warnings on the label about its useage and no one in the shop told me if you could only use it in a certain way. Is winceyette the safe form of cotton flannel in the UK?

I REALLY hope someone here can answer these questions, and would be eternally grateful for a response. Until then I am going to surf the internet to look for clues...

Nicky

JaneOwen
7th August 2005, 12:36
Hi Nicky

There's nothing specific banning cotton flannel in the UK (or EC) but, as you may be aware, specific labelling requirements apply especially for children's clothing. General product safety requirements will also apply to the use of the material so you'll need to be aware of these too.

Basically, problems in finding a UK stockist may be due to the use of the term 'cotton flannel' as I think you are referring to a fabric more commonly known as 'brushed cotton' in the UK - winceyette has a nap on both sides whereas 'cotton flannel' only has nap on one side. Without going into massive technical detail here, I hope that helps, but if not please contact me and I can look into it further for you.

Likewise, if you need advice on labelling and general product safety, this is my specialism so please give me a shout :)