autumn 2015 ROUND-UP Selling hi-viz childrens clothing advice to retailers As the days get shorter and mornings and evenings become darker, parents will be looking for high-visibility items for their children, to keep them safe and sound on their way to school or college. The labelling on hi-viz bags, jackets, hats and tabards may claim these products will make children visible to traffic and other road users in the dark, but will they? How can you be sure, as a retailer, that the safety products you sell comply with the law? Without getting too technical, these products are regulated by European law and are classed as personal protective equipment.1 The manufacturer, or their authorised representative in Europe, has a legal duty to: ROUND-UP l Make sure their products satisfy the essential health and safety requirements of the regulation through correct design, production methods and quality control l Have the products tested and approved by an independent laboratory, which itself has to be approved by the government l Pull together a technical construction file demonstrating what they have done to comply this will normally be by following the European safety standard BS EN 11502 l Produce and sign a Declaration of Conformity, which records their compliance l Label the product with the CE marking, which is a quick indication to a customer that the product complies The European standard agreed by a panel of experts requires a hi-viz product to reflect brightly at night and in poor lighting, even when it is wet or when it has been repeatedly washed or exposed to sunlight. If you sell hi-viz products, trading standards would advise you take the following steps to make sure you supply a safe and lawful product to your customers: l Check for the CE mark l Check for the BS EN fInd out moRe 1150 standard Further advice can be obtained from your local Trading Standards l Buy your stock from an office or from the Business established supplier Companion website. l If in doubt, ask for a copy of the Declaration of Conformity and supporting test certificates Credit: Alex Rankin Images: Liquorice Legs / Shutterstock 1. Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 2002 enacting EU Council Directive 89/686/EEC as amended by Council Directive 93/68/EEC, Council Directive 93/95/EEC and Council Directive 96/58/EC. 2. BS EN 1150:1999: Protective clothing. Visibility clothing for non-professional use: Test methods and requirements. Rugby WoRld Cup 2015 buy offICIal Retailers and market traders are warned not to risk breaching the Trade Marks Act by selling unofficial merchandise in the run-up to, and during, the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Any business wanting to sell Rugby World Cup 2015 products should only buy from legitimate sources to ensure the goods are genuine. The easiest way to identify official merchandise is by locating the Rugby World Cup 2015 hologram. Find out more about how to identify official merchandise here. buSIneSS matteRS Trading Standards is committed to making it easier for businesses to comply with the law and Trading Standards Business News (TSBN) is one of the ways it is doing just that. Formerly called Trading Standards News, this publication focuses on topics that are relevant to people running businesses and aims to help them operate safely and efficiently while staying within the law. If you are viewing this edition on a web browser, you can download the TSBN app for Apple, Android and Amazon devices.