HONG KONG - Leading apparel brands such as Nike, adidas, Hugo Boss, Pentland, Gap and VF Corp., among others, have together published the second version of the AFIRM Group joint RSL Supplier Implementation Toolkit, which this time primarily focuses on the elimination of hazardous restricted substances from finished textile products.

The 2011 Supplier Toolkit from the Apparel & Footwear International RSL Management Group (AFIRM) is said to be a substantial improvement on the first version of its toolkit first published in October 2008. Newly added content, requested by the supply chain, includes examples of restricted substance failures in apparel and footwear products with corrective actions taken to eliminate them.  

Also available for the first time is a chemical guidance document containing detailed technical information about restricted substances in the apparel and footwear production process. The revised toolkit is primarily focused on the elimination of restricted substances from finished products, but extensive information about chemical discharge into wastewater, air emissions, and solid waste is available in the chemical guidance document.  

AFIRM says the next version of its toolkit will focus on the possible discharge of restricted substances into the environment throughout the entire product lifecycle in addition to their elimination from finished products.

The Group was founded in 2004 when a group of retailers began working to bring together product chemistry, safety, regulatory and other experts within the apparel and footwear industry. Current members include adidas-Group, C&A, Gap Inc., H&M, Hugo Boss, Levi Strauss & Co., New Balance, Nike, Pentland, PUMA, s.Oliver, Timberland, VF Corporation, and Warnaco.

The mission of the AFIRM Group is to reduce the use and impact of harmful substances in the apparel and footwear supply chain.

The toolkit is available to the public for download at the AFIRM website: http://www.afirm-group.com/supplierrsltool.htm.