Children’s Nightwear - are all your garments correctly labelled?
- Tuesday, 23 July 2024
The Australian Consumer Goods (Children’s Nightwear and limited daywear and paper patterns for Children’s Nightwear) Safety Standard Safety Standard 2017 mandates that a wide range of infant and children’s clothing is assessed and labelled in accordance with the Australian standard AS/NZS 1249-2014. AS/NZS 1249-2014 captures garments that you would expect such as nighties, pyjamas, rompers and robes, but also includes products such as towels or blankets with arm openings.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Under the requirements of AS/NZS 1249-2014, infant and children’s nightwear garments can be assessed against the requirements of either Category 1, Category 2, Category 3 or Category 4 garments. Assessment and labelling requirements differ between the categories, and thus the testing requirements are dependent on the sizing, composition and structural makeup of the garment.
Note: There is no requirement in Australia for labelling of Adult nightwear garments.
AWTA Product Testing is accredited by the National Association of Testing Authorities to perform all associated testing and assessments of AS/NZS 1249-2014.
All garments with a pile or nape must be assessed for surface burn time on face, reverse or both sides, including any trim with pile. Any fabric that does not comply with this requirement cannot meet the specification and cannot be sold in Australia or New Zealand for children’s nightwear and limited daywear.
Category 1 garments show a white caution label. Fabrics used in these garments must also meet a flame spread/melt drip test. It would be unusual for a light cotton fabric to meet the minimum requirements.
Category 2 garments are assessed for styling features, such as maximum dimensions and trims.
Category 3 the assessment and labelling requirements, and thus the testing requirements are dependent on the sizing, composition and structural makeup of the garment.
Category 4 garments show a red Warning - High Fire Danger label. There are limitations on the fabric fibre compositions that can be used. For example, the Cellulosic content (cotton, viscose, linen etc. may only make up LESS than 50% of the fibre content). This means that 100% Cotton nighties cannot comply with the requirements of this category.
The following link will access a listing of testing required for each category of the standard:
AS 1249-2014 Children's Nightwear Test Requirements
The standard test method AS 1249-2014 can be purchased from: https://www.standards.org.au
WEARABLE TOWELS & BLANKETS
Towels and blankets with sleeves or arm openings created by side seams are included products, and therefore must be tested and labelled in accordance with AS/NZS 1249-2014. They fall within the Category 4 requirements, and as pile fabrics, must comply with the surface burning time requirements.
This test process measures the time it takes for a flame, applied for 1 second, to travel a distance of 75mm, over the surface of a fabric that has been washed twice, dried in a tumble dryer and then oven dried to remove all moisture. The garments are required to be labelled with an identifying brand and the fire safety information label. Unlike other garments captured by the legislation, the blankets and towels with sleeves do not require a sizing label.
TWO/THREE PIECE PYJAMA SETS
Under the requirements of AS/NZS 1249-2014, infant and children’s two-piece pyjamas can be assessed against the requirements of either Category 1, Category 2, or Category 4 garments. The assessment and labelling requirements, and thus the testing requirements are dependent on the sizing, composition and structural makeup of the garment.
All garments with a pile or nap must be assessed for surface burn time on face, reverse or both sides, including any trim with pile.
ALL-IN-ONE GARMENTS
Under the requirements of AS/NZS 1249-2014, infant and children’s all-in-one garments (rompers) can be assessed against the requirements of either Category 1, Category 2, Category 3 or Category 4 garments. The assessment and labelling requirements, and consequently the testing requirements, are dependent on the sizing, composition and structural makeup of the garment.
This includes all woven nightwear all-in-one garments, knitted all-in-one garments (nightwear and limited daywear such as onesies) from size 2-14, and knitted all-in-one garments with a pile or nap from size 00-2.
All garments with a pile or nap must be assessed for surface burn time on face, reverse or both sides, including any trim with pile.
SLEEPBAGS
The assessment and labelling requirements for children’s sleep bags is dependent on the structural makeup of the garment.
Under the requirements of AS/NZS 1249-2014, Sleepbags are assessed against the requirements of either Category 1 or Category 4 garments. The Category will depend on the flammability properties of the fabric used and whether the sleepbag is permanently closed along the bottom of the bag.
All garments with a pile or nap must be assessed for surface burn time on face, reverse or both sides, including any trim with pile.
Contact us:
Contact AWTA Product Testing if you have any further queries on Children's Nightwear labelling or need pricing on tests.
Phone: +61 (03) 9371 2400 OR Email: [email protected]