Chinese
In April 2025, the global consumer product regulatory landscape showed the prominent feature of "simultaneous tightening of regulations and risk disposal". Regions represented by the EU, the US, and Canada accelerated the promotion of phased bans on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), while updating testing standards to improve regulatory efficiency; the Chinese market concentrated on resolving safety hazards in fields such as electronic appliances and children's products through high-frequency recall actions. This report will systematically sort out the key regulatory points of the month from two dimensions: key regulatory updates and major market recall dynamics, providing references for enterprise compliance.
I. Global Key Regulatory Updates: PFAS Regulation Becomes the Core Focus
Regulatory updates on global consumer products in April centered on PFAS control. The EU, the US, Canada and other regions successively issued or enforced bans, forming a regulatory combination of "testing standard upgrade + phased sales ban", which had a direct impact on multiple industries such as textiles, cosmetics, and food packaging.
(I) EU: New PFAS Testing Standard Officially Launched
On April 30, 2025, the EU's new textile PFAS testing standard EN 17681-1:2025 was officially released, replacing the 2022 old version. This standard adopts the alkaline hydrolysis method, which can effectively decompose fluorinated side chains, significantly improving the detection rate of specific PFAS. Testing institutions such as Hohenstein remind enterprises to transition their testing methods to the new standard as soon as possible. If they still only follow total fluorine testing (such as required by California, USA), although not affected temporarily, they need to continuously pay attention to regulatory dynamics.
(II) US: New Mexico Joins the Camp of Comprehensive PFAS Ban
On April 8, the US state of New Mexico signed the Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Protection Act, becoming the third state after Maine and Minnesota to pass comprehensive PFAS legislation. The bill adopts a three-phase ban:
Starting January 1, 2027: Prohibit the intentional addition of PFAS in cookware, food packaging, dental floss, youth products, and fire-fighting foam;
Starting January 1, 2028: The ban will be extended to categories such as carpets, cleaning products, cosmetics, textiles, and upholstered furniture;
Starting 2032: Implement a full ban, unless designated as "currently unavoidable use".
At the same time, the bill requires manufacturers to report PFAS-containing product information to the state environmental department starting in 2027, and unreported products will not be allowed to be sold starting in 2028.
(III) Canada: Phased PFAS Ban Proposal Enters Public Consultation
Following the release of data collection and consultation documents in 2024, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) announced on March 8, 2025, its plan to list PFAS (excluding fluoropolymers) in Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, with a 60-day public comment period in April. The proposal intends to ban PFAS in high-risk areas in three phases, including non-essential applications such as fire-fighting foam, cosmetics, food packaging, residential building materials, and textiles.
II. Major Market Recall Dynamics: Concentrated Disposal of Safety Hazards in the Chinese Market
From April 21 to 27, 2025, the Recall Center of the State Administration for Market Regulation of China monitored 22 enterprises carrying out 26 consumer product recalls, involving 5,255 products, covering six categories such as electronic appliances, children's products, and electric bicycles. Among them, electrical safety and children's mechanical injury risks were the main hazard types.
(I) Electronic Appliances: Electric Shock and Fire Hazards Account for Over 60%
Electronic appliance recalls this month involved mobile phones, sockets, lamps, circuit breakers and other products, with main problems concentrated on substandard electrical clearance, insufficient insulation strength, and failure of protection functions. Typical cases include:
Fujian Yiqing Technology: Recalled 30 "SUN008 Crown 4G" mobile phones. The power adapter failed to meet the GB 4943.1-2022 standard in dielectric strength test, posing an electric shock risk;
Guangdong Meiyilan Electric: Recalled 1,300 two-pole and three-pole sockets. Test pins inserted into the jacks could touch live parts, resulting in prominent electric shock hazards;
Foshan Southeast Lighting: Recalled 1,225 LED lamps. Basic insulation components contacted accessible metal parts, with insufficient insulation strength.
(II) Children's Products: Risks of Drawstrings and Small Parts Attract Attention
Recalls of children's products involved three categories: toys, clothing, and stationery, all directly related to children's personal safety:
Shanghai Haixin Trading: Recalled 50 "Kechao" swinging plush dolls. The self-retracting rope was not thick enough, posing a risk of pinching the fingers of children under 18 months;
Wuxi Riyue Tongshen Clothing: Recalled 10 children's hooded sweaters. The protruding drawstrings around the head and neck were easy to entangle, leading to strangulation and suffocation;
Inner Mongolia Zizibujuan Technology: Recalled 174 Manzhouli matryoshka-themed notebooks. The paper whiteness exceeded the standard, which might cause visual fatigue and vision damage to primary school students.
(III) Electric Bicycles: Modification Risks and Substandard Safety Performance Become a Hard-Hit Area
The number of electric bicycle recalls this month reached 482 units, accounting for 9.2% of the total recalled products. The main problems included excessive speed, failure of short-circuit protection, and insufficient anti-tampering measures for batteries:
Tianjin Sundiro Electric Vehicle: Cumulatively recalled 367 Pailai and Pairui series electric bicycles, involving multiple standard non-compliances such as speed limit, short-circuit protection, and charging protection;
Tianjin Lvjia Vehicle Industry: Recalled 100 TDT2229Z electric bicycles. The excessive vehicle weight affected braking performance, and the reserved modification interface for batteries posed safety hazards.
III. Summary of Regulatory Trends and Compliance Suggestions
From the regulatory dynamics in April, global consumer product regulation showed two major trends: First, globalization of chemical substance control. PFAS and other "permanent chemicals" have become the focus of joint control by many countries. Phased bans and testing standard upgrades will continue to promote the green transformation of the industrial chain; second, precision of product safety regulation. Markets such as China quickly dispose of high-risk hazards through high-frequency and small-batch recalls, focusing on people's livelihood areas such as children's products and electric vehicles.
Enterprise Compliance Suggestions: 1. Establish a dynamic monitoring list for restricted substances such as PFAS, and lay out the research and development of alternative materials in advance; 2. For electronic and electrical products, strengthen pre-factory electrical safety testing, and focus on the updates of GB 4943.1 and GB 4706 series standards; 3. Manufacturers of children's products must strictly implement standards such as GB 6675 and GB 21027, and strengthen the control of key indicators such as drawstrings, small parts, and harmful substances.
