On August 24, 2017, the United States and Canada jointly issued a recall for over 30 000 pairs Vegan boots. These products were made in Vietnam, which contain exceed benzidine in tongue lining posing a negative impact to the wearer. As far as is known, it is the first recall case in U.S. and Canada due to the arylamines used in footwear. This recall was conducted, voluntarily by the company, under CPSC’s Fast Track Recall process.
Benzidine, CAS No. 92-87-5, is an arylamine that can be released from azo dyes. By now, there was no U.S. federal and Canadian regulation controlling arylamines, but these substances were restricted in REACH Annex XVII and many other regulations or standards in different countries, such as National general safety technical code for textile products(GB 18401)in China etc.
CTT advice:
Arylamine-based dyes are widely used in textile and leather products. Although this recall case involving arylamines first appears in U.S., a number of similar recall cases have occurred in EU these years. CTT advices that Enterprises should control these restricted substances in products, and avoid using un-qualified raw materials. Furthermore, the finish products should be tested to ensure that they meet the requirements of the target markets.