1. Is it true that anyone can set up a business in the UK to make or sell face coverings, without any prior requirement to demonstrate experience or knowledge of textiles or product safety laws to an independent body? If there is a legal requirement, please can you advise the relevant law and and section
This is not a request for information we hold. We understand the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) are intending to respond to you directly
2. Is it true that face coverings made in the UK are not required to be independently safety tested at the point of manufacture? If there is a legal requirement, please can you advise the relevant law and section.
This is not a request for information we hold. We understand the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) are intending to respond to you directly.
3. Is it true that businesses can import face coverings into the UK from anywhere in the world, without a requirement for the importer to evidence their experience or knowledge of textiles or product safety laws to an independent body? If there is a legal requirement, please can you advise the relevant law and section.
This is not a request for information we hold. We understand the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) are intending to respond to you directly.
4. Is it true that UK retailers are not required to provide trading standards with evidence of the safety of the face coverings they are retailing before they are made available to the public? If there is a legal requirement, please advise the relevant law and section.
This is not a request for information we hold. We understand the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) are intending to respond to you directly.
Only if Trading Standards has not answered questions 1-4, I would be grateful to receive a copy of the records relating to one retailer and one manufacturer where they have provided evidence to Trading Standards, detailing their experience or knowledge of textiles and product safety laws. You may remove the name/address of the business, so they are not identifiable
We have not been able to identify any records which meet the terms of this request; therefore this information is not held.
5. In 2020, over 70,000 new companies registered to make or sell face coverings. There has been a rush by businesses to profit from the virus. Noting this and the sudden national need for face coverings, please can you confirm what steps the Council’s Trading Standards team took to identify whether any new (and potentially inexperienced) businesses, operating in the area, began manufacturing or retailing face coverings after December 2019
The Devon, Somerset and Torbay Trading Standards Service carried out a market surveillance project during the Summer of 2020 which was aimed at importers and manufacturers of relevant products in our local area. In September 2020 we contacted 111 local importers and gave them the links to the OPSS guidance which included face coverings. A copy of this can be found on this Devon County Council webpage.
We also updated our Service website to include the latest OPSS guidance, and this information has been regularly reviewed to reflect updates from the national regulators. This guidance includes face coverings.
We contacted two private individuals who were selling face coverings for babies/children under 3 years old to advise on the Government guidance that these were not appropriate. We issued a press release around this issue.
We were aware that there were local private individuals selling via online market places, and we published 35 social media posts alerting business and consumers about the requirements for PPE, medical devices and face coverings.
6. Noting that face coverings are associated with a risk of fainting, collapsed lung, cardiac arrest and death when undertaking physical activity (point 5 at Harms from Face Coverings), does consumer protection law require suitable warnings (eg. in regard to physical exercise, driving or use of heavy machinery) to appear on the product?
This is not a request for information we hold. We understand the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) are intending to respond to you directly
Only if Trading Standards has not answered question 6, I would be grateful to receive a record of a communication Trading Standards has issued to three Face Covering manufacturers/suppliers regarding the need for Face Coverings to be accompanied by particular warnings or safety instructions. You may remove the name/address of the business, so they are not identifiable
Three private individuals asked for advice on making face coverings for local communities were given the advice which was issued by OPSS. We are unable to give contact details as disclosure of this information would contravene the first data protection principle of the Data Protection Act 2018. As such, S40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act (Personal Data) is applied and this information is exempt. The information provided can be found on this webpage How to make a cloth face covering – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
We also advised by email:
- Material used should be of a close weave type such as cotton
- Materials that may come into contact with user’s skin should not present known risks of irritation or adverse effects on health
- Parts of the face covering likely to be in contact with the user shall be free of sharp edges and burrs
- The head harness should be designed in such a way that the barrier mask can be easily put on and removed
- The head harness can go around the user’s head and/or ears It should be sufficiently robust to hold the mask in place in such a way to avoid excessive tightness and discomfort when worn
- Use of staples are not recommended as these can constitute a hazard or nuisance to the user
- The face covering should be designed to be reusable and the materials able to withstand the cleaning products and methods
- specified by the manufacturer
- Instructions for cleaning i.e. use of a suitable detergent and a wash cycle
- Instructions on how to put on and remove the face covering safely
- Each face covering should be enclosed in packaging to prevent contamination
- A statement that the use of the face covering does not exclude the user from following official guidelines such as social distancing.
- You must ensure that you do not make any claims that the face covering can protect the user or others from the transmission of disease.
7. Please can you provide records (name and address) of local businesses that began manufacturing face coverings for the first time after December 2019 and whether a visit has been undertaken to that business to verify the safety of their face coverings
We are aware that Heathcoat Fabrics Ltd., EX16 5LL market face coverings, but are unaware of the date this commenced.
As above, three private individuals came to us for advice on the requirements for making face coverings, however we are unable to give contact details as disclosure of this information would contravene the first data protection principle of the Data Protection Act 2018. As such, S40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act (Personal Data) is applied and this information is exempt
No physical visits were carried out and any advice given was over the phone and by email
8. Since April 2020, please can you confirm what actions the Council’s Trading Standards team have taken to determine whether face coverings accessible to residents from websites with sellers from outside the European Union (eg. Amazon, Alibaba and eBay etc) are safe?
As per the answer to Question 5 above, we carried out market surveillance to establish importers in our area followed by links to the national guidance on PPE and face coverings.
We issued 35 social media posts alerting business and consumers about the requirements for PPE, medical devices and face coverings. This included the HSE warning about KN95 masks which may not have been tested to GB standards (note these are PPE rather than face coverings). This information can be found on the following website Use of face masks designated KN95 – Safety alert – HSE
Only if Trading Standards has not answered question 8, I would be grateful to receive a copy of any advice/warnings the Council has issued to the public about the potential dangers of particular types or brands of face covering or of buying these products from sellers on marketplace websites.
See above
9. Please can you provide records of the number ofsamples of locally manufactured face coverings that the Council’s Trading Standards team has sent for analysis. Please advise the results of that analysis, numbers containing harmful substances; what those substances were; action taken or planned to be taken. (Details of the company under investigation are not necessary, so the information is not protected by the FOIA “commercial secrets” or “criminal investigation” exemptions and may be disclosed). Please provide separate data for the periods April 2020 – March 2021 and April 2021 – present.
None
10. How many samples of face coverings being locally retailed has the Council’s Trading Standards team sent for analysis? Please provide separate data for the periods April 2020 – March 2021 and April 2021 – present.
None
11. I note that following concerns by the Canadian health authorities, the Spanish Regulator took action regarding the face coverings of concern, suggesting an information exchange between countries. What information has Government provided to the Council about potentially harmful substances that may be contained on face coverings? Please provide a copy of such advice
This information is not held.
12. What guidance has Governmentprovided Trading Standards on the necessity to conduct sampling of face coverings or particular substances to test for? Please provide a copy of that information and the date it was provided
This information is not held.
13. Since April 2020, what funds have been offered to, and what funds provided to, the Council’s Trading Standards team from Government specifically to cover the cost of sampling face coverings?
None
Only if question 13 has not been answered, please provide a copy of any communications with the words “face covering” or “face mask” in combination with “fund” or “funding” in the same paragraph.
As part of Trading Standards’ investigation into the safety of these products, I would be grateful if your department can:
a) Explore whether a ban on the manufacturer and/or marketing of face coverings to children 11 years and younger (ie. younger than the age Government considered to be at clinical risk from the virus) is proportionate
b) Noting the serious inherent safety concerns associated with these products, explore whether the purchase of face coverings should be restricted to adults (as shops do with alcohol and cigarettes). The enclosed safety concerns suggest that face coverings pose a greater risk to a 12-year old child’s safety and well-being than watching a 15 age rated movie, which they are legally banned from purchasing.
c) Explore whether there ought to be some national agreement for prominent warnings to appear on masks about known risks eg. collapsed lung, cardiac arrest and death during exercise; fainting whilst driving
d) Explore whether there ought to be some national agreement for prominent warnings to appear on disposable masks until a given brand has been tested by a lab and given the “all clear”. I would highlight that disposable face coverings are a different risk from, say, scarves and other clothing items one may use as a mask, as the hazardous substances found on masks are less likely to be found on clothing. Re-useable face coverings may pose less of a risk if a typical machine wash removes the various toxins that have been found on face coverings
The above questions (a-d) are not a request for information we hold. We understand the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) are intending to respond to you directly.