SGS, the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company, has published a SafeGuardS looking at New Zealand’s new website designed to help stakeholders comply with the nation’s ban on some plastic products.

New Zealand’s Ministry of the Environment has made the website available following the issuing of:

• Waste Minimization (Plastic and Related Products) Regulations 2022 – prohibits six categories of plastic product
• Waste Minimization (plastic and Related Products) Amendment Regulations 2022 – expands scope of prohibited products and creates a list of products that can only be sold under specified exceptions

Waste Minimization (Plastic and Related Products) Regulations 2022 came into effect in October 2022 and its amendments will come into effect on July 1, 2023.

The Ministry of the Environment website details the phasing out of hard-to-recycle and single-use plastics. Stakeholders should also be aware the website indicates that New Zealand is planning to phase out all other PVC and polystyrene food and drink packaging from mid-2025.

SGS has published SafeGuardS 012.23 to help stakeholders understand the requirements and scope of the regulations to minimize plastic and related product waste. It includes a table detailing the full scope of each regulation.

For more information, review SGS’s original SafeGuardS 012.23.

SGS Food Contact Material Services

SGS’s technical experts have extensive experience of testing materials and articles in contact with food. They can ensure that your products meet the appropriate regulations for food contact materials and pave the way for compliance. SGS offers the full range of testing, including migration tests, along with expert advice on emerging regulations, compliance issues and documentation review. In the end, it’s only trusted because it’s tested. Learn more about SGS’s Food Contact Material Services.

SGS SafeGuardS keep you up to date with the latest news and developments in the consumer goods industry. Read the full New Zealand Outlines Prohibition of Certain Products Containing Plastic SafeGuardS.

Subscribe here to receive SGS SafeGuardS direct to your inbox.

For further information contact:

Dr. Hingwo Tsang

Global Information and Innovation Manager

Tel: +852 2774 7420

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Website: www.sgs.com/hardlines

LinkedIn: sgs-consumer-goods-&-retail

About SGS

We are SGS – the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company. We are recognized as the global benchmark for sustainability, quality and integrity. Our 97,000 employees operate a network of 2,650 offices and laboratories, working together to enable a better, safer and more interconnected world.

SGS, the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company, is pleased to announce the opening of a brand-new Lighting Testing Laboratory in Suwanee, Georgia USA.

The state-of-the-art, ISO/IEC 17025 and ISO 17065 accredited facility expands the testing and certification services available to the luminaire industry from SGS, an EPA-recognized Certification Body with a global network of laboratories.

Retailers and manufacturers across the US will benefit from a one-stop-shop offering a comprehensive suite of environmental testing for lighting performance, energy efficiency, safety certification and RF/EMC. The product scope covers all types of luminaires, from those used in the home to hazardous locations, encompassing flashlights, LED, smart lighting, mobile phones, commercial and automotive lights, horticulture and grow lights, industrial-proven lights, and general luminaires.

Prathamesh Panchal, Engineering Manager, SGS, said: “In response to the growing industry demand from across the USA for our lighting testing and certification solutions, we are delighted to open this much-needed new lab. It ensures we are even better placed to help retailers and manufacturers comply with stringent regulations and standards within an increasingly complex industry; enabling them to trade with the confidence and assurance needed in today’s global marketplace.”

The Suwanee lab is approved to deliver an extended range of global certification schemes including:

• designed to improve the efficiency of lighting products
• Zhaga, which aims to standardize interfaces of components of LED luminaires, and future-proof products for the next-generation Zhaga-D4i nodes
• minimum performance standards in three key areas: distribution, color and longevity/stress
• CB Certification and NRTL certification for General Product Certification for the USA, Canada and international markets

SGS luminaires services

SGS works with manufacturers to create tailor-made solutions and provide a convenient one-stop-shop service to ensure products are compliant with target market requirements.

SGS offers testing and certification services, tailored to manufacturers and retailers, to give full market access to global supply chains. Adhering to regulations and standards is not only necessary but helps to reduce risk, improve efficiency and ensure compliance throughout the manufacturing process.

Learn more about SGS’s Luminaires Services.

For further information, please contact:

Prathamesh Panchal

Engineering Manager

Safety Laboratory

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Clint Gable

Sales Executive

Connectivity & Products

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

About SGS 

We are SGS – the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company. We are recognized as the global benchmark for sustainability, quality and integrity. Our 97,000 employees operate a network of 2,650 offices and laboratories, working together to enable a better, safer and more interconnected world.

Mike Reynolds is expanding his current role as Senior Consultant with the seven-year-old fundraising leader, BrightDot’s charged with the expansion of their Talent and Recruitment Division to include full-service training, recruitment, and placement for skilled fundraising into organizations that are building their development team, crafting a new campaign, and seeking their largest donation ever.

Bill Crouch, BrightDot’s founder and CEO, explains that they receive dozens of requests from organizations that are not currently clients of the company. “To meet our goal of impacting the lives of over 63 million people by 2025, we have been looking for growth opportunities that fulfill that vision.” The company will continue to focus on serving non-profits, higher education, museums, and associations that serve and benefit the community.

Mike believes BrightDot’s vision to impact lives drives his motivation. “I believe our mission helps guarantee massive social change in the communities we and our clients serve,” he explains. He has worked with both for-profit and nonprofit organizations, including serving as minister within church and healthcare settings.

He finds joy in enterprises and people who are “highly connected to compelling visions.” It is his ambition to help make the world a better place through meaningful client connections and helping build capacity for those we serve.

BrightDot serves as fundraising consultants with a donor focused strategy they call Donors Dreams Delivered, which focuses on helping non-profits engage high net worth philanthropists who provide transformational gifts. They are based in Raleigh, North Carolina and serve non-profits, higher education, museums, and associations across the nation. To learn more about BrightDot and transformational gifts visit www.thebrightdot.com.

CONTACT: Rebecca Antonelli | cell/text: 919.740.3008  |  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | H&S Marketing

SGS, the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company, is advising stakeholders that Canada is proposing amendments to its regulations controlling products containing mercury.

The Departments of the Environment and Health published ‘Amending the Products Containing Mercury’ on December 24, 2022. Currently, products are regulated by the Products Containing Mercury Regulations (SOR/2014-254), which came into effect in November 2015. However, while this does prohibit the manufacture and import of products containing mercury or any of its compounds, it does not fully align with the requirements of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, which was rarified by Canada in 2017.  

SGS has published SafeGuardS 008.23 to help stakeholders understand the potential implications of ‘Amending the Products Containing Mercury’. It includes a table that summarizes the amendments, potential effective dates and the additional requirements for manufacturers and importers. Among the potential impacts of the amending document is a requirement to lower the limits for some fluorescent lamps and end exemptions for most other mercury-containing lamps and catalysts used to make polyurethane.

To learn more, stakeholders are advised to read SGS’s original SafeGuardS 008.23.

Canada is currently holding a period of consultation, during which the public can submit relevant opinions. This will conclude on March 9, 2023.

SGS Consumer Product Services

SGS provides news about the development of regulations affecting consumer products as a complimentary service. With an unrivalled global network of laboratories, they offer physical/mechanical testing, analytical testing and consultancy work for technical and non-technical parameters applicable to a comprehensive range of consumer products. In the end, it’s only trusted because it’s tested. Learn more about SGS’s Consumer Product Services.

SGS SafeGuardS keep you up to date with the latest news and developments in the consumer goods industry. Read the full Canada Proposes Amendments to Regulations Controlling Products Containing Mercury SafeGuardS.

Subscribe here to receive SGS SafeGuardS direct to your inbox.

For further information contact:

Ethan Zhang

Technical Supervisor, EET, RSTS

Tel: (86) 574 8776 7006 ext. 6007

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Website: www.sgs.com/ee

LinkedIn: sgs-consumer-goods-&-retail

About SGS

We are SGS – the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company. We are recognized as the global benchmark for sustainability, quality and integrity. Our 97,000 employees operate a network of 2,650 offices and laboratories, working together to enable a better, safer and more interconnected world.