SGS, the world’s leading testing and certification service provider, offers a range of solutions to help online retailers ensure their products arrive intact and undamaged while minimizing packaging costs, environmental impact and avoiding chargebacks and fees.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a significant increase in online sales. One survey has recorded an 80% increase in the number of people now buying 50% or more of their shopping online. It is believed this trend will continue. While COVID-19 is not responsible for the move to online retailing it has amplified it and it has become the preferred choice for many consumers.

The key to success for online retailers is robust packaging that allows the product to arrive at its destination in the same condition as they would if the consumer went to the store. At the same time, consumers are also keen to see companies address environmental concerns by reducing the amount of packaging their products arrive in.

In 2019, the global online supplier Amazon delivered around 3.5 billion packages. Each package will go through several process stages on its journey, meaning the potential for damage to the product is significant if the packaging does not perform correctly.

Amazon launched its Frustration-Free Packaging (FFP) Certification in 2008, most recently updated in February 2020. This requires all packaging going through Amazon distribution channels to meet certain standards. Put simply, packaging must be:

• Right-sized
• Easy to open
• Made of recyclable packaging materials
• Capable of protecting the product during transit

The goal for Amazon is that a product can be transported through their supply chain without requiring additional packaging. To push this further, on September 19, 2019, they made it clear that any incoming inventory arriving at their fulfilment centers had to go through a Packaging Performance Test. If a large product is not certified to at least its Ships in Own Container (SIOC) standard, or Tier 2, each unit will be liable to a chargeback fee of USD 1.99.

There are exemptions – hazmat products, fresh pantry products, smaller products, and lower volume products that were listed at least eight months before the product was given its Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN).

To help online retailers and distributors, the International Safe Transit Association (ISTA) has established standardized transit packaging tests that fall into two types:

• Performance tests – pass/fail assessment used to determine the viability of a packaged product to survive normal shipment
• Development tests – compare relative performance between two or more packaging designs

There are six different levels of performance testing, from 1-Series tests – non-simulation integrity performance tests – to 6-series, which tests the ability of packaging to meet the performance requirements of an individual company. For example, ISTA 6-Amazon has been developed to test a package’s ability to conform to the company’s performance requirements. Testing can be undertaken against one or more of three tiers:

• Tier 1 – Frustration-free Packaging (FFP)
• Tier 2 – Ships in its Own Container (SIOC)
• Tier 3 – Prep-free Packaging (PFP)

Chargeback fees will be enforced on large product packaging that does not conform at least to Tier 2.

It should be noted poor packaging can also result in:  

• Lost business
• Tarnished reputations
• Costly damage to products
• Delays

As more and more retailers move online, businesses are advised to ensure their packaging conforms to the right standards. Businesses that successfully adapt to industry and consumer requirements will find their reputation’s enhanced and their costs reduced. 

SGS ISTA Certification

SGS provides a comprehensive range of packaging services to help manufacturers and suppliers ensure their products are effectively protected during distribution. Their service includes environmental (temperature extremes, UV etc.), shock, vibration, compression, impact, moisture, and forklift and clamping testing to ensure packaging is robust enough to protect the product during transportation. In addition, they also provide testing against ISTA standards, including ISTA 6-Amazon, and can help guide customers through the Amazon FFP certification process. Learn more about SGS ISTA Certification.

For more information, please contact:

John O’Connell

Global Packaging Director

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

SGS is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. SGS is recognized as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. With more than 89,000 employees, SGS operates a network of over 2,600 offices and laboratories around the world.

France publishes a new law – Order of August 5, 2020 – covering food contact rubber materials and articles and pacifiers for infants and young children.

Issued on August 11, 2020, the Order repeals and replaces Order of November 9, 1994 – rubber materials and articles in contact with foodstuffs, food products and drinks. The new law contains multiple important changes:

• Clarification to the definition of rubber covers vulcanized thermoplastic elastomers, but not silicone elastomers
• Lists of authorized substances for the manufacture of rubber materials and articles intended to come into contact with food and pacifiers for infants and young children updated
• Restrictions and specifications for these authorized substances updated due to new scientific information, including specific migration limits (SMLs)
• Certain rules for verifying the conformity of rubber materials and articles updated
• Completely new requirement for declaration of compliance (Doc) added
• Expresses overall migration limits (OMLs) and their requirements in one of two specifications:
  • ≤ 10 mg/dm² for 1) all articles 2) pacifiers for infants and young children and 3) gaskets, valves and valve elements where the ratio between the surface in contact with food and the volume is not known or specified
  • ≤ 60 mg/kg for 1) food contact materials and articles for infants and young children 2) bottle nipples (teats) and 3) gaskets, valves and valve elements where the ratio between the surface in contact with food and the volume is known or specified

Stakeholders should be aware the new law covers:

• Food contact rubber materials and articles, rubber pacifiers for infants and young children, as well as intermediate materials and substances used in their manufacture
• Bottle nipples (teats) and pacifiers for infants and young children that are made of elastomer or rubber when specifically mentioned in the law

For more information on the provisions within the new law, including specific migration levels, view SafeGuard 128/20.

Order of August 5, 2020 comes into effect on July 1, 2021, although food contact rubber materials and articles that comply with the previous Order and were placed onto the market before this date can continue to be sold until their stocks are exhausted.

SGS Toy & Juvenile Product Services

SGS offers a wide range of services to ensure that products comply with relevant standards for childcare articles and children’s equipment. They provide consulting, training, product development, testing, audit and inspection services to ensure that products comply with strict regulations worldwide, demonstrating the safety and quality of juvenile products being brought to the market.  Learn more about SGS’s Toy & Juvenile Product Services. 

SGS SafeGuardS keep you up to date with the latest news and developments in the consumer goods industry. Read the full France Issues New Order on Food Contact Rubber and Pacifiers for Young Children SafeGuardS.

Subscribe here to receive SGS SafeGuardS direct to your inbox.

For further information contact:

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

SGS is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. SGS is recognized as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. With more than 89,000 employees, SGS operates a network of over 2,600 offices and laboratories around the world.

Award winning Kent based web agency – Whitefish Marketing – have signed up another new accountancy client.  M. Willis Accountancy who provide a customer focused and highly cost-effective service for the self-employed, specializing in assisting SME businesses to grow, chose Whitefish Marketing as their digital partner to help increase exposure for their new brand.

The core medium chosen was social media marketing, where the client wanted to increase exposure of his new Facebook business page https://www.facebook.com/mwillisaccountancy/ Budget was always going to be a factor for a new brand start-up, so an organic approach was selected over Facebook PPC adverts.

Mark Willis, the director of M. Willis Accountancy voiced his opinion of the service so far:

“Highly recommended. I found Whitefish Marketing through a google search for Accountancy Marketing

Chris was extremely helpful in answering any queries and now promotes my Facebook Business page”

The organic approach undertaken sees the Whitefish Marketing team engage with prospective business and clients on behalf of M. Willis Accountancy, through 3^rd party Facebook groups and forums.

Chris Surridge from Whitefish Marketing had this to say:

“This is an interesting project, as we are effectively engaging with prospective customers on behalf of the client.  To an extent we need to fully understand his business proposition and any selected messages they wish to portray to the public.  We’re not merely broadcasting here, but rather trying to strike up 2-way discussions with prospective businesses who would be interested in M Willis Accountancy services.”

Whitefish Marketing specialise in digital marketing for accountants and have a number of accountancy firms on the books, including some Accountancy Age Top 100 firms.  They purely provide digital marketing services and focus heavily on SEO, PPC, and Social Media Marketing as well as the initial Web Design and Web Development.

For more information on Whitefish Marketing, head to their website at www.whitefishmarketing.co.uk or call their Kent office HQ on 01303 720 288.

SGS, the world’s leading provider of testing and certification services, offers a comprehensive range of testing services to help manufacturers develop high quality and compliant footwear products for markets all over the world.

An important aspect of footwear is comfort but that does not just mean softness. SGS’s testing capabilities cover all aspects of comfort, including:

• Water resistance & penetration
• Drying times
• Cushioning/shock absorption
• Compression/energy absorption
• Resilience
• Odor
• Insulation
• Sole skid resistance

SGS is taking this holistic approach to shoe comfort testing at a time when more and more people are buying their shoes online and are therefore unable to consider whether a shoe is ‘comfortable’ before they buy.

The average human walks around the Earth four times in their life (115,000 miles). The shoes we wear are therefore important to us and, as a population, we are willing to spend considerable sums on buying fashionable and comfortable shoes. This is demonstrated by the fact the average consumer spends USD 277.09 on shoes in the US, the world’s largest apparel market. 

Shoes that are uncomfortable are easy to define because they lead to bunions, blisters, athletes’ foot, corn, fallen arches, heel pain, joint aches, and in-growing toenails. It is, however, more difficult to define ‘comfortable’.

Whether a shoe is comfortable has a lot to do with performance. For example, a shoe worn by Captain Scott on his attempt to reach the South Pole might be considered heavy and uncomfortable in normal life but in the conditions he expected to face, it might be considered comfortable. In fact, his specially designed shoes incorporated the latest technologies but still failed to perform correctly, leaving the explorers with severe frostbite.

Softness is not the only factor to consider when looking at comfort. Manufacturers also need to consider protection and performance. Modern shoes not only protect our feet, they also augment our own abilities, and they must fit the job they are required to perform. For example, Usain Bolt’s custom-made shoes needed to be comfortable only in terms of a short sprint, but a waitress or waiter’s shoes need to be comfortable for a long period of time.

When a manufacturer develops a new shoe, they need to consider a range of comfort concepts. If they fail to develop comfortable shoes within the parameters of the user and the task they are designed to perform, then they are uncomfortable and will be discarded. In the days of social media and online reviews, this can potentially be very damaging for a brand.  

SGS Clothing and Footwear Comfort Services

SGS has developed a range of testing services to help manufacturers produce high quality, compliant, and comfortable shoes for their target markets. Testing solutions include water resistance & penetration, drying times, cushioning/shock absorption, compression/energy absorption, resilience, odor, insulation and sole skid resistance. Learn more about SGS Clothing and Footwear Comfort Services. 

For more information, please contact: 

Paul Bridge

Deputy VP CRS Softlines

Head of Footwear Services 

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

Website: www.sgs.com/softlines

LinkedIn: sgs-consumer-goods-&-retail

About SGS

SGS is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. SGS is recognized as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. With more than 89,000 employees, SGS operates a network of over 2,600 offices and laboratories around the world.