With nearly 30% of Americans fully vaccinated, a surplus of unused PTO, and restrictions lifting in many destinations, even some of the most hesitant travelers are about ready to pack their bags. Soon, the days of empty airports will be a distant memory, but our summer vacations may still look different than what we were accustomed to pre-pandemic, and rightfully so. 

Expedia Group surveyed 2,200 Americans in partnership with Morning Consult in May 2021 to gauge how many people are prepared to take a well-deserved break from work, explore, and reconnect with loved ones — and whether recent industry news has impacted their plans. Here’s what we found.  

1. Summer travel is hot. 

• In the next six months, 64% of people plan to travel for fun.  
• Fifty-seven percent of plan to take a trip on Memorial Day, or at some point over the summer.  

2. For the first time in nearly a year, Seniors are traveling more than younger generations. 

• Among all generations, Millennials (69%) are traveling the most, but Boomers (66%) are a close second — higher than both Gen X (64%) and Gen Z (51%). This is a significant shift; likely emboldened by the vaccine rollout, Seniors are ready to get back out there. 
• Sixty percent of Seniors will take a vacation during the summer months.  

3. Business travel is starting to make a comeback. 

• While corporate travel is nowhere near pre-COVID levels, 25% of those surveyed plan to travel for work in the next six months. Of those corporate travelers, 10% will make their trip “bleisure” style, blending work and pleasure.  
• On average, business travelers will embark on roughly four work trips by November 2021. 

4. Americans are now considering a trip overseas.  

• This month, the EU announced that vaccinated Americans will soon be able to head to Europe, and a quarter of people booked or started planning an international getaway after hearing the news. Gen Z (31%) and Millennials (30%) are equally comfortable with the idea. 
• Despite news of new COVID-19 variants, Gen Z (46%) and Millennials (43%) remain most confident about international travel compared to Gen X (24%) and Boomers (16%). 

5. Travelers are uncertain about vaccine passports at this stage.  

• Nearly half (46%) are in favor of vaccine passports — but the greater majority feel differently. Twenty-nine percent are opposed to vaccine passports, while 24% are undecided. 
• Interestingly, Americans who have traveled since the pandemic (35%) are more likely to be opposed to vaccine passports compared to those that have not traveled since the pandemic (25%). 

For daily updates about the state of travel, follow us on Twitter @ExpediaGroup, and on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/expedia/. 

Brazil’s Ministry of Economy and National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology (INMETRO) has published a new ordinance that consolidates conformity assessment requirements for party items.

Published in March 2021 and coming into effect on April 1, 2021, Ordinance No. 121 of March 15, 2021, repeals several INMTERO ordinances:

• 545/2012
• 603/2013
• 270/2015
• 147/2019
• 507/2019
• 343/2020

Ordinance 121/2021 has a variety of provisions, including:

Annex I ‘Conformity Assessment Requirements’:

• Criteria and procedures for assessment
• Adoption of ABNT NBR 13883:2015 – Safety of Party Supplies: Requirements and Test Methods
• Certification Models 2 (only for micro and small enterprises), 5 or 1b to achieve the necessary certificate of conformity (CoC)
• Safety requirements (including):
  1. Physical and mechanical properties
  2. Flammability properties for textile materials
  3. Prohibition of pentachlorophenol (PCP) and its salts in wood materials
  4. Migration limit of 8 mg/dm² for food contact or oral contact items
  5. Restriction limits for 8 soluble elements:

Antimony (Sb): no more than 60 mg/kg
Arsenic (As): no more than 25 mg/kg
Barium (Ba): no more than 1,000 mg/kg
Cadmium (Cd): no more than 75 mg/kg
Chromium (Cr): no more than 60 mg/kg
Lead (Pb): no more than 90 mg/kg
Mercury (Hg): no more than 60 mg/kg
Selenium (Se)    : no more than 500 mg/kg

• No more than 0.1% for (the sum of) six phthalates in plasticized materials, such as vinyl materials, that are more than 100 mg in weight

Annex II ‘Conformity Identification Seal’: establishes requirements, includes illustrations of formats and dimensions

Annex III ‘Framework for Party Items’: list of products that are considered within and outside the scope of the Ordinance

The six phthalates are:

1. Benzylbutyl phthalate (BBP)       
2. Dibutyl phthalate (DBP)
3. Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)          
4. Diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP)        
5. Diisononyl phthalate (DINP)       
6. Di-n-octyl phthalate (DNOP)       

Stakeholders are now advised to read SGS’s SafeGuard 056/21 to read a more complete list of Annex I provisions, and check their products comply with the latest Brazilian regulations.

SGS Consumer Products Services

Through a global network of state-of-the-art laboratories, SGS offers consultation and comprehensive testing services (physical/mechanical, chemical, flammability, electrical safety, etc) covering the full spectrum of international product safety and regulatory standards for a wide range of consumer products. Learn more about SGS’s Consumer Products Services. 

SGS SafeGuardS keep you up to date with the latest news and developments in the consumer goods industry. Read the full Brazil Issues Legislation for Party Items 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

Bruno Grigoleto

Manager

Tel: (+55) 11 2664 9595  ext. 8060

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.

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Cranston, RI, USA, May 12, 2021 -- A monumental Rookwood tile mural salvaged from a historic theater in Washington, D.C. and a nude figural drawing by the Indian artist Jehangir Sabavala (1922-2011) are expected top lots in Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers’ online-only Estate Fine Art & Antique auction planned for Thursday, May 20th, at 6 pm Eastern time. Over 400 lots will be offered.

“Hopefully soon, as society begins to open up, we’ll be able to bring a live audience back to the gallery,” said Kevin Bruneau, the president and owner of Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers. “Until then, we offer our in-house buyer’s premium with check discount through our website, so there is no disadvantage or extra cost.”

Travis Landry, a Bruneau & Co. auctioneer and Director of Pop Culture, added, “Another month, another estate auction, offering a good mix of antiques, paintings, jewelry and Asian objects. It’s going to be interesting to see what the Rookwood mural brings in today’s market. It’s not every day one of those becomes available.”

The 20th century mural has a pre-sale estimate of $10,000-$15,000. It’s a whimsical forest scene comprised of 225 tiles, each one 8 inches by 8 inches, depicting a seated woman with a peacock watching men, ladies, and jesters dance around in a forest. The overall size is 3 feet 4 inches by 30 inches. Each one of the tiles is marked “Rookwood Faience” on verso.

The mural came out of the Chase's Theater and Rigg's Building, also known as the Keith-Albee Theater, a historic theater built by Jules Henri de Sibour for Plimpton B. Chase. Chase sold the theater to B. F. Keith and it was later added to the vaudeville circuit where William Howard Taft attended the 1912 opening. Woodrow Wilson was a frequent guest.

The drawing by Jehangir Sabavala depicts a nude woman with one arm resting behind her back and the other holding the legs of a lamb draped across her shoulders. The graphite on paper work has a sheet size of 27 ½ inches by 16 ¼ inches and a framed size of 39 ½ inches by 27 ½ inches. It’s signed, annotated and dated and should bring $6,000-$9,000.

Sabavala was born to an affluent family in India and studied art there, in London and in Paris. He held 31 major solo exhibitions across the subcontinent and in Europe, and participated in more than 150 group exhibitions all over the world. His work is in several important private and public collections. One of his paintings titled Vespers 1, was sold for £253,650 at Bonhams in London.

A seven-piece sterling silver seder set by Richard Fishman (R.I., b. 1941) carries a pre-sale estimate of $2,000-$3,000. The set (51.21 ozt.) includes six symbolic sterling silver plates for the salt water, maror, egg, karpas, charoset, and shank bone, with a black granite top over a triple plated brass box, opening to three shelves for the matzah. Each plate is marked "Sterling" on bottom, and all are numbered and initialed "4/15 RAF" on the bottom.

A vibrant oil on board impressionist coastal bloom painting by Wayne Morrell (Mass., 1923-2013) is estimated to bring $2,000-$3,000. The work depicts a flower lined path leading towards the ocean spotted with sailboats. It measures 18 inches by 24 inches (sight, less frame), is signed lower left and is marked, "Seaside Flowers Painted June 20th 1986 at Marmion Way near Captains House Rockport, Mass. by Wayne Morrell.”

An oil on canvas painting by Arthur Wardle (U.K., 1864-1949), of two elephants walking side by side beside water glistening with moonlight, should command $1,000-$2,000. The painting is 14 inches by 17 inches (sight, less frame). Known for his animal imagery due to his nearness to the London Zoo, Wardle conveyed vast emotions to his animal subjects, combining them with fashionable women or creating mythical human-animal hybrids.

An Anglo-Indian glass top dining table made in India in the early 20th century, should hit $2,000-$3,000. The visually striking table has a rectangular glass top over reticulated columns, decorated with figures, animals, botanical patterns and dragons resting on circular feet. It measures 30 ¼ inches tall by 84 ¾ inches wide by 47 ¼ inches deep.

A Swiss Baume & Mercier 14kt gold ladies’ (or men’s) watch, having a steel gray face with decorative casing and matching scale pattern 14k gold wristband, is expected to slip around a new wrist for $2,000-$3,000. The stylish watch is marked "Baume & Mercier Geneve Swiss Made" on the face and is from the collection of a Rhode Island gentleman.

A large and lovely Chinese Qing Period pomegranate vase, made in the 18th or 19th century and standing approximately 13 ½ inches tall, has an estimate of $2,000-$3,000. The shapely pomegranate form vase boasts a deep brown and red tortoise shell glaze.

Internet bidding will be facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com, Bidsquare.com, bidLIVE.Bruneauandco.com and the mobile app “Bruneau & Co.” on iTunes or GooglePlay.

Previews of all individual items will be available by appointment only, the week of auction. To schedule an appointment, call 401-533-9980; or, send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The gallery is located at 63 Fourth Avenue in Cranston. All COVID-19 protocols will be enforced.

To learn more about Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers and the Estate Fine Art & Antique auction planned for Thursday, May 20th, please visit www.bruneauandco.com. Updates posted often.

SGS expert, Dr. HingWo Tsang, explains the provisions in Canada’s draft regulation revising the requirements for lead, mercury and the migration of five elements in surface coating materials.

These substances are regulated by several pieces of legislation under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA). The five elements are:

• Antimony
• Arsenic
• Cadmium
• Selenium
• Barium

The draft regulation – ‘Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (Surface Coating Materials)’ – was published on April 24, 2021. The intent is to address gaps in the current regulatory framework and create greater consistency across CCPSA regulations.

Among the provisions in the draft regulation are:

• Amends definition for surface coating material to create greater alignment with ASTM F963
• Adds definition for ‘accessible part’
• Expands the restriction of lead in applied surface coating materials on children’s furniture
• Consequential amendments to the requirements for applied surface coating materials

For a complete overview of current requirements and the changes that are being proposed, view SGS’s original SafeGuard 054/21.

The consultation period for the draft regulation will end on July 3, 2021. Amendments will then become effective 180 days after the day of publishing in Canada Gazette, Part II.

SGS DIY, Tools and Hardware Services

SGS offers a comprehensive range of testing solutions to help paint manufacturers produce safe and compliant products for markets around the world. Testing solutions include determining content for heavy metals, and content and emissions for formaldehyde and VOCs. In addition, they provide performance testing services for paints and painting tools. After all, it’s only trusted because it’s tested. Learn more about SGS DIY, Tools and Hardware Services. 

SGS SafeGuardS keep you up to date with the latest news and developments in the consumer goods industry. Read the full Canada Consults Over Proposal to Revise Requirements for Surface Coating Materials under the CCPSA 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

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.