1,Recent and future developments in European Standardisation concerning testing of multifunctional textiles,Lus Almeida Department of Textile Engineering School of Engineering University of Minho Guimares - PORTUGAL,2005-11-15,2,Luis Almeida,INTRODUCTION,European Standardisation has assumed an important role especially after the emergence of the Single European Market in 1993. Unlike ISO standards, CEN standards are to be compulsory adopted by all the CEN members (even if the country has voted against).,3,Luis Almeida,INTRODUCTION,Members of the European Committee of Standardisation (CEN) at present are: All the 25 European Union members Switzerland, Iceland and Norway Affiliated members: Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey.,4,Luis Almeida,INTRODUCTION,There are about 300 Technical Committees within CEN. Within textiles, the most relevant are: CEN/TC162 Protective clothing including hand and arm protection and life jackets CEN/TC248 Textiles and textile products In this presentation, the main emphasis will be given on CEN/TC248.,5,Luis Almeida,CEN/TC248,CEN/TC248 has been created in 1990. The scope of CEN/TC248 is: Standardization of the following aspects of textiles, textile products and textile components of products: 1) test methods; 2) terms and definitions; 3) specifications and classifications; 4) equipment relevant for the testing and use of textiles.,6,Luis Almeida,CEN/TC248,Since its creation, a total of 17 plenary meetings took place. 276 European Standards have already been developed and published since 1990. 195 of these standards were adopted simultaneously by CEN and ISO, under the Vienna Agreement.,7,Luis Almeida,CEN/TC248 Structure,8,Luis Almeida,CEN/TC248 working groups,9,Luis Almeida,CEN/TC248,One of the major tasks for CEN/TC248 is the development of an European sizing system for clothes. Two mandates from the European Commission have also recently been allocated to CEN/TC248: Flammability of nightwear Safety of childrens clothing.,10,Luis Almeida,CEN/TC248/WG9,In 1994, CEN/TC248 has created an working group called “Prioritization of research topics”, with the following scope: “Establishment of priorities in terms of needs of research, in order to apply for possible funding of projects in the field of the EC Programme SMT (Standards, Measuring and Testing) through dedicated call for proposals.,11,Luis Almeida,CEN/TC248/WG9,Several projects have been analysed by CEN/TC248/WG9 and later submitted to CEN/STAR for publication of “dedicated calls” for pre- and co-normative research. The following projects have been financed under the 4th and 5th EU Framework Programmes for R&D:,12,Luis Almeida,CEN/TC248/WG9,Burning behaviour of curtains and drapes: flame spread measurement using a large ignition source Development of standards for testing the launderability of textile items in wet cleaning systems and drycleanability of textile items hydrocarbon solvents - Machine test,13,Luis Almeida,CEN/TC248/WG9,Two other dedicated calls have been published in 2001: Identification and quantification organic flame retardant components on textile materials Antibacterial and antifungal properties of textile materials Unfortunately, the projects presented to the call, although rated quite well, have not been financed, due to budget cuttings.,14,Luis Almeida,CEN/TC248/WG9,Many other projects have been discussed; some of them have lead to new standard methods, such as: Verification of the detection limits of certain arylamines derived from azodyestuffs using chromatographic methods. Test method for assessment of UV protective properties of textiles.,15,Luis Almeida,CEN/TC248/WG9,In 1999 the scope of WG9 has been redefined as: To define research needs in support of ongoing (co-normative) and future (pre-normative) standardisation and to prioritise them in line with the guidelines of CEN/TC248 Business Plan.,16,Luis Almeida,CEN/TC248/WG9,Since 2003, WG9 started to give more emphasis on the development of new areas of standardisation. WG9 has then proposed a new strategy for the future standardisation activities, namely in the area of high added value textile products, including for instance health care and well being, multifunctional textiles, interactive textiles, sustainable development, etc.,17,Luis Almeida,CEN/TC248/WG9,A link with the EU promoted MAXIQUEST project has been established. MAXIQUEST - Maximising Quality and Efficiency of Standards through Normative Research. www.maxiquest.net,18,Luis Almeida,CEN/TC248/WG9,After an enquiry made in 2004, it was found that there are no relevant national standards which describe appropriate test methods in the area of new functional textiles, including: cosmeto-textiles electrostatic and electromagnetic barrier textiles relaxing or massaging textiles thermoregulatory textiles, etc.,19,Luis Almeida,CEN/TC248/WG9,In 2004 it was decided to create a Task Group “COSMETO-TEXTILES”, to study the development of t