In China, a new standard on bed cloths becomes effective from February 1, 2022. Once the new standard GB/T 22796-2021 is in force, the following standards become invalid: 

• GB/T 22796-2009 “Quilts and Quilt Covers”, this standard applies to quilts and quilt cover products with woven fabrics as the surface and lining, and flocculent fibers as fillers (excluding down and pure silk)
• GB/T 22843-2009 “Pillow and Cushion Products” applies to all kinds of pillow and cushion products with textile fibers as the main material
• GB/T 22797-2009 “Bed Sheets” that is applicable to all kinds of woven bed sheet products
• GB/T 22844-2009 “Matching Bedding” applies to matching bedding mainly made of textile
• GB/T 22855-2009 “Raschel Bedding” covers all kinds of fiber pure or blended bedding made of warp knitted single-layer Raschel as the main fabric, excluding products filled with down and wool

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GB/T 22796-2021 covers bed cloths made of textile shell and textile lining with or without wadding filling. It does not apply to bedding for infants and toddlers aged 36 months and under.

According to the GB/T 22796-2021 to guarantee the quality of bed cloths manufacturers should prove the compliance of the product against the following types of requirements:

• Essential safety requirements
• Internal quality requirements
• External quality 
• Quality of manufacture

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Please, note that the standard integrates requirements of GB 18401 and GB 31701 standards. That is why essential safety requirements for bed cloths are mainly specified in GB 18401 “National general safety technical code for textile products”. Meanwhile, general safety requirements for bedding intended for children from 3 to 14 years old considers provisions of GB 31701 “Safety technical code for infants and children textile products”.

The requirements to the quality of bed cloths also depends on the type of material and type of product, for instance: 

• Requirement for compression and recovery property for raschel bedding
• Requirement for colourfastness to wet rubbing (dark colour product are excluded)
• Strength requirement for knitted fabric
• Requirements of external quality for knitted bed cloths, etc.

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The information has been prepared by the GMA Consult Group team.‍

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