Request a Demo
On January 30, 2026, the National Standardization Administration of the People's Republic of China (SAC) released a notification seeking public comments on 11 proposed mandatory national standard projects. Among these proposals, the chemical industry faces significant regulatory updates, including planned revisions to the "Limit of harmful substances of adhesives" and "Limits for prohibited and restricted substances in leatherette." Industry stakeholders and interested parties are invited to submit feedback on these proposed projects by March 1, 2026.
The initiative to revise these mandatory standards stems from the need to align with China's green development goals and enhance ecological safety. The existing standards for adhesives and artificial leather have been in effect for over a decade (ranging from 10 to 15 years). During this period, manufacturing technologies have evolved, and new harmful substances have emerged that are not adequately covered by current regulations.
Furthermore, discrepancies have arisen between older standards and newer regulations, such as GB 33372-2020 Limit of volatile organic compounds content in adhesive regarding Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) limits. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has proposed these revisions to resolve inconsistencies, expand regulatory scope, and introduce stricter limits on hazardous substances.
Proposed Project 1: Limits for Prohibited and Restricted Substances in Leatherette
This proposal is a revision to GB 21550-2008 Limit of harmful substances in polyvinyl chloride artificial leather. The revision is critical as the artificial leather industry has grown significantly, with China producing approximately 70% of the global supply.
The standard is expanding from solely regulating "Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) artificial leather" to covering all "artificial and synthetic leather." The revision introduces a comprehensive list of prohibited and restricted substances and their corresponding test methods. Newly added substances include:
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
Dimethylformamide (DMFa)
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
Short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs)
Phthalates and Azodicarbonamide
Asbestos, Hydrolyzed/Free Formaldehyde
Polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) and Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)
Extractable heavy metals, Soluble Hexavalent Chromium, and Soluble Mercury
The limits and test methods for "other volatile substances" have been removed to focus on specific chemical controls. The scope expansion significantly affects manufacturers beyond the PVC sector. Importers and downstream industries—including automotive, furniture, clothing, and textiles—must ensure their raw materials comply with the new restricted substance list, particularly concerning emerging contaminants like PFAS and DMFa.
Proposed Project 2: Limit of Harmful Substances of Adhesives
This project aims to consolidate and revise three existing mandatory standards on limits of harmful substances in adhesives:
The new standard will integrate the requirements of the above three predecessor standards into a single document. The application scope will no longer be divided by industry application but will be categorized by adhesive type:
Solvent-based adhesives,
Water-based adhesives, and
Bulk adhesives.
In the new standard, VOC content limits and detection methods will reference GB 33372 to ensure consistency across regulations. The proposal adds detection requirements for several new substance groups based on adhesive type, including:
Alkylphenols and alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEO)
Nonylphenol
Heavy metals
Aromatic amines
Phthalates
Butanone oxime
For harmful substances where limits differed across the previous three standards, the revision adopts the tighter restrictions, meaning the stricter safety requirements will be enforced. Manufacturers of adhesives for construction, footwear, luggage, and interior decoration will need to navigate a unified compliance framework with new chemical testing requirements.
Timeline
These two standards are still at the proposal stage, with the standard development cycle set for 16 months. The public consultation on these proposal projects will end on March 1, 2026. Both standards are Mandatory, meaning compliance is legally required for market access in China, if officially adopted.
