Industry Standards

EN STANDARDS PUBLICATION

EN 233:2016 Wallcoverings in roll form – Specifications for finished wallpapers, wall vinyls and plastics wallcoverings

EN 234:2019 Wallcoverings in roll form – Specification for wallcoverings for subsequent decoration

EN 235:2020 Wallcoverings in roll form – Vocabulary and symbols

EN 259-1:2001 Wallcoverings in roll form – Heavy duty wallcoverings-
Part 1: Specifications

EN 259-2:2001 Wallcoverings in roll form – Heavy duty wallcoverings-
Part 2: Determination of impact resistance

EN 266 :2020 Specification for textile wallcoverings

EN 12149:1998 Wallcoverings in roll form – Determination of migration of heavy metals and certain other elements, of vinyl chloride monomer and of formaldehyde release

EN 12956:1999 Wallcoverings in roll form – Determination of dimensions, straightness, spongeability and washability

EN12781:2001 Wallcoverings – Specification for cork panels

EN13085:2001 Wallcoverings – Specification for cork rolls

EN15102:2007 + A1:2011 Decorative wallcoverings – Roll and panel form products

EN15102:2019 Decorative wallcoverings
Although published by CEN this revised standard cannot be used for CE marking compliance until the EC authorises use by publication in the OJEU.

A European standard (EN) is valid for five years, and is reviewed after this period of time. CEN owns the copyright of standards

Copies can be bought via CEN’s website or from most National Standard Bodies.
List is published on the CEN Website

Declaration of Performance (DoP) and CE mark:

Manufacturers have reported concern that some wallcovering products are being placed on the market in the EU without Declaration of Performance or CE mark. It is not known whether this is through ignorance of the requirements of the Construction Products Regulation or exploitation of a derogation (Article 5)in the CPR.

Previous advice from IGI indicated that individual product offered on the internet as custom made and supplied direct to the user may use this derogation. A recent proposal from BSI by two experts on the CPR and its predecessor the CPD suggests that the derogation is much more limited in its scope.

Publication of the proposal indicates that CE non- compliance is possibly a general problem for construction product manufacturers.

IGI QUALITY MARK

Introduction

There is a common desire for some kind of assurance that the goods we buy are “safe”, not only for ourselves but for the environment as a whole.
IGI is determined that rolls of wallcoverings should be governed by a system of control that will ensure they do not cause any problems for the consumer or the world at large. IGI has therefore established the ground rules for a quality assurance system that is applicable worldwide. IGI proposes to act as the monitoring body for the award of a distinctive symbol that can be used on rolls and packaging to indicate that the product conforms to these rules.

10 Product Categories:
1. Wallpaper   simplex (including whites for subsequent decoration)
2. Wallpaper    duplex (including whites for subsequent decoration)
3. Solid Vinyl   paper-backed
4. Solid Vinyl   other backing (specify)
5. Blown Vinyl   chemically or mechanically embossed
6. Textile Wallcoverings
7. Woodchip
8. Non Woven direct printed or coated & printed
9. Non Woven  backed solid vinyl
10. Non Woven backed blown vinyl

Rules of the IGI Quality Mark

A Company may be awarded the IGI Quality Mark if:

It has submitted a formal statement to IGI that its product conforms to the CEN Standards :
– EN 233:2016
– EN 234: 1997
– EN 259-1: 2001
– EN 266: 1992

AND

It has properly selected its sample to be tested in the appropriate category, submitted it to the IGI Secretariat for testing and approval as complying with the CEN tests listed above, plus other tests specified here by IGI (see later).

CEN Standards Definitions
EN 233: 2016: Wallcoverings in roll form – Specification for finished wallpapers, wall vinyls and plastic wallcoverings.
EN 234: 1997: Wallcoverings in roll form – Specification for wallcoverings for subsequent decoration.
EN 259-1:2001:Wallcoverings in roll form – Specification for heavy duty wallcoverings.
EN 266:1992:Wallcoverings in roll form – Specification for textile wallcoverings.

To obtain the IGI Quality Mark, please contact IGI Secretariat on info@igiwallcoverings.org

IGI QUALITY MARK (next)

Access to the IGI Quality Mark

Each candidate manufacturer (IGI member only) who wishes to register product(s) for the IGI Quality Mark must:
• Complete one Questionnaire per product
• Submit a formal statement that its product conforms to the CEN Standards.
• Submit one roll of selected product (*) directly to the test house (Sample should be finished wrapped labelled product)
• Company to pay the annual IGI Quality Mark fee

(*) The IGI Quality Board will have the option to decide, based on the questionnaire(s) received, which product type to be tested. One product type per company will be tested.

Upon receipt of the results from the test house, the IGI Quality Mark will be:
• Granted Without Remark
• Granted With Remark
• Declined (**)

(**) If the application is declined the candidate manufacturer is advised to study the reason(s) for failure before a re-submission. A failure to comply may require changing the production method.
This particularly applies to the opacity test. Opacity requirement is unique to IGI and is a protection for wallcovering users. Some ‘paste the wall’ products place on the market have poor opacity.
Should candidate manufacturer decide to send sample for re-submission, testing costs will be covered by the company and a product from same category will be selected for testing.

IGI Quality Mark Renewal

Each year, the companies who are using the IGI Quality Mark and wish to continue to use it for an additional year must:

• Resubmit a questionnaire for the selected product(s)
• Submit 3 roll- labels, batch numbers and scans of different designs including production date for each product type
• IGI will randomly pick one label and confirm the product selected to the manufacturer
• Manufacturer will send select roll (properly wrapped and labelled) directly to test house
• Pay the annual IGI Quality Mark fee

Each year, no more than one sample per company will be tested. The selected sample will be tested on all criteria.

The test result is sent anonymously to the IGI Quality Board which will decide which measures to apply in case of remarks:

• Automatic withdrawal
• Warning requiring additional testing at the company’s costs
• Simple warning in writing

If necessary, the manufacturer may appeal against the decision in front of the IGI Executive Committee.

IGI Quality Mark Annual Fee

IGI Member – Fee First Year: 1.500 Euro
IGI Member – Renewal Fee/Year: 995Euro

IGI Quality Board
The IGI Quality Board will be comprised of the IGI Technical Committee members, 1 member of the Executive Committee and the IGI Secretary General.

Test House

The IGI Quality Board will be the contact with the selected test house:

Centexbel
Technologiepark 7
BE- 9052 Zwijnaarde
Belgium
www.centexbel.be

The IGI Quality Mark Symbol
The symbol as used on rolls should be printed in black, and should have a dimension of not less than 10mm and not more than 20mm diameter.
Print ready logo of the symbol will be furnished to each company by IGI once the IGI Secretariat has received satisfactory statements from the Test House.

To obtain the IGI Quality Mark, please contact IGI Secretariat on info@igiwallcoverings.org

IGI QUALITY MARK – Composition Limits

Composition Limits

A. Release and emission of formaldehyde:
The performance of release of formaldehyde from wallcoverings in roll form shall be assessed and expressed based on results on one of the following test options, as :

a) Release of formaldehyde in accordance with EN 12149:1997, Clause 6 (Test C) and if value is ≤ 120mg/kg, expressed as indication « ≤ 120mg/kg », or

b) emission of formaldehyde, in accordance with EN 16516 and expressed as a value in µg/m³

B. Migration of heavy metals and specific elements:
The migration of heavy metals measured in mg/kg of wallcovering in accordance with
EN 12149 (Test A) shall not exceed the following values:

Antimony                   –    mg/kg
Arsenic                       3    mg/kg
Barium                        –    mg/kg
Cadmium                   3    mg/kg
Chromium (III)      20    mg/kg
Chromium (VI)      20    mg/kg
Lead                         20    mg/kg
Mercury                     2    mg/kg
Selenium                 10    mg/kg

C. Release of vinyl chloride monomer:
The performance of release of vinyl chloride monomer from wallcoverings in roll forms shall be assessed by testing in accordance with EN 12149:1997, Clause 5 (Test B). If the value obtained does not exceed 0,2mg/kg of wallcovering the performance shall be expressed as « compliant ».

D. Other Tests

Dry Opacity Test Finished Product (not for paintable)
Level : Minimum 98%
Test Method: to be measured on a 400-700nm spectrophotometer using the Contrast Ratio method (ASTM D2805)

Dry Tear Strength
Level: Minimum 450 mN when measured in both Machine Direction (MD) and Cross Direction (CD)
Test Method : ISO 1974:1990 – Determination of internal tearing resistance of paper.

National Indoor air emission limits
France requires wallcoverings to be labelled indicating formaldehyde and VOC emissions for new product from 1 January 2012 and existing product from 1 September 2013.

If your product has been tested or self declared to comply with this national requirement it may be declared on the IGI Quality Mark Certificate.

Note : Reference to this clause will only appear on the IGI Quality Mark Certificate if compliance is claimed.

The IGI Quality Mark is designed and operated in good faith but IGI – the Global Wallcoverings Association cannot be held liable for the consequences of any acts or omissions by any wallcoverings manufacturers.

To obtain the IGI Quality Mark, please contact IGI Secretariat on info@igiwallcoverings.org

IGI QUALITY MARK – Companies

List of Companies who have obtained the IGI Quality Mark

as of January 2023

ARTE NV – Belgium
Parato – Italy
Boråstapeter AB– Sweden
Zambaiti – Italy

PARTNERS

CEN Standardisation Bodies

CEN, Comité Européen de Normalisation (European Committee for Standardisation)

The CEN has granted IGI a liaison status to the Technical Committee on Wallcovering – TC 99 and on Dangerous Substances – TC 351.

CEN’s mission is to promote voluntary technical harmonisation in Europe in conjunction with worldwide bodies and its partners in Europe. Harmonisation diminishes trade barriers, promotes safety, allows interoperability of products, systems and services, and promotes common technical understanding.

CEN Technical Committee are responsible for the programming and planning of the technical work in the form of a Business Plan, for the monitoring and the execution of the work in accordance with the agreed Business Plan and for the management of the standards making process.

For more information on CEN: www.cenorm.be

FAIB

IGI is a member of the Federation of European and International Association(FAIB). Established in Belgium, FAIB is a non-profit, non-political association that promotes and defends the interests and activities of its Members. It was established in 1949 at the initiative of leading personalities of the Union of International Associations (UIA), with the intention to draw attention of the authorities to the existence of international associations in Belgium, and to the need for facilitating their activities.

www.faib.org

i-dott
Inspiring designers of tomorrow today!

IGI is sponsoring i-dott initiatives.
Bridge the Gap between Academia and Industry,
Working World-Wide with Art Colleges & Universities to achieve Design Excellence.

www.i-dott.org

EPD – Environmental Product Declaration

IGI EPD’s :

All EPDs for our association products and those of our member companies may be found at http://ibu-epd.com/en/epd-program/published-epds/.

IBU – Institut Bauen und Umwelt e.V. (Germany)

IGI is a member of Institut Bauen und Umwelt e.V.
Through our membership, we support the association goals of Institut Bauen und Umwelt e.V. (IBU) – in particular, the promotion of sustainable construction. To achieve this goal, IBU operates a Type III Environmental Product Declaration programme in accordance with ISO 14025 und EN 15804 standards. Through the creation of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and their publication in the IBU declarations programme, we make all relevant environmental information about our products available to the public. The data contained in an EPD is based on a life-cycle assessment and has been verified by independent auditors. EPDs do not evaluate the environmental impact of a product, rather they serve as a reliable and independently-audited source of information for experts from a variety of disciplines, including architects, planners, engineers, and auditors. Within the context of integrated planning, they enable informed decisions and evaluations to be made in areas such as product selection and building certification.
More information about the IBU and the EPD programme may be found at http://www.ibu-epd.com.

UL (USA)

IGI is a member of UL.
UL brings clarity and empowers trust to support the responsible design, production, marketing and purchase of the goods, solutions, and innovations of today and tomorrow. UL connects people to safer, more secure, more sustainable products, services, experiences and environments – enabling smarter choices and better lives

NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

Mrs Manhong Zhang
China Wallcovering Association
Room 210 – WeiKeda Building
Sanlihe Road No. 9
HaiDian District
100037 Beijing
China
Email: cwa@chinawallcovering.com
www.chinawallcovering.com

Mr. Karsten Brandt
Verband der Deutschen Tapetenindustrie VDT E.V
Berliner Allee 61
40212 Düsseldorf
Germany
Ph: +49 0211 – 862 864 – 10
Fax:+49 0211 – 862 864 – 13
http://www.tapeten.de
http://www.blog.tapeten.de

Showroom in Hamburg:
http://www.lust-auf-tapetenwechsel.de

Mr. Mauro Jannelli
Assoparati
Piazza Concilliazione 1
IT – 20028 Milano
Italy
Ph: + 39 02 498 1051
Fax:+ 39 02 481 6947
Email: viscardi@assografici.it

Mrs. Tatiana Klimova
ROSOBOI – Russian Association of the Wallpaper Manufacturers
Verhnaya Krasnoselskaja 2
107140 Moskau
Russia
Ph: +709 526 476 10
Fax: +709 593 342 04
Email: mail@rosoboi.ru

Wallcoverings Sector Council
British Coatings Federation Ltd,
Riverbridge House, Guildford Road, Leatherhead,
Surrey KT22 9AD
United Kingdom
Ph: 01372 365989
Fax: 01372 365979
Email: enquiry@bcf.co.uk
Website: www.coatings.org.uk

Wallcoverings Association
35 E Wacker Dr
Suite 850
Chicago, IL 60601
United States
Ph: + 1 312 224 2574
Website : www.wallcoverings.org