,"On December 3rd, 2025, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has circulated a notification at the request of the delegation of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda titled ""WTO Circulates Draft DEAS 1143: 2023, Household fabric softeners Specification, First Edition""This draft East African Standard specifies the quality, safety, performance, packaging, and labelling requirements for household fabric softeners. The product is defined as an aqueous dispersion of cationic softening agents, with optional additives such as fragrances, dyes, preservatives, thickeners, or anti-foam agents.Fabric softeners must be uniform, stable, free from lumps, phase separation, or offensive odours. They must disperse easily in water of medium hardness (about 150 ppm at 30°C) and provide effective softening performance, including improved fabric feel, reduced static electricity, and better wet-ability.
Key technical requirements include:
Minimum cationic surfactant content: 2.5% w/w.
pH (neat product): 2.0–7.0.
Microbiological limits: total viable count ≤ 2 × 10² cfu/g; E. coli and P. aeruginosa must be absent. Products making antibacterial claims must meet prescribed test performance.
Ingredients must be safe and non-toxic. Colourants must not precipitate, and fragrances must not degrade product stability.Packaging must protect against leakage, contamination, and deterioration during handling or storage.Labelling must include: product name (“Fabric softener”), manufacturer’s name and address, batch/lot number, ingredients, net content, country of origin, manufacture and best-before dates, instructions for use and storage, and any safety warnings. Labelling may appear in English or another official EAC language.The standard also outlines sampling procedures and references test methods for pH, surfactant content, microbiological quality, and performance evaluation."
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