Licensing Rules
IWTO Laboratory Licensing
Since 1st January 1997, no laboratory may issue an IWTO Test Certificate without being licensed by the International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO). In addition, a licensed laboratory must be situated in an IWTO Member-country or, for laboratories, which are situated in countries that are not members of IWTO, they should be able to be licensed if they become Associate Members of IWTO and its application must be scrutinised by the IWTO Licensing Panel.
Under the IWTO scheme, the International Wool Textile Organisation authorises licensed laboratories to issue IWTO Certificates, subject to their compliance with the criteria, which have been laid down for that purpose.
An essential criterion for licensing by IWTO is that the applicant laboratory should be accredited by a recognised national laboratory accreditation body to ISO/IEC 17025 for the Test Methods for which it wishes to issue IWTO Certificates. The national laboratory accreditation body must itself have a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) with similar institutions in other countries in conformity with ISO/IEC 17011.
This document sets out a list of laboratories which have been licensed by IWTO to issue IWTO Test Certificates as at 1st January 2004. Details of the Test Methods for which each laboratory is licensed are also provided. The list will be updated and added to throughout the year, via this Website, as additional laboratories fulfil the stringent conditions for listing and/or as currently licensed laboratories achieve licensing for additional Test Methods.
Since 1st January 1999, it has been mandatory for laboratories to show their IWTO Licence Number on the IWTO Certificates they issue.
IWTO Test Certificates may only be issued as a result of tests carried out in strict compliance with full IWTO Test Methods and the IWTO Regulations which relate to them. These are listed in Section V of this document. However, IWTO itself takes no financial responsibility for the accuracy of the tests carried out.
Further details, application forms, and additional copies of the enclosed list, may be obtained from :
The Chairman of the Licensing Panel
INTERNATIONAL WOOL TEXTILE ORGANISATION
Rue de l'Industrie 4
Box 61000 BRUSSELS
BELGIUM
Phone : (32) 2 505 40 10
Fax : (32) 2 503 47 85 Email: office@iwto.org
THE ROLE OF THE NATIONAL ACCREDITATION BODIES
It is self-evident that national accreditation bodies have a pivotal role to play in the licensing scheme which IWTO has set up. It is their responsibility to ensure that the applicant laboratories do conform in every way to the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025 for the Test Methods and Regulations. Indeed, without this contribution IWTO itself could not have established a credible scheme on a world-wide basis.
Nonetheless, in spite of the above-mentioned pivotal role, national accreditation bodies must understand that, for purposes of IWTO Test Methods and Regulations, the International Wool Textile Organisation does not allow them in their accreditation work to accept any derogation of the above-mentioned Test Methods and Regulations, and must also accept that the final interpretation of any IWTO Test Method or Regulations lies with IWTO itself.
IWTO TEST METHODS AND REGULATIONS AND THE IWTO LICENSING PANEL
a) IWTO Test Methods & Regulations
The International Wool Textile Organisation has established and published (in Specification IWTO-0) detailed procedures for the elaboration, amendment, and/or relegation of its Test Methods. It also subjects its Regulations to similar review and approval by its commercial Committees. This ensures that the wording of these texts has been closely scrutinised, prior to approval by the experts in the field concerned and, therefore, that there are very good reasons why the test procedure is laid down in the way it is.
In view of the above specific provisions, adopted by the International Wool Textile Organisation to provide the required commercial relevance and scientific accuracy in the elaboration of its Test Methods and Regulations, and of the importance it attaches to them being respected, the IWTO Licensing Panel has the prerogative not to license a laboratory in accordance with the provisions of Function 4, as laid down in Section III(b).
IWTO is prepared at any time to discuss with accreditation bodies any problems or concerns they may have as they accredit laboratories to ISO/IEC 17025 for IWTO. Test Methods and Regulations. Indeed, it positively welcomes such a dialogue, which can only be to the benefit of the wool textile industry as a whole, and will undertake to raise such matters with its relevant Committees or its Licensing Panel at the earliest possible opportunity.
Nonetheless, IWTO cannot accept that there be any derogation of the written text of its Test Methods and Regulations. Procedures exist for amendments to be made where necessary, but these can only be made by IWTO itself through its relevant Technical Groups and Committees, after the required data has been presented for peer review. It follows that, if any changes to IWTO Test Methods or Regulations are suggested to any laboratory by an accreditation body, their application will purely and simply invalidate any resultant IWTO Certificates.
In this context, IWTO does not subscribe to any parts of ISO/IEC 17025 : that might be interpreted as allowing the accreditation body latitude in laying down provisions for compliance, which might differ from those set down by IWTO itself. Only complete IWTO Test Methods may be accredited and under no circumstances can component parts of an IWTO Test Method be sub-contracted to another laboratory, even if that laboratory complies with ISO 17025.
Laboratories which issue IWTO Certificates must be accredited to ISO /IEC 17025 by national accreditation bodies for those IWTO Test Methods and Regulations for which they wish to issue Certificates.
Such IWTO Certificates are only valid if the method and procedures laid down by IWTO are applied in complete accordance with the published texts. It is the role of the accreditation bodies to ensure that this is the case, but they cannot allow changes or amendments of any kind to the above texts or procedures, without invalidating the Test Certificates concerned.
In the event of the accreditation body having any concerns or problems in respect of IWTO Test Methods and Regulations, it should refer these to IWTO, which undertakes to examine the matter at the earliest opportunity.
b) The IWTO Licensing Panel
Composition
- The Licensing Panel is composed of Members nominated by National Committees.
- Each National Committee may nominate a maximum of two members.
Functions
- To regularly review the IWTO licensing procedures and recommend changes, where appropriate.
- To determine which (new) Test Methods, having related Regulations, are to qualify for IWTO licensing and from what date such licensing may be implemented.
- To verify that the national accreditation bodies, which have accredited laboratories to ISO /IEC 17025 or its equivalent are themselves accredited to ISO/IEC 17011 and have MRAs with sister bodies, and to check the conformity of their Accreditation Certificates and supplementary documentation against the IWTO Test Methods for which licensing is sought.
- The Licensing Panel has the prerogative not to license a laboratory, if it considers it has substantive objective evidence that the laboratory and/or the accrediting body have not completely satisfied IWTO's licensing requirements and /or the laboratory is not in full compliance with the Test Methods and Regulations for which it seeks to be licensed. In such cases, the Licensing Panel shall seek clarification from the accrediting body as to the correctness of the information, and provide the laboratory concerned with the opportunity to answer the allegation, before coming to any final decision. If a laboratory has been previously licensed by IWTO for the Test Method in question, it will be given a reasonable time under prevailing circumstances to make whatever changes may be deemed necessary by the Licensing Panel, which shall, in all cases, document its reasons for revoking the licence. The IWTO Licensing Panel may require the laboratory concerned to refrain from issuing IWTO Certificates pending implementation of such necessary changes.
- To give advice to any applicant or accredited laboratories and accreditation bodies that raise questions on specific IWTO licensing issues.
- To instigate action against any non-licensed laboratory that has issued IWTO Certificates since 1st January 1997, and to advise the President and the Secretary-General as to the most appropriate course of action to counter cases of fraud or of misuse of the name of IWTO, where Certificates bearing its name are concerned.
IWTO SPECIFICATIONS (Red Book)
|
Test Method |
Title |
Applicable Regulation |
Available Proficiency Trials |
|
IWTO-6 |
Method of Test for the Determination of the Mean Diameter of Wool Fibres in Combed Wool Sliver using the Airflow Apparatus |
IWTO Regulations for the Testing of Wool Slivers for Mean Fibre Diameter and Mean Fibre Length |
Interwoollabs |
|
IWTO-7 |
Sub-Sampling Staples from Grab Samples |
IWTO Staple Test Regulations |
N/A |
|
IWTO-10 |
Method for the Determination ofDichloromethane Soluble Matter in Combed Wool and Commercially Scoured or Carbonised Wool |
IWTO Core Test Regulations |
N/A |
NOTES:
1. To be licenced by IWTO, laboratories must be accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 by approved national accreditation bodies for those IWTO Test Methods and Regulations for which they wish to issue certificates. The Scope of Accreditation, issued by the accreditation body, must indicate compliance with both the Test Method and the applicable Regulation.
2. The IWTO Licensing Panel has published the list of available inter-laboratory proficiency trials for the reference of laboratories wishing to be licensed and for accreditation bodies. Accreditation bodies are strongly encouraged to require laboratories to demonstrate acceptable performance in one or more of the available proficiency trials when auditing compliance with ISO/IEC 17025. The listed proficiency trial providers are organisations completely independent of IWTO, and each has their own Rules for Membership which may prevent some laboratories participating.
The contact details for the proficiency trial organisers are listed below:
|
Independent Laboratories Round Trial (ILRT) Mr J W Marler (Secretary) c/- Australian Wool Testing Authority Ltd71-81 Byron Road |
Interwoollabs Mr J Lambert (Secretary General) Interwoollabs Merrydale House |
LIST OF NATIONAL ACCREDITATION BODIES
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Argentina: OAA Ing. Higinio RIDOLFI Organismo Argentino de Acreditacion (OAA) Av. Julio A. Roca 651 Ph : 54 11 4349-3962 |
South Africa : SANAS Mr. Mike PEET South African National Accreditation System (SANAS) Private Bag X23, Ph : 27 12 394 3760
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Australia : NATA Mr. C. WINSTON Leeds Street Ph. : 61 2 9736 82 227
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Spain : ENAC Ms. Beatriz RIVERA Serrano, 240, 7° Ph : 34 91 457 32 89
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France : COFRAC Mrs. Geneviève LAURENT (IWTO Matters) Mr. Daniel PIERRE rue de Lyon Ph : 33 1 44 68 82 20COFRAC |
United Kingdom : UKAS Ms. Kay CRITTENDEN United Kingdom Accreditation Service Ph : 44 181 917 84 00 |
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New Zealand : IANZ Dr. W. Llewellyn RICHARDS International Accreditation New Zealand Ph : 64 - 9 - 525 66 55
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Emerging from the U.N. Year of Natural Fibres 2009 the Discover Natural Fibres Initiative supported by IWTO is a worldwide campaign to promote the use of natural fibres through education about their benefits both to the wearer as well as the environment as a whole. 