China Seeks Comments on Mandatory National Standard for Hazardous Substances in TPU

On July 8, 2026, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) released the mandatory national standard Limits on Hazardous Substances in Thermoplastic Polyurethane for public comment.

The draft for comments proposes to set concentration limits for eight hazardous substances (four categories of heavy metals and four categories of phthalates) in thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). The standard is a mandatory national standard of the formulation type, classified under the safety category, with the Chinese standard classification number G32, corresponding to the international standard classification number 83.080.20 (thermoplastics). The project cycle is 16 months, and the plan was issued on December 31, 2025.

TPU is widely used in electronics and electrical appliances, automobiles, shoe materials, films, pipes, medical devices, and consumer goods, and is often used as an eco-friendly alternative to polyvinyl chloride (PVC). This mandatory national standard, by setting limits on hazardous substances in TPU, will directly affect the raw-material selection and quality control of TPU production, processing, and downstream product enterprises, and relevant enterprises should pay attention.

CIRS Insights      

Once the standard is officially issued and implemented, TPU producers and downstream product enterprises must ensure that the hazardous-substance content of their products meets the limit requirements; otherwise, they will face compliance risks under the mandatory standard. Relevant enterprises are advised to:

• Closely follow the progress of the standard's public comments and subsequent issuance, and obtain the official limit values and transitional arrangements promptly.
• Review in advance the raw-material formulations and hazardous-substance data of existing TPU products to assess compliance gaps.
• Use the transitional period to complete raw-material substitution, process adjustment, or testing verification, and ensure that products meet the standard before it is formally implemented.

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Further information

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