§ 39. Mr. W. T. Williamsasked the President of the Board of Trade when he will be in a position to announce the qualitative specifications which he intends to replace the former Utility specifications.
§ The President of the Board of Trade (Mr. Peter Thorneycroft)During the past three months the industries concerned, in association with the British Standards Institution, have made considerable progress towards the establishment of new textile and clothing standards. As the statement of progress to date is rather long, I propose, with the hon. Member's permission, to circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Mr. WilliamsWhile thanking the Minister for that reply, may I remind him that already there are large quantities of shoddy goods on sale? Is he taking any action to prevent the sale of such goods?
§ Mr. ThorneycroftI would say in answer that the British public today can get better value for money in the shops than at any time since the war. [HON. MEMBERS: "But they have not the money."]
§ Following is the statement:
§ ESTABLISHMENT OF TEXTILE AND CLOTHING
STANDARDS
§ 1. Work completed.
§ All concerned have agreed specifications, which will be published shortly, for:
- Mattresses, pillows and bolsters.
- Safety boots and shoes (with reinforced toe caps) for miners and other industrial workers.
- Infants and girls' light outerwear—play overalls, buster suits, rompers, blouses and gym tunics. (There has been a B.S.I. Standard for children's dresses since 1950.)
§ 2. Standards in draft and under discussion.
§ Specifications for the following articles have been prepared and the British Standards Institution is obtaining views about them from manufacturers, distributors, users and consumers:
- Cotton apparel cloths.
- Cotton household textiles—sheets, towels, pillow cases, table cloths.
- Rayon apparel cloths (woven).
- wool cloths—standard descriptions of fibre content.
- Rubber-proofed cloths and clothing.
- Industrial overalls.
- Children's shoes.
- Rubber footwear.
- Dressing gowns for women and children.
- Berets of knitted wool.
§ 3. Standards proposed by industry but not yet circulated for discussion.
- Wool cloths—strength of cloths for children's wear; showerproofing of gabardine cloths
- Hosiery and knitwear.
- Rayon warp-knitted cloths.
- Braces.
- Cotton apparel cloths—certain types not covered by standards already circulated (see para. 2 above).