Textile Exporters Scramble: New SASO Technical Regulations and What They Mean for Chinese Fabric Suppliers

TL;DR

Saudi Arabia just rewrote the rules for every bolt of fabric entering the Kingdom. On January 12, 2024, SASO adopted the Second Edition of its Technical Regulations for Textile Products, effective July 2024. The scale of the overhaul is significant: 65 existing standards deleted, 13 new standards added, three entire appendices removed (including the Tables of Value Limits for Chemicals and the Azo Dyes List of Aromatic Amines), and a critical change to labeling — English is no longer mentioned as a co-language; it's now Arabic-mandatory with an optional additional language. Every Chinese textile exporter shipping to KSA must now hold a valid Product Certificate of Conformity (PCoC) through the SABER platform, issued by an approved Conformity Assessment Body, before a single container leaves port. Each shipment then requires a Shipment Certificate of Conformity (SCoC). No SCoC registered in SABER means the shipment is refused at Saudi customs and returned at the importer's cost. If you're a Chinese fabric supplier with Saudi buyers, your compliance clock started January 12. You have one year from publication to fully comply.

Deep Dive

The Saudi textile market has been operating under increasingly strict import controls since 2019, when SASO first made SABER registration mandatory for all commercial products. But the January 12, 2024 adoption of the Second Edition of the Technical Regulations for Textile Products represents a generational shift — not an incremental update.

The numbers tell the story. SASO deleted 65 existing standards and added 13 new ones to the referenced specifications list in Appendix 1-A. Three entire appendices were removed: Appendix 2 (Tables of Value Limits for Chemicals Permitted in Textile Products), Appendix 8 (Azo Dyes — List of Aromatic Amines), and Appendix 9 (Carcinogenic Dyes). This does not mean chemical safety requirements have been relaxed — it means they've been restructured. The chemical testing requirements are now embedded within the referenced standards themselves, including updated test methods in the revised Annex 1 for determining harmful chemical content.

The 13 newly added standards reveal SASO's regulatory priorities. They include SASO ISO 6938 (natural fiber definitions), SASO GSO 2579 (children's wear fire hazard), SASO GSO ASTM D4522 (feather and down fillings), SASO GSO 1833 (disposable baby diapers), SASO 2865 (adult diapers), SASO 997 (sanitary pads), and EN 16781 (children's sleep bags). The pattern is clear: heightened focus on products touching vulnerable consumers — children, infants, and personal hygiene items. Chinese manufacturers producing these categories face the most immediate compliance pressure.

The labeling change is deceptively consequential. The previous regulation required Arabic or Arabic-and-English labeling. The Second Edition removes the reference to English entirely — information must now be presented in Arabic, with the option of an additional language alongside. For Chinese exporters who have been printing bilingual Arabic-English care labels for years, this is operationally minor. But for those who were printing English-only labels and assuming compliance, the door just closed.

The scope has also expanded. Underwear — defined as a woven product in direct contact with the skin — has been explicitly added to the list of covered products. Medical textiles and footwear remain excluded, falling under SFDA and separate SASO footwear regulations respectively.

The certification process itself runs through the SABER platform in two stages. Stage 1: the manufacturer or importer submits product information to an approved Conformity Assessment Body (CAB), pays evaluation and registration fees, and — upon approval — receives a Product Certificate of Conformity (PCoC) valid for one year. PCoC processing typically takes 10–14 working days assuming complete documentation. Stage 2: before each shipment, the importer requests a Shipment Certificate of Conformity (SCoC) through SABER, uploading the invoice and packing list. The same CAB that issued the PCoC verifies the shipment data and issues the SCoC, typically within 2–3 working days. Since July 2020, the SCoC is automatically integrated into the FASAH customs clearance portal — no paper printout required.

The enforcement is binary: any shipment arriving at Saudi ports without a valid SCoC registered in SABER is refused entry and returned at the importer's cost. There is no provisional clearance, no bond-and-release option, no appeal at the dock. Suppliers have one year from January 12, 2024 to fully comply with the new requirements.

For Chinese textile exporters — particularly those in Zhejiang (Shaoxing, Keqiao), Guangdong (Guangzhou, Shantou), and Jiangsu (Nantong, Changshu) — the operational mandate is clear: audit your current PCoC against the new standard references, update chemical testing to the revised Annex 1 methods, reprint all care labels with Arabic-primary text, and confirm your CAB is updated on the Second Edition requirements. The cost of non-compliance is not a fine. It is cargo sitting on a vessel headed back to China, at your expense.

QC Checklist for Importers

• PCoC Validity Check: Confirm your existing Product Certificate of Conformity references the Second Edition (Jan 12, 2024) standards — PCoCs issued under the old edition will expire and must be reissued

• Chemical Testing Update: Verify test reports cover the revised Annex 1 chemical requirements — azo dyes (aromatic amines), formaldehyde, pH, heavy metals, phthalates — using the new referenced test methods

• Arabic Labeling Audit: Inspect all care labels, hang tags, and packaging for Arabic-primary compliance; ensure fiber composition, care instructions, country of origin, and manufacturer name appear in Arabic

• Children's Product Classification: If exporting children's wear, baby diapers, or sleep bags — cross-reference against the 13 new standards (SASO GSO 2579, SASO GSO 1833, EN 16781) for additional fire hazard and safety testing

• Scope Expansion Check: Confirm whether underwear products are included in your PCoC coverage — underwear is now explicitly within scope and requires separate certification if not previously covered

• CAB Alignment: Verify your Conformity Assessment Body is accredited for the Second Edition and has updated its assessment protocols; request written confirmation of their updated scope

• SCoC Pre-Shipment Process: Ensure the importer initiates the SCoC request in SABER at least 5 business days before vessel loading — allow buffer for CAB review and FASAH integration

• Test Report Age: Confirm all laboratory test reports are less than 3 years old at the time of PCoC submission; expired test reports will trigger re-testing and delay certification

• Product Photo Upload: As of December 2024, SABER requires three product photos per item during PCoC application — prepare standardized product photography in advance

• Transition Timeline Tracking: Mark July 12, 2024 (enforcement start) and January 12, 2025 (end of 1-year compliance grace period) on your compliance calendar — late certification means cargo rejection