The recent notification from the European Commission,requiring clothing manufacturers and importers to identify, quantify andrecord the chemicals used in their products. These regulations came into forcelast June. But companies only had until 1 December to complete the pre-registrationprocess and there are concerns that omissions will lead to delayed shipmentsand reduced productivity.


Concerns have been raised that some chemicals of importanceto the clothing and textile industry might not have been pre-registered by the1st December deadline of the European Union's REACH (Registration,Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) chemical controlprogramme. Omissions could damage manufacturers' business, the EuropeanChemicals Agency (ECHA) has warned.


"Failure to meet this deadline means that a companycannot continue manufacturing or importing the substance until they havesubmitted a full registration dossier and paid the registration fee", anexpensive and time consuming task. If a company's chemical supply-includingdyes and scented chemicals- has not been pre-registered, then it is high time "toremind their manufacturers and importers," said ECHA in a warning notethat contained this web link. To assist, ECHA had on 1 October released a listof 37, 768 chemical substances already pre-registered to help downstream userscheck that their supplies have been notified. The pre-registration processinvolves the agency being given basic information about the product which willbe registered, such as a definition of the substance, how much is produced orimported (roughly), and some contact details. Pre-registered chemicals stillhave to be listed, but the process is relatively leisurely. This would followadequate risk assessments, with applications due by three deadlines, accordingto the amount of these chemicals that a company uses. These deadlines are 30November 2010, 31 May 2013, and 13 May2018.


Onus on chemical importers and textile manufacturers


A spokesperson for the Association of Suppliers to theBritish Clothing Industry (ASBCI) spelt out the risk with clarity: "Althoughthe onus is on the manufacturers it is also on the first company who bringsthat chemical into the European Union. For those who import the chemicals, REACHcould have a devastating impact on their business if they haven't pre-registeredthe chemicals."


The British Apparel & Textile Confederation is alsoconcerned that a clothing and textile manufacturer might fall foul of REACH ifit "decides to use a chemical product outside the intended use defined bythe supplier" in its pre-registration note. If it does, "then thedownstream user will have to pre-register and then produce a chemical safetyportfolio, including risk exposure scenarios for both health and safety and theenvironment." The Confederation warned: "This registration process is... expensive. It is, therefore in the interests of the individual processorsto continue to use dyes and chemicals only in the way defined by thesupplier."


Complex law


A significant problem is that REACH is very complex andcomprehensive probably the most complex law devised by the EU, which is notknown for its legislative simplicity and simply, a lot of companies do notfully understand its demands and duties.


The ASBCI has created a special REACH forum to help itsmembers (from brand owners, to retailers, dye and chemical manufacturers) get ahandle on the system. The forum will also try to agree an industry standardapproach in dealing with REACH. ASBCI Company Secretary Stephanie Ingham saidher organisation was "very aware of the extremely variable degree ofunderstanding of REACH within its membership" and that concerns about theprogramme's impact have been "raised by several ASBCI members". Theorganisation's spokesman outlined one such area of confusion: "Items suchas fabrics containing perfumes." The odours are intended to be releasedotherwise the item does not fulfill the intended function, but the supplychain will need to be able to demonstrate that the chemicals used to create theperfume are safe," he stressed.


Another example of difficulties was highlighted by PeterWatson, Business Support Officer for Britain's East Midlands TextilesAssociation. He related: "We had an enquiry from a non-member who wasimporting babies' hats from Bali, who was concerned about whether he needed tohave the garment tested."We mentioned the REACH legislation regardingchemicals and he wasn't aware of it. This I feel may be the case with manyimporters, all we can do is to keep promoting knowledge of its implications toour members."


 

Chemicals knowledge


EU textile association Euratex has also issued practical guidance to its members. "You need to know all chemical substances your company manufactures, imports and/or uses," it advises. It says companies should use a web-based Navigator tool and REACH documents available on the official guidance website. They should then methodically create an inventory of chemicals they make, use or buy: categorising them into substances, preparations and chemicals released from items; as well as by volume and source.


Looking ahead, ECHA is preparing to embark on a tougher REACH 'authorisation' procedure for chemicals posing particular environmental health risks: termed SVHC's (substances of very high concern), and has started collating draft lists of these chemicals. It released the names of 15 candidates for these controls in October. The ASBCI spokesman said: "Many people do not yet understand what SVHC's are and the lists of these are still evolving." Thus we end up with potential scenarios where a chemical such as, for example, a brominated flame retardant may be classed as SVHC under REACH but there may be no alternatives available which are any safer at the present time or which are as effective at reducing flammability on specific types of fabric."


Originally published in The Stitch Times: December 2008