REACH

1
REACH the Issue of Chemical Substances Present
in Apparel/Garments Compliance Obligation on
Exporters Dr. Rashmi Naidu Sr. General Manager
(Technical Services) REACH Support,
INDIA http//www.reach-support.com
2
About REACH Support

• Most sought after, one of its kind helpdesk in
  India
• Clientele spread across Asia, Europe and growing
  steadily to other places
• Caters to over 800 companies presently
• Entire basket of REACH compliance services
  offered
• Providing Assessment Certification services to
  various article exporters
• Professionals comprise of experts who have been
  following REACH regulation since the draft stages

3
Contents

• REACH in a nutshell
• Articles within REACH
• REACH Accessories and Embellishments
• Is packaging an article?
• SVHC Restricted Substances (Annex XVII of the
  REACH regulation)
• REACH requirement for substances in article
• Notification obligation Notification deadlines
• Communication Obligation
• How to calculate the SVHC thresholds within REACH
• Importance of supply chain communication

4
REACH In a nutshell

• REACH - Registration, Evaluation, Authorization
  and Restriction of Chemicals
• This regulation requires information to be
  submitted to the European chemical agency (ECHA)
  on the properties of chemicals (exported as such)
  as well as chemicals contained in articles
• For exporters of chemicals, the major compliance
  process is REGISTRATION
• For exporters of articles, the compliance process
  is NOTIFICATION (though not in each case)

5
Articles within REACH

• Definition
• an object which during production is given a
  special shape, surface or design which determines
  its function to a greater degree than its
  chemical composition
• Apparel/garments are considered as articles
  within REACH as they come in various shapes
  design imparting various functionalities

6
REACH - Accessories Embellishments
Accessories include a variety of articles like
Buttons, Zippers Zippers Sliders, Rivets,
Buckles, Beads, Cuff Links, etc
Embellishments include Flat metal
embellishments, hand beaded brooch, rhinestone
embellishment, crystal brad, etc If
accessories and embellishments are exported as
such to Europe, they will be treated individually
as articles Accordingly other REACH obligations
also have to be complied with
7
Is PACKAGING an article? YES
The apparel can be packaged in cardboard boxes,
plastic bags, paper, etc. Packaging is
considered as a separate article within
REACH Exporters also have obligation to check
for SVHC and restricted chemicals in
packaging Important to check the chemical used
like paints, etc used to mark the packaging If
an SVHC is present, the obligations for the
packaging would be the same as for the
apparel However, if the packaging ends up as
waste in Europe, no separate obligation exists
for the packaging
8
Substances of very high concern (SVHC)
9
What are SVHC

• Substances of very high concern are
• PBT substances
• vPvB substances
• CMR category 1, 2 substances
• Substances of equivalent concern (having
  endocrine disrupting properties)
• In a nutshell, substances very toxic to the human
  health and environment shall be categorized as
  SVHC

10
SVHC Restricted Substances (Annex XVII) of REACH

• ECHA has finalized 53 SVHC till date
• The complete list can be found at
• www.reach-or.com /www.apparel-reach.com/www.echa.e
  uropa.eu
• Annex XVII (52 substances in some cases
  category of substances (Phthalates, PAHs, CMR
  substances in Annex I of EC/67/548)
• Restrictions on the Manufacture, Placing on the
  Market and Use of Certain Dangerous Substances,
  Preparations and Articles
• Name category of chemicals
• Conditions of Restriction
• Annex XVII entry into effect from June 2009

11
REACH Requirements for Substances in Article

• There are essentially three requirements
• 1. Pre-registration Registration of chemical
  released intentionally from the article during
  normal or foreseeable conditions of use provided
• Release is intentional (e.g. perfume from the
  shirts)
• Intentional release Deliberate and contributes
  to an added value of the article
• Chemical (which is released) is present in
  greater than one ton in the export consignment
  (per annum)
• The substance has not been registered for that
  use

12
Examples of intentional release from apparel

• Socks Antibacterial chemical released upon
  contact with body to avoid smelly socks
• Perfumed Shirts Fragrance chemicals added to
  provide freshness
• Inner wear Softners added specially in baby
  inner wear to avoid rashes to the delicate skin

Pre-registration/registration seem highly
unlikely for the majority of the apparel
exporters, except for similar cases as above.
13
REACH Requirements for Substances in Article
(Contd..)

• 2. Notification of SVHC if
• SVHC is greater than 0.1 wt by wt (1000 ppm) and
  tonnage of SVHC exceeds 1 ton per annum in the
  annual exports of apparel to Europe
• 3. Communication of SVHC if
• SVHC is greater than 0.1 wt by wt (1000 ppm) in
  article but less than 1 ton per annum
• Apparel exporters need to confirm Notification or
  Communication obligations based upon a technical
  assessment of the chemical used in their entire
  production chain

14
Notification Requirements to the ECHA

• The information to be notified includes the
  following
• The identity and contact details of the
  producer of article
• The registration number (s) for the SVHC, if
  available
• The identity of the SVHC (s) like name of the
  substance, CAS, EINECS No, etc
• The classification of the SVHC, which will be
  available from the Agency
• A brief description of the use (s) of the SVHC
  in the article and of the uses of the article (s)
  
• The tonnage range of the SVHC, i.e. 1-10
  tonnes, 10-100 tonnes etc.

15
Notification Deadlines
For substances included in the SVHC list before 1
December 2010, the notifications have to be
submitted not later than 1 June 2011 If
Notification applies but has not been done, it is
mandatory to complete the Notification before
exporting article to avoid penalties For
substances included in the SVHC list on or after
1 December 2010, the notifications have to be
submitted no later than 6 months after the
inclusion in candidate list
16
Communication Requirements to the ECHA

• The recipient of the article with sufficient
  information to allow safe use of the article
  including, as a minimum, the name of the
  substance
• Only for SVHC on the Candidate List
• No tonnage limit (i.e. also applies below 1
  ton/year)
• REACH Article 33(2)
• Consumers can request the same information. The
  information should be provided within 45 days,
  free of charge.

17
How to calculate the SVHC thresholds (EXAMPLE)
Intentional Release Consider a baby innerwear
containing chemical lotion Wt of 1 inner
wear 100 gm Wt of chemical in this inner
wear 10 gm Amount of chemical that shall be
intentionally released 06 gm Inner wear pieces
exported to Europe (1 calendar year) 10,000 Total
wt of the annual export 10,00,000
gm (1000 kg) Total quantity that shall be
intentionally released 60 kg Intentional
release quantity less than 1000 kg or 1 ton.
Thus NO PRE-REGISTRATION REGISTRATION
obligation of the exporter of this innerwear
18
How to calculate the SVHC thresholds (EXAMPLE)
No Intentional release but SVHC present
Consider a ladies top containing Cobalt
dichloride, an SVHC used as mordant dye Wt of 1
ladies top 300 gm Wt of chemical in this
ladies top 20 gm wt/wt 6.66wt/wt Ladies
top exported to Europe (1 calendar year) 10,000
pieces Total wt of the annual export 30,00,000
gm (3000 kg) Total quantity of chemical in
the annual export 200 kg Thus NO NOTIFICATION
obligation (since total quantity is less than 1
ton per annum) but obligation of COMMUNICATION
since wt/wt exceeds 0.1 (6.6)
19
Some restricted substances in textile
Tris (2,3 dibromopropyl) phosphate (CAS No
126-72-7) - Shall not be used in textile
articles, such as garments, undergarments and
linen, intended to come into contact with the
skin. Tris(aziridinyl)phosphinoxide (CAS No
5455-55-1) - Shall not be used in textile
articles, such as garments, undergarments and
linen, intended to come into contact with the
skin. Nickel (CAS No 7440-02-0) and its
compounds - rivet buttons, tighteners, rivets,
zippers and metal marks, when these are used in
garments Azocolourants - above 30 ppm in the
finished articles clothing, bedding, towels and
nappies
20
REACH - Accessories Embellishments
Accessories include a variety of articles like
Buttons, Zippers Zippers Sliders, Rivets,
Buckles, Beads, Cuff Links, etc
Embellishments include Flat metal
embellishments, hand beaded brooch, rhinestone
embellishment, crystal brad, etc If
accessories and embellishments are exported as
such to Europe, they will be treated individually
as articles Accordingly other REACH obligations
also have to be complied with
21
Importance of supply chain communication
If the entire production chain is in-house, get
the supply chain inventorized for all chemical
inputs If certain operations like
dyeing/printing are outsourced, ask for the
details of the chemicals used in these operations
and make a note of the same For the accessories
and embellishments used in the apparel, ask the
suppliers for the raw materials used in their
production If the suppliers cite confidentiality
as the reason for not sharing the details, share
with them the SVHC list request them to give
you an undertaking that none of the SVHC is used
PLEASE REMEMBER It is very important to get
the entire supply chain scanned for the chemicals
used during production of the export article
(finished and packed apparel)
22
Contact Details

For details, please visit http//www.reach-support
.com http//www.reach-or.com http//www.reach-on
lyrep.eu http//www.apparel-reach.com For
answers to queries, please write
to rashmi_at_reach-support.com / advisor_at_reach-suppor
t.com
Thank You!
Questions are Welcome