Annex XVII of REACH Textiles Regulations Coming into Force November 2020
New restrictions for textiles under Annex XVII of REACH will be coming into force from 1st November 2020, with the addition of 33x new chemicals to the legislation that mainly affects clothing, textiles and footwear manufacturers and retailers.
Following on from our previous legislative updates in February 2019 and March 2020, we wanted to provide further information on this significant update and how your retail or manufacturing business can comply.
What are the 33x chemicals that will be added to Annex XVII of REACH?
Heavy Metals
- Cadmium and its compounds
- Chromium VI compounds
- Arsenic compounds
- Lead and its compounds
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)
- Benz[a]anthracene
- Benz[e]acephenanthrylene
- benzo[a]pyrene; benzo[def]chrysene
- Benzo[e]pyrene
- Benzo[j]fluoranthene
- Benzo[k]fluoranthene
- Chrysene
- Dibenz[a,h]anthracene
Formaldehyde
Phthalates
- 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid; di-C 6-8-branched alkylesters, C 7-rich
- Bis(2-methoxyethyl) phthalate
- Diisopentylphthalate
- Di-n-pentyl phthalate (DPP)
- Di-n-hexyl phthalate (DnHP)
Solvents/Residues
- N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone; 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP)
- N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAC)
- N,N-dimethylformamide; dimethyl formamide (DMF)
Disperse Dyes
- 1,4,5,8-tetraaminoanthraquinone; C.I. Disperse Blue 1
- Benzenamine, 4,4′-(4-iminocyclohexa2,5- dienylidenemethylene)dianiline hydrochloride; C.I. Basic Red 9
- [4-[4,4′-bis(dimethylamino)benzhydrylidene]cyclohexa-2,5-dien-1-ylidene]dimethylammonium chloride; C.I. Basic Violet 3 with ≥ 0,1 % of Michler's ketone (EC no. 202-027-5)
Other Carcinogenic, Mutagenic, Reprotoxic (CMR) Substances
- α, α,α,4-tetrachlorotoluene; p-chlorobenzotrichloride
- α, α,α-trichlorotoluene; benzotrichloride
- α-chlorotoluene; benzyl chloride
- 4-methoxy-m-phenylene diammonium sulphate; 2,4-diaminoanisole sulphate
- 2,4,5-trimethylaniline hydrochloride
- Quinoline
- 4-chloro-o-toluidinium chloride
- 2-Napthylammoniumacetate
Further information such as CAS number and permissible concentrations in Regulation (EU) 2018/1513 can be found here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32018R1513&from=EN
Are there any exemptions?
Certain products are however, exempt from these new REACH restrictions:
- Leather, fur and hide portions of clothing and footwear
- Carpets, rugs and textile floor coverings
- Non-textile fasteners or accessories
How can I ensure compliance with these new restrictions?
At Eurofins | BLC, we would advise the following to ensure best practice chemical compliance:
- Testing of materials/products to Annex XVII of REACH or requesting a recent test certificate of compliance from your manufacturers or suppliers
- Updating your chemical/product specifications to they are in line with the new restrictions
- Having good communication with suppliers about any changes
Need help or technical advice or training?
If your business is a Eurofins | BLC Member, you can benefit from 1-2-1 technical advice from our chemical and regulatory specialists. This include support with specifications, restricted substance lists, risk-based testing and much more…
You can also attend our online Chemical Compliance and Product Safety training course if you are new to chemical compliance and require an overview of key global legislation such as REACH, China GB Standards and California Proposition 65.
Get in touch
If you have any questions about chemical compliance, testing, training or membership, please email [email protected] and our team will be happy to help. You can also telephone +44 (0)1604 679 999 to arrange to speak to an adviser.
29 October 2020