CONSUMER PRODUCTS AND RETAIL E-SSENTIALS

Consumer Products will be the Focus of the Major Enforcement Project on REACH and POPs in 2022

JULY 2020 – RELEVANT FOR: ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS, HARDLINES, SOFTLINES, TOYS AND CHILDREN'S PRODUCTS

Part of the enforcement of the REACH Regulation is carried out through EU-wide REACH Enforcement Projects (REF) that are coordinated by the Enforcement Forum within the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).  In early July this year, the ECHA announced that its tenth REACH enforcement project (REF-10)¹ will focus on products that need to comply with multiple pieces of regulations.  The target products will be mostly consumer products that are considered as articles within the definition of the REACH Regulation.

REF-10 will cover selected hazardous chemical substances that are restricted under the REACH and Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) regulations. The exact list of target substances will be decided next year, but could potentially include phthalates or PFOS, and the specific types of materials will include rubber, plastic and textiles.

In addition to the presence of restricted substances in articles, REF-10 will also cover the communication duty of information on substances of very high concern (SVHC) in articles carried out by actors along the supply chain.

This enforcement project will be prepared in 2021, with inspections conducted in 2022 and the report expected at the end of 2023.

[1] ECHA press release on REF-10