From the Sector

An EU-wide project of ECHA’s Enforcement Forum found that 35 % of the checked safety data sheets (SDS) were non-compliant. Compliance has improved compared to earlier enforcement projects, but more efforts are needed to further enhance the quality of information to better protect workers, professional users and the environment from risks posed by hazardous chemicals.

Inspectors in 28 EU-EEA countries checked over 2,500 safety data sheets (SDS) to enforce the new requirements introduced in 2023. The primary goal was to check whether the SDS were complete, up-to-date and included all the required information, especially the new information required. Second objective was to check the quality of the information, its consistency and compliance with the legal requirements.

Inspectors found that 35% of the inspected SDS did not comply with the legislation – either because the content did not meet the requirements or the safety data sheet was not provided at all.

It was also found by inspectors that the flow of SDS in the supply chain works well – suppliers provided the SDS to the recipients when required in 96 % of the cases. Additionally, most of the 2,500 SDS were updated to the new format.

Among the new information requirements, the biggest challenge was the lack of information on nanoforms and on endocrine disrupting properties, missing respectively in 67 % and 48 % of the checked SDS where it was required. Another relevant finding was that some of the SDS (16 %) lacked the information required by the authorisation decisions.

The Forum project also reported deficiencies in data quality for 27 % of the inspected SDS. Common issues included incorrect information on hazard identification, composition or exposure control. Additionally, 18 % of the checked SDSs lacked the required exposure scenarios.

Enforcement actions
To address non-compliance, inspectors primarily issued written advice, but also used administrative orders, fines and, in some cases, filed criminal complaints.

Abdulqadir Suleiman, chair of the Enforcement Forum’s working group, said:
“In recent years, inspectors have observed improvements in the compliance of chemicals suppliers with their obligation to provide up-to-date safety data sheets. These compliance improvements could be attributed to the harmonised requirements of REACH, great efforts by the industry, continued focus by enforcement authorities, but also the dialogue between enforcement and stakeholder organisations about improving the quality of safety data sheets held some years back.

“However, there is still work to be done to enhance the quality of the information to ensure better protection of the European workers who are handling hazardous chemicals in the workplace.”

Background
SDS are used by chemical suppliers to provide their professional and industrial customers with information about the properties and risks of the chemicals and how to handle, store, use and dispose them safely. The SDS are critical to the protection of workers. They should be used by employers, or health and safety professionals of the downstream users, for carrying out chemical risk assessments in the workplace, required under the Occupational Health and Safety legislation.
This project followed an update to the safety data sheet requirements that have been in force since 2023. The SDS must now include information on nanoforms, endocrine disrupting properties, conditions of authorisation, UFI codes, acute toxicity estimates, specific concentration limits and several other parameters that help to handle chemicals safely. This change in legal requirements necessitated an update of all the SDS to include new information.

In addition to checking the data relevant to the new requirements, inspectors also checked the quality and correctness of the information included in many of the safety data sheet sections.

The inspections of this enforcement project were conducted between January and December 2023 in 28 EEA countries.

ALLIED Feather + Down (AF+D), global experts in high performance, ethically sourced, and recycled down, will be supplying their high performance ExpeDRY ultra dry down to Montane for their fall 2025 down apparel line.

ExpeDRY represents the evolution of performance down for use in extreme situations, replacing chemical treatments with gold particles permanently bonded to down clusters. ExpeDRY keeps water vapor from condensing into droplets, providing better real-world performance than all other treatments. The ExpeDRY filled products will also dry significantly faster in-home laundry making care easier and utilizing much less energy through the life of the products.

Montane will offer ExpeDRY in 100% of their down jackets, being the first to adopt the technology over all down jackets.

“ALLIED introduced the world’s first water resistant down back in 2015, and we’ve learned a lot since then,” said Matthew Betcher, Creative Director with ALLIED. “Traditional WR down works great when in direct contact with water, but that is not what’s happening inside down insulation chambers. Water vapor is the biggest issue and ExpeDRY helps keep this vapor from condensing, allowing it to evaporate though the shell more effectively, keeping the down drier for longer, and helping it to dry out faster if it does get wet.

“It is also equally important that even in performance technologies, we continue to strive to reduce our environmental impact,” added Betcher. “So, removing another unnecessary chemical from our supply chain will help significantly with that. It’s only a matter of time before we all realize that the C0 chemicals we are using might not be so great for the planet after all.”

“At Montane, we are really excited to introduce such a new and disruptive technology from our long-term partners Allied Feather & Down,” said Liam Steinbeck, Materials Manager with Montane. “ExpeDRY is fully aligned with our philosophy as a brand to be one of the first to market with the latest most innovative technologies, bringing unparalleled performance and comfort in the most demanding environments.”

Poised to render current, chemical-intensive treatments obsolete, ExpeDRY down insulation is cleaner and better performing than all current water-resistant down technologies. Created in partnership with FUZE Technologies and relying on gold particles permanently bonded to down plumes, ExpeDRY is permanent and since it is completely chemical free, there are no PFAS or other concerns. In all real-world simulations, ExpeDRY is far better at keeping insulated jackets dry and warm in any environment, and at a significantly lower impact than the WR treatment alternatives.

The Candidate List of substances of very high concern (SVHC) now contains 242 entries for chemicals that can harm people or the environment. Companies are responsible for managing the risks of these chemicals and giving customers and consumers information on their safe use.

ECHA’s Member State Committee confirmed the addition of triphenyl phosphate to the list in its October meeting. The substance has endocrine disrupting properties and is used as a flame retardant and as a plasticiser. The committee’s discussion on including the substance was originally foreseen for June but delayed, exceptionally, due to substantial new information becoming available on its properties.

Entry added to the Candidate List on 7 November 2024:

The list now contains 242 entries – some are groups of chemicals, so the overall number of impacted chemicals is higher.

This substance may be placed on the Authorisation List in the future. If a substance is on this list, companies cannot use it unless they apply for authorisation and the European Commission authorises its continued use.

 
Consequences of inclusion on the Candidate List
 
Under REACH, companies have legal obligations when their substance is included – either on its own, in mixtures or in articles – in the Candidate List.
 
If an article contains a Candidate List substance above a concentration of 0.1 % (weight by weight), suppliers have to give their customers and consumers information on how to use it safely. Consumers have the right to ask suppliers if the products they buy contain substances of very high concern.
 
Importers and producers of articles have to notify ECHA if their article contains a Candidate List substance within six months from the date it has been included in the list (07 November 2024).
 
EU and EEA suppliers of substances on the Candidate List, supplied either on their own or in mixtures, have to update the safety data sheet they provide to their customers.
 
Under the Waste Framework Directive, companies also must notify ECHA if the articles they produce contain substances of very high concern in a concentration above 0.1 % (weight by weight). This notification is published in ECHA’s database of substances of concern in products (SCIP).

The Integrated Regulatory Strategy (IRS) has increased the knowledge on chemicals and sped up identification of substances for which regulatory risk management actions are required. Refocussed IRS 2024-2028 will continue moving substances to risk management.

ECHA’s Integrated Regulatory Strategy aimed to speed up data generation, identification of groups of substances of concern, and regulatory action. It did so by integrating different regulatory processes into one approach to manage chemical risks effectively and efficiently. The strategy also encouraged collaboration between ECHA, Member States authorities and the European Commission.

The original goal of the IRS was achieved: to clarify which REACH registered substances are a high priority for regulatory risk management or data generation, and which are currently a low priority for further regulatory action.

ECHA’s sixth and final report of its Integrated Regulatory Strategy 2019-2023 shows that it achieved its goal of screening high production volume chemicals, manufactured or imported above 100 tonnes per year, that were on the European markets in 2018.

Since 2019, ECHA has grouped and screened 6 000 substances, and addressed almost all of the 4 100 high production volume chemicals. Around 1 900 of substances screened in ECHA’s assessments of regulatory needs may potentially require regulatory risk management, mostly harmonised classification and labelling (CLH) or restriction under REACH. For more than two thirds of those, further data is needed first to confirm the relevant hazards. Around 60 % of all substances screened did not require further action.

Several substance groups, identified as requiring regulatory risk management, have been included in the EU’s Restrictions Roadmap, for example bisphenols, ortho-phthalates, flame retardants, hydrocarbyl siloxanes and hydrocarbylphenols.

Ofelia Bercaru, ECHA’s Director of Prioritisation and Integration, said:
“The strategy has significantly contributed to the EU ambition towards reaching the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals concerning chemicals. Over the next four years, we will continue the coordinated approach towards prioritising substances for risk management, whilst maintaining our good knowledge on ECHA’s chemical database, enhancing transparency with authorities and stakeholders, and exploring synergies with ECHA’s new tasks.

Next steps
The reviewed IRS for 2024-2028 will continue to improve the protection of human health and the environment from risks posed by hazardous chemicals. ECHA, the European Commission and Member States’ authorities will focus on agreeing more swiftly the necessary risk management measures for the identified substances of concern.

The future prioritisation of authorities’ activities will focus, for example, on the one substance one assessment principle. ECHA will integrate its new tasks to this approach in coming years.

Utilizing renewable materials* and formaldehyde-free chemistries, the industry-first Archroma NTR Printing System combines newly created pigment black and customized auxiliaries for enhanced sustainability, comfort and durability
 
Archroma, a company in specialty chemicals towards sustainable solutions, introduced the NTR Printing System to make bio-based pigment printing commercially possible for the first time. Based on renewable raw materials and designed for safer chemistry, it helps apparel and textile brands reduce their environmental footprint while producing brilliant black shades on garments that deliver both comfort and durability.

Bio-based pigment printing is an emerging technology that is attracting major interest from brands that want to use pigments derived from natural sources, such as plants, in the production of environmentally conscious textiles. Until now, however, bio-based pigments have not delivered color fastness that is comparable to synthetic pigments, and color quality and production performance have not been sufficient to support commercial-scale production.

Archroma’s NTR Printing System is the first to utilize renewable feedstock across pigment dispersion, binder and fixing agent. Crucially, it ensures good wet-rubbing and dry-rubbing fastness, with outstanding softness on all kinds of fabrics. Furthermore, it is suitable for most popular application technologies, including printing, coating and continuous pigment dyeing, with outstanding runnability for production efficiency.

“These properties make the new NTR Printing System ideal for the highly competitive denim market, where sustainability, comfort and durability are important; for knits, where very soft handfeel is essential; and on babywear, where both exceptional softness and safety are required,” Joaquin Femat, Market Segment Director for Printing, Archroma, said.

The result of more than two years of research and development, the innovative new NTR Printing System required Archroma to create customized binding and fixing agents to ensure fastness for the pigment black dispersion comparable to current petroleum-based printing systems. All three printing elements are partially based on renewable feedstock to reduce reliance on non-renewable petrochemicals. Archroma also developed the new system to avoid toxic input streams and impurities, including formaldehyde. Two successful bulk trials were conducted with Textprint S. A. and Jeanologia.

The NTR printing system comprises the following highly efficient and robust printing elements:

• PRINTOFIX® BLACK NTR-TF: A non-gelling pigment black with 79% renewable carbon content*, designed for use in textile applications with no impact on fastness levels.
• HELIZARIN® NTR-SS: A formaldehyde-free super-soft binder with 40% renewable carbon content, designed to ensure very good overall fastness levels.
• LUPRINTOL® FIXING AGENT NTR-HF: A formaldehyde-free fixing agent with 40% renewable carbon content**, designed for high wet fastness in rubbing and laundry.

All three elements are currently being evaluated for compliance with globally accepted standards like bluesign®, the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC). The system also supports major industry restricted substances list (RSL) requirements.

Archroma, a leader in specialty chemicals towards sustainable solutions, honed its vision of the future of the apparel and textile industry with the announcement of “PLANET CONSCIOUS+”, a roadmap designed to support brands and mills to chart their sustainability journey.

“Over the past decade, Archroma has been on a mission to lead the textile industry towards a more sustainable future. But the world’s challenges are escalating – from climate change to economic and geopolitical instability. We believe that the time is right for us to realign our vision to guide the next phase of our development. ‘PLANET CONSCIOUS+’ encapsulates both our responsibility and our potential as a company that touches and colors people’s lives every day, all around the world,” Mark Garrett, Group CEO, Archroma, said.

“PLANET CONSCIOUS+” has six dimensions, the first four of which have been rolled out over the past few months:

• SUPER SYSTEMS+: Powerful end-to-end systems that combine processing solutions and intelligent effects, SUPER SYSTEMS+ deliver measurable environmental impact, more durable colors and effects, and cleaner chemistry as compared to the current market offering. This allows brands and mills to select the impact they want to achieve in line with their sustainability goals.
• SAFE EDGE+: Groundbreaking initiative represents a major commitment to providing a roadmap for compliance and cleaner chemistries for use in the textile industry by combining The Safe Edge platform with Foundation+. Foundation+, Archroma’s beyond-compliance portfolio, is a curated selection of Archroma products that utilize innovative technologies to either design out hazardous or regulated substances or reduce them by more than 95% compared to the current industry standard limits.
• ONE WAY+: Combining Archroma’s One Way Impact Calculator, a world-first online tool for sustainable value chain mapping, with its expert-led Sustainability Improvement Program (SIP), ONE WAY+ helps mills and brands overcome their specific challenges with products and tools that offers the highest operational excellence and productivity, achieves savings of resources such as water, energy, and creates differentiation with value-added end-products.
• COLOR MANAGEMENT+: An advanced color design and development solution, COLOR MANAGEMENT+ helps mills and brands work together for improved sustainability. It incorporates the industry’s largest off-the-shelf color atlas selection alongside color standards created with Archroma’s SUPER SYSTEMS+ for reduced environmental impact and consistent and accurate color reproduction.

The remaining two pillars of “PLANET CONSCIOUS+” are being introduced today to underscore that innovation and transparency are the cornerstones of the Archroma way of working.

• INNOVATION+: Archroma brings together science, our technological expertise and in-depth market, customer, and regulatory knowledge to create groundbreaking solutions that have a positive environmental impact. To accelerate the shift to a circular economy and help manufacturers use resources more efficiently, Archroma’s research and development teams across Americas, Asia and Europe focus on innovating for cleaner chemistry and durable effects.
• COMMUNICATION+: By providing authentic, fact-based information to all stakeholders, Archroma helps improve transparency across the value chain. This enables mills and brands to communicate their sustainability goals and achievements with confidence and navigate issues like regulatory complexity and consumer skepticism.

Protective gloves, such as those used for work, sport or household gardening, retrieve their protective function from a special coating. This coating provides abrasion resistance, makes the material waterproof and resistant to chemicals or oil, and even protects against cuts and punctures. Until now, coatings made of oil-based polymers, nitrile rubber or latex have been the main materials used. Scientists at the German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf (DITF) have succeeded in developing a robust yet flexible glove coating using environmentally friendly lignin in a 3D printing process.

Coatings that are subject to mechanical stress always suffer from a certain degree of abrasion that is dispersed in the surrounding area. This is also the case with coated protective gloves. In order to avoid long-term pollution of the environment, materials should be used whose abrasion particles are biodegradable. The aim of the research project was to improve conventional protective equipment and integrate more sustainable materials.

The biopolymer lignin is a natural component of plant cells that is produced in large quantities as a by-product of paper manufacturing. Due to its properties, it represents an environmentally friendly alternative to oil-based coating polymers.

The scientists developed biopolymer compounds containing lignin, which were used to produce thermoplastic materials that can be processed using 3D printing.

Lignin has few polar groups, which makes lignins hydrophobic and therefore insoluble in water. For this reason, they biodegrade slowly. This makes them particularly suitable for durable coating materials.

Despite this durability, lignin particles that are released into the environment through abrasion biodegrade faster than the abrasion of conventional coatings. This is due to the much higher surface/volume ratio.

The use of 3D printing makes it possible to produce the coating precisely and efficiently. The 3D printing process also makes it possible to adapt the glove to the individual needs of the wearer. This increases wearer comfort and promotes freedom of movement.

The research project shows that the use of lignin not only offers ecological benefits, but that protective gloves coated with it are also particularly durable and resistant. They meet safety standards and at the same time contribute to sustainability in the world of work.

eVent Fabrics, a company in waterproof and breathable technologies, is looking to the future and offering their partner brands eVent BIO and eVent alpineST technologies. Both are made without PFAS and are compliant with regulations requiring the removal of PFAS chemicals from many consumer products.

eVent BIO
eVent BIO is a bio-based membrane technology that uses sustainable materials to provide all-weather protection and performance. At the laminate technology’s core are renewable plant-based and biomass elements paired with smartly-sourced or recycled face and backer fabrics. Light, tough and flexible, eVent BIO has a reduced carbon footprint and is recyclable when it reaches the end of its lifecycle.

alpineST
alpineST is a sustainable alternative to ePTFE products that provides waterproofness, breathability, and protection in the harshest environments. Created with the planet in mind, alpineST products are built around a fluorine-free membrane laminated to recycled face fabrics. With an initial waterproofness of 25K, alpineST maintains a water column of 20K after dozens of washes.

bluesign and SCTI donate the Sustainable Chemistry Index (SCI) Methodology to ZDHC aiming to advance sustainable chemistry within the textile industry. This collaboration aims to revolutionize chemical management in the textile, leather and fashion industries, while addressing environmental impact in a holistic manner.

For decades, the use of hazardous chemicals in clothing has been a major challenge. Despite industry efforts with numerous overlapping standards and voluntary schemes - the textile, leather and fashion industries struggle with varying regulations, inconsistent data and a lack of common action. Inconsistent regulations, limited transparency, and little coordinated action hinder progress, while consumers do not receive information about the overall environmental impact of these industries.

Leading organizations in the textile sector are elevating the conversation to tackle these issues head-on with converging assessment tools.

SCTI, a group of innovative and pioneering chemical manufacturers, aims to bring positive change to the textile industry and make sustainable chemistry the norm. bluesign has extensive experience in ensuring safe and responsible chemical management, environmental and worker safety as well as resource efficiency in the production of textiles. The ZDHC Foundation, driven by major fashion brands, is on a mission to detox the fashion industry by providing tools and guidelines for sustainable chemical management.
The Start of the Sustainable Chemistry Index (SCI):
In 2022, SCTI and bluesign announced the development of the first comprehensive Sustainable Chemistry Index (SCI) for the textile industry. The pioneering work leverages best available technologies, while transcending existing chemical assessments, and introduces a one-stop-shopping tool for a broader assessment of environmental impact. Such an approach was missing. Now, the SCI introduces a standard common language for convergence and alignment throughout global textile.

The SCI brings new parameters to assess how chemical products improve resource utilisation in the processes they are used along the life cycle of a garment. Key building blocks include supply chain transparency, responsible sourcing, feedstock reducing fossil dependency, product carbon footprint, resource consumption, efficiency in use during textile production, end use impact and end-of-life of consumer applications. This transparent framework makes it easier for the industry to evaluate the sustainability impact of chemicals present in a garment and promote circularity.

A Collaborative Donation to Advance the Industry:
To advance and foster industry-wide collaboration, SCTI and bluesign are donating, the SCI to ZDHC as the cornerstone of its Chemicals to Zero (CTZ-A) program. CTZ-A represents the highest level of sustainable chemistry within ZDHC. In 2024, the SCI content will undergo ZDHC's stakeholder engagement and consultation processes, aiming to enhance the Roadmap to Zero Program by addressing sustainability and circularity. ZDHC will make the SCI content freely available to the public, enabling widespread adoption and impact.

The ZDHC program is well-positioned to complement the expertise of bluesign and SCTI and to scale its impact within a multistakeholder structure. This collaboration empowers manufacturers and brands to make informed, responsible choices in terms of chemicals and processes, committing to sustainable chemistry and benefiting society.

The German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf (DITF) are coordinating the research project, which is funded as part of the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation program. The aim of BioFibreLoop is to develop recyclable outdoor and work clothing made from renewable bio-based materials. The kick-off event took place in Denkendorf on June 26 and 27, 2024.

The textile industry is facing two challenges: on the one hand, production must become more sustainable and environmentally friendly and, on the other, consumers are expecting more and more smart functions from clothing.

In addition, the production of functional textiles often involves the use of chemicals that are harmful to the environment and health and make subsequent recycling more difficult.

Intelligent innovations must therefore ensure that harmful chemicals are replaced, water is saved and more durable, recyclable bio-based materials are used, thereby reducing the usually considerable carbon footprint of textile products. Digitalized processes are intended to ensure greater efficiency and a closed cycle.

For example, the BioFibreLoop project uses laser technology to imitate natural structures in order to produce garments with water and oil-repellent, self-cleaning and antibacterial properties. At the end result of the research work will be affordable, resource and environmentally friendly, yet high-performance and durable fibers and textiles made from renewable sources such as lignin, cellulose and polylactic acid will be available. All processes are aimed at a circular economy with comprehensive recycling and virtually waste-free functionalization based on nature's example. In this way, greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced by 20 percent by 2035.

The technology for the functionalization and recycling of bio-based materials is being developed in three industrial demonstration projects in Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany. At the end of the project, a patented circular, sustainable and reliable process for the production of recyclable functional textiles will be established.

The BioFibreLoop project has a duration of 42 months and a total budget of almost 7 million euros, with 1.5 million going to the coordinator DITF.

The consortium consists of 13 partners from nine countries who contribute expertise and resources from science and industry:

• German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf (DITF), Coordinator, Germany
• Next Technology Tecnotessile Società nazionale di ricerca R. L., Italy
• Centre Technologique ALPhANOV, France
• G. Knopf’s Sohn GmbH & Co. KG, Germany
• FreyZein Urban Outdoor GmbH, Austria
• BEES - BE Engineers for Society, Italy
• BAT Graphics Vernitech, France
• Interuniversitair Micro-Electronica Centrum, Belgium
• Idener Research & Development Agrupacion de Interes Economico, Spain
• Teknologian tutkimuskeskus VTT Oy, Finland
• Det Nationale Forskningscenter for Arbejdsmiljø, Denmark
• Steinbeis Innovation gGmbH, Germany
• NIL Textile SRO, Czech Republic