Are there implications for the OEKO-TEX® Standard 100? No

TSIM SHA TSUI, Hong Kong - Oct. 11, 2015 - PRLog -- On 10 September 2015, the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) decided that the notification and information obligations relating to SVHC substances (substances of very high concern) for producers,

importers and/or suppliers that are necessary for articles under certain conditions within the framework of the REACh regulation are valid for all individual articles that are components of a complex whole product (entire article) and that the SVHC threshold value of 0.1 % by weight and the calculation of a found SVHC substance refer to the examined single article and not to the entire article 1) 2). This decision does not necessitate a change for the OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 and there are no implications whatsoever. The judgement of the ECJ in fact confirms the procedure that has always been practised for the OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 and links in with the views of the OEKO-TEX® Association.

In accordance with the European REACh regulation (EC) no. 1907/2006, there is an obligation for all actors (any person who provides an article for a third party) throughout the entire supply chain to provide information in the case of articles for which the threshold value of 0.1 percent by weight (= 1000 mg/kg) is exceeded for SVHC candidate substances and, if requested, to also provide information for consumers (REACh: Article 33). Depending on the total annual production or the use of a SVHC substance (> 1 tonne/year: referred to all articles per producer or importer) further steps such as registration for this specific use (REACh: Article 7(1)) or notification (REACh: Article 7(2)) to the ECHA (European Chemicals Agency) may be necessary for producers or importers. With regard to the threshold value of 0.1% for the SVHC substances, there have, for a long time, been differences of opinion between different EU member states (among others Germany, France, Denmark and Austria) on the one side and the European Commission and the ECHA on the other (as a quasi-controversial issue) on the interpretation and application of whether the concentration of a SVHC substance found in a component (single article on an entire article) should refer to and be calculated for the single component or the entire article (e.g. clothing = entire article). Depending on the decision, there are of course serious differences in the result.

With this decision, the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) has now clarified matters and decided that the found concentration of a SVHC substance must refer to and be calculated for the examined single component (single article) and not to the entire article (e.g. clothing) to which it belongs.

In laboratory tests carried out in accordance with the OEKO-TEX® Standard 100, it has always been standard practice to test each material and component (part article) individually and to exclusively refer to and calculate any possible findings directly to the examined material/part article (threads, buttons, knitwear, prints, fabrics, labels, metal accessories, etc.) – thus there is no reference to the entire textile/clothing. It is the view of the OEKO-TEX® Association that, with regard to a high level of protection for human health and the duty of care, this would be neither conclusive nor expedient.

If, for example, a critical substance is found in the lining of a jacket in a harmful concentration, it would be less relevant to calculate the determined quantity of the harmful substance for the total weight of the jacket. This would indeed "improve" the evidence of the harmful chemical found in the lining but certainly not make it better in any way, and the health of the wearer would be at risk from the lining material in spite of the "improved" result.

The OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 explicitly also enables the testing and certification of (source) materials at the respective manufacturing stages on the basis of its modular system. The recognition of these tests and certifications in downstream production stages and in clothing is just one of the major advantages of the OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 system.

With the testing of all components in a finished textile item as a pre-requisite for OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 certification, the OEKO-TEX® Association, from the very beginning in 1992, has embarked on the same path that the ECJ has now also adopted with its recent REACh judgement. As a result, the OEKO-TEX® certificate holders have been sensitized for this aspect from the beginning!

1)

http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf;jsessi...

2)

http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2...