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Many companies are unaware of their duty of disclosure in connection with harmful chemicals in goods
 

Dec. 19 2022

A new inspection report made by the Swedish Chemicals Agency shows that many companies are not aware of consumers’ rights to receive information about certain harmful chemicals in goods.

In the inspection project, 220 goods from 80 companies at the Swedish market were checked. It was mainly goods made of soft plastic such as interior designs, sports articles, electronics, toys, and clothes.

It turned out that 14 of the goods contained illegal substances like lead and short chain chlorinated paraffins. 25 of the goods contained substances mentioned on EU’s candidate list of especially harmful chemicals including phthalates and the substance ADCA.

If goods contain substances on the candidate list, companies and consumers have the right to be informed that the products contain the substances in question, but the substances are not illegal. A third of the companies, which the Swedish Chemicals Agency visited in connection with the inspection project, were not aware of the rules about the duty to inform about the content of harmful chemicals on the candidate list.

Some companies said that they made demands to their suppliers that the goods were not allowed to contain substances on the candidate list. Nevertheless, more than a third of the companies had goods containing such substances.

Facts: Information requirements towards customers

If a product contains more than 0.1 weight percentage of a substance on the candidate list, the supplier of the product must inform about this enabling the receiver to use the product safely. This information requirement applies to all parts of the distribution chain including retailers.

The information must as a minimum include the name of the subject and must be submitted to professionally active customers. Upon request, consumers must receive the same information within 45 days. The information must be free of charge. This requirement is stated in article 33 in the REACH regulation.

FACTS: substances in goods

  • Phthalates is a group of substances which is not all harmful, but some phthalates might have an impact on testicles’ development and might complicate having children. Some phthalates are endocrine disruptors or are suspected of being endocrine disruptors.
  • Azodicarbonamide (ADCA) is mentioned on the candidate list. Might cause allergies or asthma symptoms or breathing difficulties by inhalation.
  • Short chain chlorine paraffins are harmful to aquatic organisms. They also have a very long life, do not break down in nature and are assumed to be carcinogenic.
  • Lead might have an impact on the central nervous system.
  • Cadmium damages the kidneys and the skeleton.

Source: The Swedish Chemicals Agency