A recent study shows inspected products sold online breach EU chemicals laws
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In 2020, the EU-wide ‘REF-8’ enforcement project took off in 29 countries to check the compliance of nearly 6,000 products sold online, focusing on all potential companies, online stores and marketplaces selling hazardous substances, mixtures, biocidal products and articles. While inspecting products, authorities found 78% of the checked products to be non-compliant with at least one requirement under relevant EU chemical legislations. These include textiles, toys, leather items, childcare articles, toys and jewellery.
Here is a breakdown of the findings:
2,600 products were inspected against requirements for restricted substances
More than 1,800 of them had carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic substances (CMRs), such as lead in solders for welding needs and Boric Acid
Products containing restricted CMRs should only be available for professional users, but 99 % of the inspected products that contained CMRs were available for consumers to buy online
Other non-compliances were found for phthalates in toys and cadmium in jewellery
In 75 % of inspections, the information about the hazards of the chemical product was missing and for those where it was available, it was often not visible.
Concerning biocides, 77 % of inspected biocidal products were found to be non-compliant with at least one requirement under the BPR
The highest rate (79%) of non-compliance was for repellents and attractants and most identified non-compliances were for products sold to the public
17 % of inspected products breached the BPR because they had misleading statements in the advertisements such as “low-risk biocidal product”, “non-toxic”, “harmless”, “natural”, “environmentally friendly” or “animal-friendly”
As a result of these findings, the enforcement authorities launched more than 5,000 enforcement measures. These included written advice demanding businesses remove product offers from websites. Misconceptions about harmful substances in products are dangerous for human health and the environment. So ECHA urges businesses to be more proactive about improving consumer protection for online sales.
How can Yordas help?
For more insight into the results of inspections made under the Forum enforcement project, take a look at the REF-8 project report. For help in ensuring your products are ECHA compliant, get in touch with us today.