ASBCI new technical report
By FashionUnited
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The Association of Suppliers to the British Clothing Industry (ASBCI) in partnership with member company SGS United Kingdom Limited launched a new technical report aimed at answering key questions on REACH, the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation (and Restriction) of Chemicals. Introduced by the European Union in June 2007, REACH continues to have significant implications for any company manufacturing, importing or ‘supplying’ clothing and textile products within Europe. Working in partnership with SGS’s REACH specialists, the ASBCI formed a technical forum helping its members answer the most frequently asked questions.
Under the terms of REACH, manufacturers, importers and downstream users are responsible for managing the risks that chemicals might pose to health or the environment. The ASBCI report will help companies understand where their particular responsibilities lie and how they should prepare and respond to their legal obligations. Failure to do so means a substance cannot be manufactured or imported and can result in prosecution.
Jonty Wilson, UK soft lines manager, SGS and chairman of the ASBCI REACH technical forum explained: “There has been a lot of confusion in the clothing and textile supply-chain about what REACH is and what it means for individual companies. We assembled all those companies within the ASBCI membership who had concerns. This report is about answering their specific queries. We have made it available to ASBCI members and non-members because we believe it explains the key issues of the current situation and as such is of real value to the wider industry.”
The report opens by describing REACH and by helping companies define their place in the supply-chain of responsibility. It then goes on to explain which product categories are affected and gives examples of the types of products likely to contain chemicals’ intended for release. The continues with the importance and process of registering and explains the complex role of the Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), the European Inventory of Existing Commercial Chemical Substances (EINECS), the European List of New Chemical Substances (ELINCS), and the Substance Information Exchange Forum (SIEF). The report also defines Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) and advises on how such chemicals should be managed under the terms of REACH. It concludes with an overview of how REACH is being enforced and the penalties for non-compliance.
Under the guidance of SGS, the forum produced the new ‘REACH for ASBCI frequently asked questions’ report, available free to all ASBCI members and available to non-members for £45.00 plus P&P.
Image: Next AW09
Under the terms of REACH, manufacturers, importers and downstream users are responsible for managing the risks that chemicals might pose to health or the environment. The ASBCI report will help companies understand where their particular responsibilities lie and how they should prepare and respond to their legal obligations. Failure to do so means a substance cannot be manufactured or imported and can result in prosecution.
Jonty Wilson, UK soft lines manager, SGS and chairman of the ASBCI REACH technical forum explained: “There has been a lot of confusion in the clothing and textile supply-chain about what REACH is and what it means for individual companies. We assembled all those companies within the ASBCI membership who had concerns. This report is about answering their specific queries. We have made it available to ASBCI members and non-members because we believe it explains the key issues of the current situation and as such is of real value to the wider industry.”
The report opens by describing REACH and by helping companies define their place in the supply-chain of responsibility. It then goes on to explain which product categories are affected and gives examples of the types of products likely to contain chemicals’ intended for release. The continues with the importance and process of registering and explains the complex role of the Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), the European Inventory of Existing Commercial Chemical Substances (EINECS), the European List of New Chemical Substances (ELINCS), and the Substance Information Exchange Forum (SIEF). The report also defines Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) and advises on how such chemicals should be managed under the terms of REACH. It concludes with an overview of how REACH is being enforced and the penalties for non-compliance.
Under the guidance of SGS, the forum produced the new ‘REACH for ASBCI frequently asked questions’ report, available free to all ASBCI members and available to non-members for £45.00 plus P&P.
Image: Next AW09