REACH SVHC Certification

Overview

What is REACH?
REACH is an EU Regulation on chemicals and their safe use. It deals with the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals.
REACH replaces numerous EU Directives related to chemicals and is complementary to other environmental and safety legislation but it will not replace sector specific legislation.

What are substances of very high concern (SVHC)?

These are substances that may have potentially very serious and often irreversible effects on humans and the environment.

What is the REACH SVHC candidate list?

This is a list of SVHC that have been identified and are to be considered for authorisation by REACH. If subsequently these substances are authorised then a company will have 42-48 months to replace the substance with an alternative. However, there are some exceptions; for example, if replacement would have very serious social economic impact. By and large the best option is to explore alternatives.

What are my obligations?

REACH is a European community regulation that directly applies in all member states of the European Union.  

If you are an EU based company then it is your responsibility to ensure any textile products, including chemicals used in their manufacture, whether they have been produced outside or within the EU, have been evaluated to ensure they are REACH compliant.

If you are a textile company based outside of the European Union then you are obliged to inform your buyers, which are EU based, on the status of SVHC within products/chemicals that are supplied to them.

By not supplying this information to your buyers you will be at a serious disadvantage to your competitors and this could potentially lead to your EU customers sourcing products from a REACH compliant supplier.  

What is Shirley Technologies' REACH SVHC certification scheme?

Being an accredited ISO 17025 laboratory, with many years experience carrying out ecological testing on textile and related products we have the expertise to be able to assist textile companies and companies supplying chemicals used in textiles, e.g. detergents, pigments, dyes, plastisols, in determining whether the products they are producing contain SVHC and if they do at what levels.

Our scheme has been designed to facilitate you in advising your customers that you have had an independent third party formal assessment performed to ensure that the products you are supplying to them are REACH compliant.

For more information on REACH SVHC certification please contact Phil Whitaker on +44 (0) 161 869 1610 or phil.whitaker@shirleytech.co.uk