EU: WTO draft restriction on CMRs in textiles

February 2018- Relevant for: Softlines

On 1 February 2018, the European Commission (EC) submitted a draft amendment to the World Trade Organization (WTO)¹, to add a new restriction on hazardous substances (carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction (CMRs) category 1A or 1B) in clothing, other textiles and footwear under Annex XVII of the REACH.

In 2015, the EC in collaboration with the ECHA and Member States Competent Authorities identified a preliminary list of CMR substances category 1A or 1B potentially present in textile articles and clothing. This is the first time that the EC restricts a list of CMR substances (category 1A or 1B) to specific groups of consumer products. The EC intended to restrict the CMR substances in textile articles and clothing under Article 68(2) (simplified procedure) of REACH.

Afterwards, the EC launched a public consultation to collect comments from the stakeholders, and discussed with the stakeholders on specific aspects of the restriction (including the limits and availability of testing methods) in a technical workshop4 which was held in 2017. Considering the comments received, the EC drafted the restriction on CMRs in textile articles to amend REACH Annex XVII.

The new restriction is expected to publish in the 3rd quarter of 2018, and it will set a general 24-months transitional period.

See Table A and Table B for the proposed restriction on CMRs in textiles in details.

Table A. Proposed restriction on CMRs in textiles

Proposed scope of restriction	Clothing or related accessories; Textiles other than clothing which, under normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use, come into contact with human skin to an extent similar to clothing; Footwear
Proposed limit	See Table B for substances and limits
Proposed exemption	Clothing, related accessories or footwear, or parts of clothing, related accessories or footwear, made exclusively of nature leather, fur or hide; Non-textile fasteners and non-textile decorative attachments; Second-hand clothing, related accessories, textiles other than clothing or footwear; Personal protective equipment (PPE) within the scope of Regulation (EU) 2016/425; Medical devices within the scope of Regulation (EU) 2017/745; Disposable textiles (i.e. textiles that are designed to be used only once or for a limited time and are not intended for subsequent use for the same or similar purpose).
Proposed date of application	24 months after the date of entry into force

Table B. Substances and limits within the proposed restriction

Substance	CAS No.	Limit (by weight in homogenous materials)
Cadmium and its compounds (listed in Annex XVII, Entry 28, 29, 30, Appendices 1-6)	-	Extractable Cadmium: 1 mg/kg
Chromium VI compounds (listed in Annex XVII, Entry 28, 29, 30, Appendices 1-6)	-	Extractable Chromium VI: 1 mg/kg
Arsenic compounds (listed in Annex XVII, Entry 28, 29, 30, Appendices 1-6)	-	Extractable Arsenic: 1 mg/kg
Lead and its compounds (listed in Annex XVII, Entry 28, 29, 30, Appendices 1-6)	-	Extractable Lead: 1 mg/kg
Benzene	71-43-2	5 mg/kg
Benz[a]anthracene	56-55-3	1 mg/kg (each)
Benz[e]acephenanthrylene	205-99-2
Benzo[a]pyrene; benzo[def]chrysene	50-32-8
Benzo[e]pyrene	192-97-2
Benzo[j]fluoranthene	205-82-3
Benzo[k]fluoranthene	207-08-9
Chrysene	218-01-9
Dibenz[a,h]anthracene	53-70-3
a,a,a, 4-tetrachlorotoluene; p-chlorobenzotrichloride	5216-25-1	1 mg/kg
a,a,a-trichlorotoluene; benzotrichloride	98-07-7	1 mg/kg
a-chlorotoluene; benzylchloride	100-44-7	1 mg/kg
Formaldehyde	50-00-0	75 mg/kg For jackets, coats or upholstery: The date during the period between 24 months after entry into force -- 60 months after entry into force: 300 mg/kg
1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid; di-C 6-8-branched alkylesters, C 7-rich	71888-89-6	1000 mg/kg (individually or in combination with other phthalates in this entry or in other entries of Annex XVII that are classified in Part 3 of Annex VI to Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 in any of the hazard classes CMR 1A or 1B)
Bis(2-methoxyethyl) phthalate	117-82-8
Diisopentylphthalate	605-50-5
Di-n-pentyl phthalate (DPP)	131-18-0
Di-n-hexyl phthalate (DnHP)	84-75-3
N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone; 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP)	872-50-4	3000 mg/kg
N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAC)	127-19-5	3000 mg/kg
N,N-dimethylfomamide; dimethyl fomamide (DMF)	68-12-2	3000 mg/kg
1,4,5,8-tetraaminoanthraquinone; C.I. Disperse Blue 1	2475-45-8	50 mg/kg
Benzenamine, 4,4‘-(4-iminocyclohexa-2,5-dienylidenemethylene)dianiline hydrochloride; C.I.Basic Red 9	569-61-9	50 mg/kg
[4-[4,4‘-bis(dimethylamino)benzhydrylidene]cyclohexa-2,5-dien-1-ylidene]dimethylammonium chloride; C.I. Basic Violet 3 with ≥ 0,1% of Michler’s ketone (EC no. 202-027-5)	548-62-9	50 mg/kg
4-chloro-o-toluidinium chloride	3165-93-3	30 mg/kg
2-Naphthylammoniumacetate	553-00-4	30 mg/kg
4-methoxy-m-phenylene diammonium sulphate; 2,4-diaminoanisole sulphate	39156-41-7	30 mg/kg
2,4,5-trimethylaniline hydrochloride	21436-97-5	30 mg/kg
Quinoline	91-22-5	50 mg/kg

[1] EC Notification sent to WTO
[2] Draft text sent to WTO (Part 1)
[3] Draft text sent to WTO (Part 2)
[4] Technical workshop on potential restriction of CMRs 1A and 1B in textiles

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