Reasons for Certification 101. Part 1: Chemicals
"We need stricter surveillance rules"
This was stated by the European Commission following a study that found that chemical related risks were the most frequently reported in relation to dangerous products.
The 2015 study reviewed data collected by Europe's central rapid alert system. The most frequently notified risk was chemical, accounting for 25% of cases, followed by risk of injury, which topped the list in 2014.
The most alarming fact that emerged from the study was that toxic children's toys were reported as the biggest culprit (37%) followed by fashion jewellery (25%) and then clothing, textiles (13%). Chemicals present included chromium VI in leather products and different kinds of phthalates in toys.
Commenting on the report, GreenTag's CEO and Program Directors says: "Chemical risks should not be an issue in any product. Clearly tighter controls need to be put in place to track dangerous products but if product certification was mandated, this would not happen in the first place. Accountability is built into certification and fully into the higher standards of Type 1 eco-labels like Global GreenTag.
"Safety should always be a priority for end users, obviously. It is commonsense. The question we need to ask is why this is continuing? It's not good enough."
Of interest, two thirds of the products notified as dangerous came from China - a proportion reflecting the country's share of EU imports. For 10% of notifications, the country of origin could not be established.
The EU Commission claims that collaboration with Chinese authorities remains "a priority" for the EU, but tracing the source of products within China "remains difficult". The country has followed up on 11,540 notifications since the system was introduced but has been unable to take action on two thirds of them.
GreenTag now certifies over 100 excellent products from China, with only a few needing reformulation prior to certification.
READ MORE chemicalwatch.com/46942/chemicals-become-most-reported-product-risk
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