Major retailers break information rules on use of hazardous chemicals

Environmental data service, ENDS, sent email requests to 14 retailers to ask them whether the floor coverings they sell contain what the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of CHemicals (REACH) rules define as ‘substances of very high concern’ (SVHCs).

The retailers all supply vinyl flooring, a potential source of exposure to phthalate plasticisers, three of which are classed as SVHCs under REACH and banned under separate legislation from toys and childcare equipment that can be placed in children’s mouths.

Under the REACH rules, brought in by the EU in 2007, retailers must respond within 45 days to inform whether any SVHC constitutes more than 0.1 per cent of the article and provide enough information for the product to be used safely.

The performance of household name companies in regard to the REACH requirements looks less than impressive: John Lewis, B&Q and Focus failed to respond within the 45 day deadline and Wickes and Homebase only responded once they had been sent reminders, pointing out the legal situation.

A spokesperson for B&Q said: "B&Q is more than happy to provide information regarding the chemicals in its products to consumers or organisations.

"Unfortunately in this instance, the email request did not find its way to the Social Responsibility team, meaning we did not reply within the given time. This has highlighted an internal process issue that needs to be resolved, but should not suggest we cannot comply with REACH regulations."

Only Next, Allied Carpets and Carpetright responded without reminders.

While the response from the major retailers was disappointing, ENDS said it was even worse from the six smaller online vendors that it contacted.

Three – Key Industrial Equipment, Flooringsupplies.co.uk and Walls and Floors – did not respond at all, while the responses from the other three were described by ENDS as “inadequate”. 

Mats Direct said it did not think it was covered by the regime, Deco Floors said its supplier didn’t know if its products contained SVHCs and Dynotile forwarded a message from its supplier saying: "We think our goods haven’t that, because we export to Norway and the Netherlands and haven’t had any problems."

ENDS summed up the situation: “REACH is supposed to help the identification and safe management of chemicals posing a risk to humans and the environment by spreading information on their use along the supply chain. The number of firms unable to say what is in their products, or referring enquiries to suppliers, suggests this is not occurring.”

ENDS says that it makes commercial sense for companies to know if their products contain SVHCs as this may limit their use in future. 

There are just 15 SVHCs on the list at present but NGOs and trade unions have highlighted hundreds of chemicals they think should be added.

From 2011, firms will have to notify the European Chemicals Agency if the articles they make or import during a year contain more than a tonne of an SVHC and the substance makes up more than 0.1 per cent of the article’s weight.