REACH4TEXTILES Project
The REACH4TEXTILES project, commissioned by the DG Grow of
the European Commission and ending in September 2023, served to outline the
state of the art of controls carried out on textile articles in different
European countries and to share best sampling and analysis practices,
identifying efficient approaches to prevent non-compliant textile items from
being placed on the European market. The project partners were the following:
Centexbel (project leader), EURATEX, the German National Textile and Fashion
Association (Textile und Mode T+M) and the Associazione Tessile e Salute, with
the support of Centrocot for the carrying out laboratory tests.
The REACH4Textiles Project had the following objectives:
- obtain a more in-depth view of the quantity of textile
materials present on the European market that meet the REACH requirements and
define which types or classes of materials are more prone to contain dangerous
substances compared to others
- acquire knowledge on the different test methods, their
reproducibility accuracy, the detection limit and the quantification limit.
- develop a rapid decision-making tool for strategic,
risk-based control plan design to screen critical import products
- create awareness about market surveillance, disseminate
lessons learned during the project and bring market surveillance actors
together to exchange best practices for more effective control of textile
products.
REACH4Textiles initially outlined the textile market
surveillance authorities in Europe, potential overlapping roles and levels of
cooperation, with a focus on REACH compliance of textile products and label
enforcement in Member States. The results obtained were reported in the two
reports, summarized in the following document: Structure and competences for the supervision of the EU textile market.
REACH4Textiles subsequently conducted two purchasing campaigns
in different types of points of sale and on online platforms, for a total of
160 items checked through 2374 tests. A risk-based strategy, developed by the
project actors, was used for sampling and test selection. Risk-based sampling plan; link Risk-based textile testing matrix.
The results obtained are summarized in the following file: Results
Attachment:
leaflet risk based sampling English
reach4textiles-piano di campionamento basato sul rischioITA
reach4textiles-sorveglianza del mercato-ITA
The Textile and Health Association was founded in 2001 in Biella, but its activity has a national significance.
Since its foundation, it has combined different Subjects equally interested in designing, producing and selling textile articles, footwear and accessories that are safe for consumers : Business and Consumer Associations, Institutions, Health Authorities, Research Institutes.
