EU REACH regulations in the Chinese shoe industry in terms of advantages and disadvantages

Not long ago, it was learned from the relevant information released by the media that the contents of the EU REACH Regulation may be further increased in the near future, and its authorized substances will increase from the original 38 to 49 at the end of the year, which means exporting shoe exports to European products must not contain more than 0.1% of the total amount of authorized substances. On the 30th of this month, the EU's REACH regulation will usher in the first official registration deadline, while Japan, the United States, South Korea and China’s chemical regulations will also be updated successively.

In this context, last Friday, the United States Footwear Wholesale and Retailers Association and TUV SÃœD organized a seminar on footwear companies to meet environmental protection regulations and physical and safety requirements in Europe and the United States. Fan Xuhua, Manager of Chemical Testing Department, TUV SÃœD Shenzhen Company, concerning REACH The impact of regulations on footwear companies and how companies responded to them were explained.

In recent years, with the implementation and renewal of the EU REACH Regulations, China's footwear industry is a labor-intensive industry. The chemicals involved in the products are large in quantity, wide in scope, and varied in variety. In addition, the footwear enterprises that export to the EU are facing foreign standards. Insufficient attention to research and regulations, insufficient research, making export companies more passive in the face of technical measures, many companies still have some misunderstandings about the REACH regulations, making China's footwear exports related to foreign notification and return from time to time.

According to the official statistics of the United States and the European Union, in the first quarter of this year, China's exported footwear products were recalled by Europe and the United States for a total of 31 batches, a surge of 40% compared with the same period of last year. Among them, the chemical danger is the most important reason for the recall of footwear products. Accounted for 82.48% of all notified recalls. Most of these are dimethyl dimethyl fumarate (DMFu), which accounts for a higher percentage of recalls due to chemical hazards.

For example, on March 17, 2009, the European Union issued a directive (2009/251/EC) requiring that products containing dimethyl fumarate (DMFu) cannot enter the market. Germany reported recalling many Chinese origin footwear including hiking shoes, sandals, baby shoes, etc. The reason for the recall was chemical danger. The problem appeared in the helper suede, shoelace, anti-mould agent and even the shoe box mouldproof pouch. on.

Dealing with regulations in four steps

First of all, companies need to do a good job of collecting relevant data in advance. Such as determining whether their products need to be registered, which need to be detected, which can be exempted, what time the registered products need to be registered, what data needs to be provided for registration, and the need to strengthen communication with upstream and downstream companies.

Second, it is time to grasp the implementation of REACH regulations. For example, according to REACH regulations, by December 1, 2008, pre-registration has ended, and unregistered or pre-registered phased substances are prohibited from entering the EU market. But there are actually some opportunities for post-registration. Knowing this, companies will not miss registration.

Again, we must rely on the strength of professional institutions. Especially those SMEs that do not have the strength and energy to deal with REACH regulations and registration procedures, they must actively use the strength of professional organizations to actively participate in relevant training organized by professional organizations.

Finally, it is to accelerate the upgrading of the industrial structure. The REACH procedure is complex and involves a wide range of issues. In particular, companies that export traditional, bulk, and low-tech content as the main products are vulnerable to the barriers to this technical regulation. For shoe enterprises, it is necessary to fully consider changes in the chemical industry and upstream and downstream industries, including the upgrading of industries, changes in production R&D and business concepts, and improvement in management levels.

Although the REACH regulation will become another technical barrier of the EU, this regulation will also have a positive effect on the development of related industries in China. Enterprises should take advantage of this opportunity to accelerate the upgrading of their products in accordance with the requirements of the REACH Regulations, with reference to international standards, improve production processes, and improve product quality and environmental performance. This is also an effective way to maintain and improve the competitiveness of export products.

About REACH Regulation

The European Union officially implemented the full name of the Registration, Evaluation, Licensing and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH Regulation) on June 1, 2008, which seriously affected the export of EU products to countries in the world including China. Producers and exporters must register (pre)registered substances for their products, otherwise they will be prohibited from exporting more than 1 ton/year.

The REACH regulation has had the most extensive influence, involves the industry's most, and is also the most complex and most difficult to deal with. Dealing with misconduct will become a huge technical barrier to trade.