Chemical Management for Consumer Products

How chemical management can help protect consumers and the environment

Chemical management is key to helping protect final consumers, workers and the environment. People often encounter chemicals in consumer products in their daily lives without realizing it.

Liquids, gels, pastes and powders are just a few examples. If these kinds of mixtures are not properly formulated or produced, they may pose an even more serious threat to consumers than other types of products due to their more direct and prolonged exposure.

Consumers can be harmed from exposure of hazardous substances in chemical products by:

• Inhalation
• Dermal contact
• Ingestion
• Eye contact

Effective chemical management practices implemented from the concept phase through the finished product phase are also key to protecting workers, communities and the environment from exposure to chemicals.

As the concern over chemical safety in consumer products has risen drastically in the past years, global safety regulations have been established in different countries to restrict toxic chemical substances that pose potential harm to consumers and the environment.

Our chemical management services

UL Solutions chemical management services can help untangle often-complex chemical regulations and take a more sustainable approach: a good chemical management system is an example of applied sustainability as the intent is to eliminate toxic chemicals that are harmful to human health and the environment, from the entire production cycle.

The restriction of toxic substances covers a broad range of consumer product categories available in markets, including but not limited to:

• Toys and juvenile products
• Textiles, apparel and footwear
• Food contact materials
• Electrical and electronic products
• Lighting
• Small appliances
• Furniture
• Promotional premiums
• Cosmetics
• Packaging materials

In our state-of-the-art laboratories located around the world, UL Solutions experts are able to support brands, retailers and manufacturers with chemical testing and analysis services to assess whether their products meet the requirements of European, Asian and U.S. chemical regulations, including but not limited to:

• EU Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006 Substances of Very High Concern
• EU REACH Regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006 Annex XVII
• EU Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive 2011/65/EU and further amendments
• EU Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, covering the classification, labeling and packaging of substances and mixtures
• U.S. state regulations, including California Proposition 65 (CA Prop 65) and various state regulations for chemicals of high concern to children
• U.S. Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA)
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
• U.S. EPA, California Air Resources Board (CARB) and Montreal Protocols
• Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA)
• China Measures for the Administration of the Restricted Use of the Hazardous Substances Contained in Electrical and Electronic Products (also known as China RoHS)
• China GB 6675 National Safety Technical Code for Toys
• China GB/T 39498 Guidelines for the Use of and Control of Key Chemical Substances in Consumer Products

We offer holistic services to help customers evaluate products at critical control points at various stages of production and help increase supply chain chemical transparency:

Technical services – Equipped with cutting-edge laboratories worldwide, we assist retailers, brands and manufacturers in safeguarding their products against hazardous substances through toxicological risk assessment (TRA), labeling review, component evaluation, post-shipment surveillance, and testing of raw materials, input chemicals and finished products.

Restricted substances list (RSL) support – UL Solutions can help you develop an RSL based on your product list to support you in bringing safer and high-quality goods to the market. This can help you manage risks related to dangerous chemicals in an end product and is critical for monitoring the chemical legislation in a specific country while maintaining a high level of consumer and brand protection. In addition, it helps communicate rules related to chemicals to all parties in the supply chain.

Sustainability services – As a customer-centric provider, UL Solutions helps facilities enhance chemical sustainability practices, implement chemical management best practices, while considering key elements such as chemical purchase policy and inventory, risk assessment and control, chemical communication such as Safety Data Sheet (SDS) and labeling, personal protective equipment (PPE), chemical storage, chemical waste and disposal, and support in identifying the root causes of failures. For the fashion and luxury industry, we also offer a wide portfolio of zero discharge of hazardous chemicals (ZDHC) services, including wastewater analysis and training.

Global market access for consumer products – UL Solutions can help companies understand the impact of applicable regulations and industrial chemical standards on their products. Our regulatory research team monitors the developments starting from legal drafts to enacted regulations and is maintaining a worldwide regulatory database. We are also active members of several technical working groups active in the field of standardization — including International Organization for Standardization (ISO), European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM).

Consumer product compliance: Safer chemicals in product design

One of the most effective strategies to manufacture a product safely and responsibly, while reducing chemical risks, is to shift the focus from the finished product (the production output) to the formulations and chemicals used in the manufacturing process (the production input).

Though the compliance of a finished product is a must according to most toxic substances regulations, the use of safer input chemicals is paramount to make the production sustainable. Proper control of input chemicals helps production comply with legal requirements and can lead to a more protected environment, a safer workplace and a more sustainable industry, with the final goal of eliminating the use of hazardous substances.