Number of annual chemical risk alerts for textile products in the EU

In 2023, 70 chemical-related alerts for clothing, textiles and fashion items were reported to the EU Rapid Alert System, indicating risks for humans and/or the environment.

Textile articles put on the EU market need to comply with EU safety requirements for placing chemicals on the market. When a national enforcement authority identifies chemical risks in consumer products through product checks, it has to inform counterparts in other countries by notifying the EU Rapid Alert System as part of the EU internal market surveillance of restricted chemicals.

From 2014 to 2023, an average of 58 alerts per year were reported regarding restricted chemicals in textiles, indicating risks for humans and/or the environment. The number of alerts per year for these products decreased between 2014 and 2019 and increased again in the years after 2019.

In 2023, 70 chemical risk alerts have been reported for textiles. Most alerts were related to human health risks, accounting for 85% of all risks reported. Out of this, more than 60% were related to amounts of chromium (VI) that exceeded safety thresholds under the REACH Regulation, and which may trigger allergic reactions. Amongst all consumer goods reported in the EU Rapid Alert System, clothing, textile and fashion items are the product category with the fifth most frequently alerted products due to human health risks. Regarding environmental risks, most alerts are related to products that do not comply with the EU regulation on persistent organic pollutants (POPs Regulation), posing a risk to human health and the environment.

Chemical risks in textiles pose a challenge to textile circularity since there is a lack of traceability at the after-use stage. Problematic chemicals – either used before being classified as harmful or not detected when entering the market, can potentially hinder efforts to increase material reuse and recycling. For example, the presence of PFAS in textiles has been identified as a barrier to longer use, reuse and recyclability of textiles, since this might amplify the risk of exposure by extending the duration of PFAS in circulation. Thus, by increasing the circularity of textiles, the potential environmental and health hazards related to harmful chemicals are prolonged.

The use of hazardous chemicals in textile products on the EU market, including substances identified as carcinogenic, mutagenic, or toxic to reproduction, presents significant concerns. To address these risks, the European Commission is taking action through the REACH regulation. Additionally, as outlined in the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, the Commission is developing criteria for safe and sustainable chemicals and materials. Furthermore, the strategy includes the ambition to phase out all non-essential uses of PFAS, which would also concern textile products. More generally, the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles wants to support the textile industry replace harmful substances wherever possible and minimize their presence in textiles entering the EU market.

At the national level, some countries are considering or have already posed bans on certain products containing per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including textile products. Additionally, a proposal by five EU Member States (Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden) for the restriction of PFAS is under review by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), aiming to reduce PFAS emissions into the environment and make them safe for human consumption. However, upcoming regulations might not apply to the reuse and recycling of textiles, since it is difficult for reuse and recycling actors to ensure compliance and as it would likely hinder increased product circularity.

Definition

EU Safety Gate alerts for chemicals for clothing, textile and fashion items, 2014 – 2023. This includes all alerts related to chemicals considered harmful to the environment and/or human health.

Methodology

Alerts for clothing, textile and fashion items are reported to the EU Rapid Alert System for dangerous non-food products established under the General Product Safety Directive (to be replaced by Regulation 2023/988 in December 2024). The data is publicly available on the EU Safety Gate.

This indicator includes all chemical-related risks reported, distinguishing between those affecting human health, the environment, and both. However, these distinctions may overlap, as some risks classified as environmental may also impact human health.

The number of alerts is influenced by EU and national initiatives for market surveillance of specific products or substances since inspection campaigns often only target a small fraction of products on the market. The REACH4Textiles project, for example, found 16% of tested products to be non-compliant with the REACH regulation, indicating that the problem goes way beyond what is currently detected.

Stepping up enforcement activities at the EU level may increase the detection of hazardous chemicals in products sold on the EU market and thus increase the number of alerts. More stringent legislation on chemicals may also lead to an increase in alerts.

Metadata

Data source: EU Safety Gate, web portal for the EU Rapid Alert System

Unit: alerts per year

Temporal coverage: 2014 – 2023

Geographic coverage: EU + Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway

Literature

European Commission (n.d.): Safety Gate: the EU rapid alert system for dangerous non-food products

EEA (2024): Alerts for products posing a risk to human health and the environment (Indicator).

EEA (2024): PFAS in textiles in Europe’s circular economy.

European Chemicals Agency (2023): ECHA/NR/23/04 ECHA publishes PFAS restriction proposal.

European Parliament and the Council of the European Union (2023): Regulation (EU) 2023/988 on general product safety.

Centexbel (n.d.): Final results of the REACH4TEXTILES project.

References and footnotes

https://ec.europa.eu/safety-gate-alerts/screen/webReport
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https://european-union.europa.eu/priorities-and-actions/actions-topic/single-market_en
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https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/european-zero-pollution-dashboards/indicators/alerts-reported-for-products-posing-a-risk-to-human-health-and-the-environment
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EEA Briefing (2024): PFAS in textiles in Europe’s circular economy.
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https://echa.europa.eu/-/echa-publishes-pfas-restriction-proposal
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Based on e-mail dialogue with the Environmental Ministry in Denmark.
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https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-law-in-force/bibliographic-details/-/elif-publication/b5f5fb53-f906-11ed-a05c-01aa75ed71a1
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https://www.centexbel.be/en/final-results-reach4textiles-project
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