Market Opportunities for “More Sustainable Chemistry” Through the REACH Regulation - Results from a Case Study of the Global Supply Chains in the Textile and Sporting Goods Industry
Silke Kleihauer and Leonie Lennartz
elni Review 2019, pp. 33-38. https://doi.org/10.46850/elni.2019.005
The report outlines the results of the research project ‘Market opportunities for “more sustainable chemistry” through the REACH Regulation (Sustainable Sporting Goods – SuSport)’. The aim of the project completed in 2018 is to support ‘more sustainable chemistry’ in the textile supply chain and to broaden the view from the ‘reactive’ compliance position to a ‘proactive’ – beyond compliance perspective. Strategically, this approach is based on the following consideration: those who still want to be ‘compliant’ tomorrow have to act ‘beyond compliance’ today. Such a strategy not only guarantees legal compliance, but also opens up new market opportunities.
Relevant actors participating in the transdisciplinary research project are mainly manufacturers of textile chemicals (organised in Germany in the TEGEWA association, partner in the SuSport project) as well as companies that manufacture and sell textile products, such as clothing and sporting goods (for sporting goods in Germany organised in the BSI, also project partner). However, since the project’s subject addresses a transformation process of the global textile supply chains, all other actors involved in the production processes must also be taken into account.
References
- Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of 18 December 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), establishing a European Chemicals Agency, amending Directive 1999/45/EC and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 793/93 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1488/94 as well as Council Direc- tive 76/769/EEC and Commission Directives 91/155/EEC, 93/67/EEC, 93/105/EC and 2000/21/EC, OJ 2006 396/1.
- Kleihauer, S., Führ, M. and Schenten J., 2019, Marktchancen für “nachhaltigere Chemie” durch die REACH-Verordnung - Am Beispiel globaler Lieferketten in der Textil- und Sportartikel-Industrie, sofia-Studien zur Institutionenanalyse 19-1, Darmstadt.
- Blum C., Bunke D. and Hungsberg M. et al. (2017): The concept of sustainable chemistry: key drivers for the transition towards sustainable development. Sustain Chem Pharm 5:94–104. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scp.2017.01.001.
- Green Chemistry Anastas, P.T. and Warner, J.C. (1998): Green chemistry: theory and practice. Oxford University Press, New York.
- Youtube-Kanal der „Initiative: Nachhaltige Entwicklung“, 2018, SuSport: Strategien für eine nachhaltigere Chemie in der Textilindustrie bis 2030: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qOPB0c914Q.
- Principle 15 of the United Nations Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (13 June 1992), 31 ILM 874 (1992)).
- United Nations, Plan of Implementation of the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development, UN Doc A/Conf.199/20 (2002) (Johannesburg Implementation Plan). DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781845428297.00090.
- United Nations, Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development, UN Doc. A/70/L.1 (2015) (Agenda 2030)
- Führ, M./Schenten, J. (2018): Sustainable Production and Consumption (SPC), in: Krämer, L. & Orlando. E. (Hrsg.), Encyclopedia of Environmental Law - Principles of Environmental Law. Cheltenham: Elgar. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781785365669.VI.9.
- WHO Intergovernmental Forum in Chemical Safety, Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM). IFCS contribution to SAICM implementation.
- Products Program of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP).
- Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, “Stockholm Convention” of 22 May 2001; in force 17 May 2004, 40 ILM 532.
- UNECE, About the GHS, Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). DOI: https://doi.org/10.18356/4255cc90-en.
- Schenten, J.; Führ, M: Regulatory Risk Management of Chemicals, in: Responsible Consumption and Production, Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Walter Leal Filho, Anabela Marisa Azul, Luciana Brandli, Pinar Gökcin Özuyar, Tony Wall (eds.), Springer, Cham, Online, 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95726-5.
- Stauffacher, M. and Scholz, R. W. (2012): Transdisziplinäre Lehrforschung am Beispiel der Fallstudien der ETH Zürich. In: Dusseldorp, M. and Beecroft, R. (eds): Technikfolgen abschätzen lehren: Bildungspotenziale transdisziplinärer Methoden. Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden, p. 277–291. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-531-93468-6_15.
- Vilsmaier, U. and Lang, D. J. (2014): Unternehmerische Nachhaltigkeit. In: Heinrichs, H.; Michelsen, G. (eds.), Nachhaltigkeitswissenschaften, Berlin Heidelberg, p. 321-367.
- Lang, D. J.; Rode, H. and von Wehrden, H. (2014): Methoden und Methodologie in den Nachhaltigkeitswissenschaften. In: Heinrichs, H.; Michelsen, G. (eds.), Nachhaltigkeitswissenschaften, Berlin Heidelberg, p. 115–144. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-25112-2_4.
- Bizer, K. and Führ, M. (2015): Compact Guidelines: Practical Procedure in Interdisciplinary Institutional Analysis, Darmstadt.
- KEMI [Swedish Chemicals Agency] (2016): Hazardous chemical substances in textiles: Proposals for risk management measures, Stockholm.
- ECHA, Liste der für eine Zulassung in Frage kommenden besonders besorgniserregenden Stoffe (veröffentlicht gemäß Artikel 59 Absatz 10 der REACH-Verordnung).
- Chemical Watch (15.03.2018): „Industry representatives start talks on cross-sector material declarations“ and in „Global Business Briefing“ No. 107 from May 2018.
- Führ, M., Schenten J., Kleihauer, S., Integrating "Green Chemistry" into the Regulatory Framework of European Chemicals Policy, Study on behalf of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism, sofia-Studien zur Institutionenanalyse 19-2, Darmstadt 2019.