Inspectors to check products sold online that contain harmful substances

ECHA/NR/20/01

Inspections for the eighth major Forum enforcement project have started. The project will check whether companies selling hazardous substances, mixtures, biocidal products and articles online in Member States and EEA countries comply with REACH, CLP and the Biocidal Products Regulation.

Helsinki, 20 January 2020 – The eighth major Forum enforcement project (REF-8) concentrating on the online sale of substances, mixtures and products has entered its operational phase and will run until 31 December 2020. 29 countries will participate in the project.

The project will target products for the general public and professionals, available in private companies’ webshops and in marketplace platforms, such as Amazon and eBay.

Inspectors will check if buyers are informed about the existence of hazardous substances before the purchase is completed and if particular aspects of the regulations are fulfilled. This can be checked by controlling the advertisement of a chemical product or by purchasing products and subsequently analysing them.

For example, inspectors will look into restricted substances found in products commonly sold online such as toys and textiles and check against the requirements laid down in the REACH Regulation.

Inspectors will also check whether the advertisements for hazardous chemical substances sold online adequately inform consumers about the hazard class and the applicable hazard categories of the substance or mixture as required by the CLP Regulation.

For the Biocidal Products Regulation, the project covers both authorised biocidal products and those available under the transitional regime. The transitional regime is the period of time where biocidal products are still governed by national provisions in each Member State. 

The project will focus on the online product information and online advertisements but inspectors may visit the companies for on-site inspections, whenever they consider it relevant.

The project also aims to raise awareness of the duties related to online sales of substances, mixtures and products among companies and marketplace platforms as well as strengthening the communication and cooperation between enforcement authorities from different Member States.

The results of the project are expected to be published at the end of 2021.