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

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.