January-March 2022 - LIFE AskREACH

Α) Identity of the project

Description/Aim

JUST SCAN IT! The EU LIFE project «Enabling REACH consumer information rights on chemicals in articles by IT-tools» (LIFE16 GIE/DE/000738) helps protect health and the environment.

Thousands of substances are used in the production of daily goods. Although many of them raise no cause for concern, some substances have long term negative effects for our health and for the environment, e.g. disrupting the endocrine system, causing cancer, or harming the reproductive system. These “substances of very high concern” (SVHC) can be found in everyday articles such as furniture, textiles, toys etc.   

The main aim of AskREACH is to raise company and consumer awareness on the Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) in articles of everyday use. In this respect, the Scan4Chem Smartphone App and the European Database on SVHC information in articles have been developed. They will serve as an information hub for consumers interested in making informed purchase choices simply by scanning product barcodes with the aid of Scan4Chem. The App serves as a “positive feedback tool” that communicates with the Database and presents the information of the article or serves as a medium to send a request for information to the barcode owner.

Additionally, LIFE AskREACH aims to support companies/barcode owners/retailers to fulfill their duties and help improve their communication with consumers as well as within the supply chain in order to facilitate their operation and help them improve their products environment and health wise.

According to REACH[1], all identified SVHC are listed in the Candidate List, managed by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) that is updated twice a year[2]. Article 33 of the REACH regulation of the European Union stipulates that suppliers of articles containing an SVHC in a concentration above 0.1% (weight by weight) must provide this information to the professional users and distributers, as well as information to allow safe use of the article. It also determines the consumer’s right to know and thus to request and obtain this information from an article producer or retailer within 45 days, free of charge.

LIFE AskREACH has the support of ECHA (European Chemicals Agency), while by the end of the project it is envisaged that Scan4Chem will be linked to the SCIP Database (Substances of Very High Concern In articles as such in complex objects (Products) at a concentration > 0.1% w/w).

[1]   Regulation (EC) 1907/2006. For more information please visit  www.echa.europa.eu.
[2] See the current SVHC here: https://echa.europa.eu/candidate-list-table

Β) Best Practices

Good practices that have emerged so far from AskREACH are:

1. Personal responsibility: consumers are made aware of their right to know what, if any, chemicals that cause concern for their health are present in products they are willing to buy.
2. Establishing good communication and building of trust between consumers and companies.
3. Consumers learn to make informed purchase choices. It’s in their hand to help protect their health and the environment simply by using the Smartphone App
4. Crowd sourcing for the collection of information on products and chemicals at no cost for companies without publication of sensitive information and without condemning companies.

Good practices for disseminating information to the general public and encouraging behavior change are:

1. Exploitation of social media platforms to reach younger audiences and branding of the App.
2. Recruit of influencers, visual material of products and the App to motivate and inform as many consumers as possible.
3. The moto “It’s in your hands” that clearly encourages consumers to take action in parallel with official initiatives.

Good practices for ensuring the active participation of stakeholders and the implementation of the replicability/transferability plan are:

1. Replication of Scan4Chem to as many countries as possible at the local languages to facilitate communication.
2. The participation and/or support of the project's actions by the local authorities responsible for REACH/CLP and the help desk.
3. The direct communication of the project partners with suppliers/producers/retailers.

Expected good practices are:

1. Mindfulness on health and environmental protection
2. Informed purchase decisions
3. Replacement of SVHC with other less harmful chemicals in products
4. Good communication within the supply chain
5. Open communication between consumers and companies

C) Results 

Consumers: 3 MILLION AND COUNTING: Our vision is that over the next few years, approximately 3 million citizens will download the app. We anticipate around 30 million requests for SVHC information will be sent to suppliers. Already 1614 consumers have answered to survey questions, 19% more consumers are aware of the risks of SVHC and of their right to know.

Companies: We also have high expectations regarding the number of companies that will be directly involved in providing information for the database. Reduced costs of article suppliers to respond to consumer requests and manage chemicals used during production. More article suppliers along the supply chain compliant with REACH Art 33 and suppliers having substituted or initiating substitution of SVHC.

Scan4Chem will remain functional and will be maintained after the end of the project. It will be free to download and be used by concerned consumers.
The European Database will continue to be updated with information on more products and it will be accessible to companies/retailers/producers to continue entering their data.
The project website askreach.eu is the communication portal for other countries interested in getting the App or companies looking for information.

In the months to come, the street and consumer awareness campaigns will be intensified using all means possible. Interviews on level of awareness as well as experiences from usingScan4Chem will be made with consumers across the project countries.
The final project meeting will take place in Paris in 2022 and an International Workshop on Chemicals will be organized as soon as travel and other restrictions due to COVID-19 are lifted.