The European Union (EU) has restricted the use of 33 hazardous substances in clothing, footwear and other textile articles based on recommendations by the European Chemicals Agency and following broad consultations with stakeholders. These measures are designed to protect the health of European citizens by limiting their exposure to CMR chemicals—substances classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic and toxic for reproduction—that may be “particularly harmful” when in frequent contact with human skin.

The EC originally had considered 286 substances, which textile-trade groups such as the European Apparel and Textile Federation, Independent Retail Europe and the International Wool Textile Organisation balked against in 2016, calling the expansive scope of the proposal “deeply concerning” and “likely to have a negative economic impact.” Now much whittled down, the new rules have been incorporated into REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals) legislation