ECHA: Online Ads for Many Products are Not Legally Compliant

As part of an enforcement project, the ECHA examined more than 1,300 online advertisements for chemical mixtures, including cleaning products, paints, and pesticides. The result? More than 80% of the products did not meet the requirement of the CLP Regulation. About 90% of the labels had no hazard warnings whatsoever. But the most surprising fact is that almost all the Web sites examined belonged to professional suppliers.

Concretely, the companies violated Article 48, Paragraph 2 of the CLP Regulation: “Any advertisement for a mixture classified as hazardous or covered by Article 25(6) which allows a member of the general public to conclude a contract for purchase without first having sight of the label shall mention the type or types of hazard indicated on the label.”

As the ECHA Report indicates, agencies from 15 EU countries participated in the project. The inspectors focused on compliance with Article 48, Paragraph 2 and with Article 17, Paragraph 2, which states that the hazard warning must be present in the local language.

The inspections took place between January and August of last year, mostly in Germany (508) and the Czech Republic (361). Fines were imposed in 208 cases, and a few cases even resulted in possible criminal charges.

Given the high number of issues, the ECHA has promised appropriate recommendations. The first applies to associations in the countries involved, which should publish complaint samples during campaigns to inform companies of the requirements. The second applies to the EU, which should formulate Article 48 more clearly and publish the appropriate regulations. The need for such a move is evident not only in this study, but also in a Norwegian study of November 2017 (please see our blog).

The ECHA has also issued a press release on the results of the study.

We are pleased to support you in all your concerns related to the CLP Regulation. Please contact us at kft@clp-info.de.