NPE Ban Or New Trade Barrier Of Textile Clothing Industry Green Manufacturing Is The Way Out

Recently, it was learned that EU member states had recently passed the ban on NPE (nonylphenol ethoxylate) in textiles through anonymous voting, and it is expected to be implemented in August. The ban sets a five-year transition period, and if spin If the NPE content of the product exceeds 0.01% (i.e. 100mg/kg), it is not allowed to enter the EU market. After the news was reported, it attracted worldwide attention clothing As an export country, the impact of the ban on China will also be prominent.

　　 Wide range of industrial uses Environmental hazards attract attention

NPE, named nonylphenol ethoxylate, is a common surfactant component in industrial detergent and cleaning products, which is widely used in the textile industry and will remain in the textile industry fibre in NPE residues in clothing will not directly threaten human health, but NPE can enter the environment with washing. NPE can easily decompose into nonylphenol (NP) and other components in water. NP is a recognized environmental hormone, which can simulate estrogen, interfere with biological sexual development and endocrine, thus affecting animal breeding, even if the concentration is very low, it is also very harmful. Moreover, NP can accumulate continuously through the food chain, and eventually cause human sexual precocity and reproductive quality decline.

The international environmental protection organization "Greenpeace" once investigated the status of textile NPE residues in 2011 and issued a public report named in August of that year, saying that two-thirds of clothing contains NPE, including many world-famous clothing brand With the long-term efforts of all parties, the prohibition of NPE has attracted wide attention, and many well-known garment enterprises have begun to work out progress plans to eliminate harmful chemicals.

The ban referred to in the report is actually the revised draft REACH regulation referred to in Circular G/TBT/N/EU/280 issued by the EU to WTO members through the WTO website on April 16 this year on the grounds of environmental protection. According to the draft, the EU will fully implement the NPE ban on imported textiles, except that second-hand commodities or recycled textiles that have been washed for many times can be exempted.

　　 Disable NPE consensus control measures frequency encoding

Against the background of the increasing global demand for "safety, health and environmental protection" of consumer goods, the frequent occurrence of BPA disturbances and plasticizer incidents has sounded an alarm to the manufacturing industry, and the control measures against NPE in various countries have also been constantly increased.

As early as July 2012, Germany It was proposed to include nonylphenol in the list of substances of high concern in REACH regulations. In December of the same year, nonylphenol appeared in the eighth batch of substances of high concern, which was defined as potentially having serious environmental hazards. According to the European Chemical Administration, the latest ban adopted by the EU was proposed by Sweden in 2013, and was strongly supported by scientists from the European Chemical Administration.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identified eight NPE alternatives that meet the safety standards through the assessment plan in 2013, and listed 15 NPE chemicals in the "important new use rules" in October 2014. This means that the import and production of these substances need to perform strict declaration procedures 90 days in advance, so that EPA can take effective NPE risk prevention and control measures. Taiwan, China also added the content limit requirements of NPE and NP for products for children under 12 years old in the standard CNS15290 revised in July 2014. At the beginning of 2011, NP and NPE were listed as prohibited import and export substances in the Catalogue of Toxic Chemicals Strictly Restricted to Import and Export in China. However, it is difficult to eliminate NPE completely in the short term due to the needs of industry development.

　　 Social responsibility cannot be avoided Green manufacturing is the way out

Although the harm of NPE has reached a consensus, the prohibition of NPE at this stage will still have a huge impact on the development of the textile industry. After the EU issued the ban notice, local enterprises have protested to the EU authorities, saying that NPE is widely used in the supply chain and is difficult to comply. However, the technical level of China's textile industry objectively still lags behind that of the EU. Even if the new regulations provide a five-year transition period, China's export enterprises still have a long way to go. Suggested enterprises:

First, we should pay attention to the laws and regulations of safety, health and environmental protection in a timely manner. In recent years, the European Union, the United States and other developed countries have continuously strengthened the control of harmful chemicals in consumer goods. Enterprises should pay timely attention to the scientific research trends of European Chemical Administration, the United States Environmental Protection Agency and other institutions, and grasp the opportunity.

Second, strengthen the awareness of social responsibility. In the long run, eliminating harmful substances such as environmental hormones in consumer goods is an unavoidable social responsibility of enterprises. Enterprises should increase investment in research and development of "green consumer goods", improve production processes, reduce harmful emissions, accelerate transformation and upgrading, and win social respect.

The third is to improve product inspection. For the residues of harmful substances that cannot be completely avoided due to technology and other factors, the enterprise shall strictly control the inspection to ensure that the product quality meets the requirements of domestic and foreign laws and standards, and avoid economic losses caused by foreign notification and return.