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Use Your Right To Know!

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Companies must tell you, at no charge, about harmful chemicals present in many consumer products, but ONLY if you ask. Read our leaflet on using your right to know, and show companies you want safer products.

 LEAFLET
 MODEL LETTER
 List of government ministries in charge of chemicals

 Press release
 Open letter: EU Consumer Commissioner

A new chemicals law in Europe called REACH* has given European consumers the “right to know” about the most harmful chemicals in consumer products by obliging companies to give information at no charge when asked. This right can help consumers make better informed choices about their purchases, and how to use the product. By asking, you will show companies that you prefer to buy safer products. Below is a model letter to request information from a company. You can also download it from this website. Take it with you when you go shopping: fill it out, sign and give it to the retailer or send to the manufacturer.

(*REACH - Registration, Authorisation, Evaluation and restriction of CHemicals).

Leaflet

Harmful chemicals in products you buy? Your right to know.“Harmful chemicals in products you buy? Your right to know.” - What you buy and use could be affecting your health. This leaflet briefly describes how harmful chemicals are in many different consumer products and contaminate our daily indoor and outdoor environment. It explains the new consumer ‘right to know’: how you can use it to make better consumer choices, to influence companies to make safer products, and to encourage regulators to improve the REACH chemicals law. The leaflet gives a model letter consumers can use, and resources for further reading and taking action.

PDF - 397.6 kb
Harmful chemicals in products you buy? Your right to know.

Model letter

Here is a model of a letter which consumers can use to request information on a product. It also gives a link which companies can use to find out more about their obligations to consumers. To download this letter, please, click HERE.

Your contact information (address, e-mail, etc.)

Company / Retailer

Date

Dear Sir/Madam,

As required by the new European regulation on chemicals, REACH, I would like you to inform me about the presence of any chemical from the “Candidate List of substances of very high concern” in the product ________________________ or its packaging.

If any of these dangerous chemicals are present, the law specifies that you name them, and give me sufficient information to allow safe use of the product, within 45 days.

I would be grateful if you would also tell me about what other harmful chemicals may be in this product, and what you are doing to offer this or similar products which don’t contain them. If you would like to do more to identify harmful chemicals, please use the REACH S.I.N. List 1.0 (www.sinlist.org) and the European Trade Unions Priority List (www.etuc.org/r/830).

For more information on your obligations under REACH, please find your National Help Desk here: http://echa.europa.eu/reach/helpdes...

Sincerely,

cc:
European Chemicals Agency, P.O. Box 400, 00121 Helsinki, FINLAND
European or national consumer or environmental organisation

Cleaning up our chemical homesSome companies have already begun to identify harmful chemicals in their products, and are working to replace them with safer alternatives: whether this is with safer chemicals, different product designs or manufacturing processes. For more information, see http://www.greenpeace.org/internati...


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