The EU has banned some substances that are found in gloves, leather, paper-based food contact materials, liquid crystal display panels and textiles. By June 17, 2016, suppliers must submit notifications of five such substances of very high concern. Some of these substances are: propanesultone, benzotriazol, perfluorononan, and nitrobenzene.

Suppliers of any articles that contain one or more of such substances in concentrations greater than 0.1 per cent or in quantities totaling over one ton per year should inform their downstream suppliers of any available safety information on the substances concerned. The obligation applies to articles manufactured in or imported into the EU.

Businesses exporting articles to EU customers should check to see if their articles contain any of the substances mentioned above, and if so to ensure that a notification is submitted accordingly.

There are only two situations when a notification will not be required: one is that the producer or importer of an article can exclude the exposure of humans and the environment to the substance during normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use of the article, including its disposal. In this situation, appropriate instructions have to be provided to the recipient of the article. The second is that the substance has already been registered by a manufacturer or importer in the EU for that use.