REACH Compliance Software for Manufacturers and Companies Working in the EU

Looking for an EU Reach compliance software solution? Stay up-to-date and easily screen for potentially harmful substances with 3E Exchange's comprehensive product compliance software. Our tools empower your team to manage supply chain and materials data in one place, then check products against a wide range of legislation and standards.

Manufacturers and companies use 3E Exchange as a REACH compliance solution to:

• Stay up-to-date on product compliance standards in the European Union
• Use reporting features to see information at a glance or generate in-depth audits
• Make informed decisions about potentially toxic chemicals and materials
• Provide transparent supply chain data to importers, purchasers, and other stakeholders
• Be alerted if changes in REACH regulations cause a change to a product's status

3E Exchange simplifies reporting, tracking, audits, data analysis, and compliance determinations. Our user-friendly software combines your product data with industry standards and regulations.

Compliance is a complex subject that's constantly evolving. But when the information is easier to review and understand, compliance data can start to work for your company.

3E Exchange and REACH Compliance

How 3E Exchange simplifies REACH compliance

If you're already using 3E Exchange for your other ESG goals, it's a simple matter of running your products through the REACH filter to see how they perform. That's because 3E Exchange compiles all your supply chain, materials, and ingredient information in one place so you can quickly analyze for risks, impact on the environment, potentially hazardous substances, potential for circularity, and more.

Not using 3E Exchange? Our all-in-one software solution scales to handle whatever level of usage you need. Get started by adding one finished product, then see everything you can do with your data.

How Toxnot Works

Here's why top manufacturers of all sizes - from startups to Fortune 500 - are switching to Toxnot

REACH's importance for companies and manufacturers

What is REACH?

REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals) is overseen by the European Commission. This regulation was established in 2007 and was created to replace previous legislation for toxic chemicals within the EU.

REACH was designed to protect human health by limiting the use of hazardous substances in both industrial and everyday consumer products.

Which companies need to be REACH-compliant?

REACH is such an expansive, wide-ranging set of regulations that almost all manufacturers and suppliers who work globally will need to know how to work within it.

The burden to achieve compliance with REACH falls on companies within the EU (whether those are manufacturers, importers, or EU representatives of a manufacturer outside of the EU). If you work directly in the EU, your company may be directly responsible for this compliance.

However, even for companies wholly outside the European Union, REACH compliance is often still relevant. If you want importers within the EU to have the option to import your product, you'll want to be able to give them the relevant information for their own burden of compliance. It's also good information to have as part of supply chain and risk management measures.

Importance for companies outside the EU and EEA

Having chemical and material information on hand (and being able to show a transparent supply chain) can make your product more appealing for import. Toxnot gives you the tools to demonstrate regulatory compliance and supply chain transparency.

What products fall under REACH regulation?

EU REACH regulations apply to a wide range of categories, expanding far beyond chemicals used in industrial processes. According to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), they apply to any product that contains any sort of chemical (including paints, dyes, finishes, and more). These could include:

• Commercial and home cleaning products
• Electrical and electronic equipment, including consumer electronics
• Paints and paint-based products
• Clothes and apparel
• Furniture and home goods
• Toys and games
• Appliances of all sizes

...and many other product categories. The different roles, responsibilities, and tools available through REACH vary at different stages of the supply chain.

How does REACH relate to other standards?

Companies and manufacturers must navigate a global patchwork of laws and regulations, including California Prop 65, RoHS, conflict mineral concerns, and SCIP legislation. While there is some overlap between REACH and these other standards, compliance with one set of standards does not necessarily mean compliance with another. REACH has a reputation as one of the strictest set of legal guidelines surrounding substances in manufactured materials and chemicals.

Toxnot integrates all of these regulations and more. It serves as a centralized spot for you and your team to screen your products and materials against this wide variety of standards.

The history of REACH

REACH was created by the European Parliament and Council on December 18, 2006; it went into force on June 1, 2007, with some elements going into effect in phases. It was created in order to protect both human health and the health of the overall environment.

Broad, sweeping regulation of this sort was seen as more effective than the patchwork, country-by-country legislation and guidelines. That's especially true given how many substances may not be immediately toxic, but can build up over time in peoples' bodies or in the environment, causing long-term problems.

The creation of the ECHA

The regulation created the set of regulations that govern how chemicals and products are registered, evaluated, and authorized or restricted in the European Union. But that wasn't the only change: the law also created the European Chemicals Agency, or ECHA.

The ECHA largely took over work previously being done by the European Chemicals Bureau, which disbanded in 2008.

The ECHA

The European Chemicals Agency is responsible for managing the implementation of REACH regulations. It monitors and enforces compliance, as well as serving as a central source of information on many chemical substances. This work includes identifying chemicals that can cause immediate or long-term problems, either to human health or to the environment, as well as sharing information on best practices for materials and chemical use.

The ECHA's headquarters is located in Helsinki, Finland.

Resources available through the ECHA

In addition to its regulatory activities, the ECHA also serves as a central source of information, tools, and resources for individuals and companies at every stage of the supply chain.

The ECHA database has information on thousands of substances, which are all collected into registration dossiers. This centralized database helps manufacturers working globally to identify substances of concern, find safer alternatives, and label hazardous chemicals effectively.

Supply chain communication

The ECHA website details a variety of roles throughout the supply chain, as well as the responsibilities carried by each. They also have resources available for the different roles in order to facilitate communication and compliance. The website has information for the following roles in the process:

• Manufacturers, which ECHA defines as a person or company based in the European Economic Area (EEA) who either extracts or produces a "chemical substance."
• Importers, who bring chemicals from outside suppliers into the EEA.
• Only representatives, who handle substance importation for companies outside the EEA import substances into the EEA.
• Distributors, who sell chemicals or mixtures for another person or business.
• Downstream users, which is the broadest category. This includes people and companies in the EU and EEA who, for industrial/business purposes, use chemical substances. This applies to substances used on their own, as well as those that have been used to create a mixture.

Toxnot seeks to simplify this communication along the supply chain by integrating REACH standards within the software itself.

Toxnot for a comprehensive product compliance solution

REACH can be a complex set of regulations to navigate. It also affects a wide range of companies working within the European Economic Area and European Union. This includes those working specifically in the EU chemicals industry, people planning on exporting consumer goods, and even companies who want insight to know whether their products would pass EU standards. Toxnot simplifies the entire process.

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