Recital 31

(31) Information on the presence of substances of concern in products is a key element to identify and promote products that are sustainable. The chemical composition of products largely determines their functionalities and impacts, as well as the possibility for their reuse or for recovery once they become waste. The Commission’s communication of 14 October 2020‘Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability Towards a Toxic-Free Environment’ calls for the presence of substances of concern in products to be minimised, and the availability of information on chemical content and safe use to be ensured, by introducing information requirements and tracking the presence of substances of concern throughout the life cycle of materials and products. Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 and other existing chemicals law such as Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 already ensure communication on hazards to health or the environment posed by certain substances of concern on their own or in a mixture. Users of substances and mixtures should also be provided with pertinent information. Furthermore, users of products other than substances or mixtures, and managers of waste from such products, should also receive relevant information, including information primarily related to the hazards of chemicals to health or the environment. Therefore, this Regulation should provide for the setting of requirements related to the tracking and communication of sustainability information, including the presence of substances of concern in products throughout their life cycle, also with a view to the decontamination and recovery of such products when they become waste. Such a framework should aim to progressively cover the substances of concern in all products listed in working plans to be adopted by the Commission. Such requirements concerning the tracking of substances of concern should be included by default where an information requirement is to be set under this Regulation, except when such an information requirement is part of horizontal ecodesign requirements. In order to take into account the criteria to be met by ecodesign requirements, and in particular to avoid a disproportionate administrative burden for economic operators, the Commission should be able, as appropriate for the product group concerned, to set thresholds on the concentration of substances in the product or relevant components triggering the tracking requirement, set differentiated application deadlines and, in duly justified cases, provide derogations from the tracking requirement. When setting the detail of information required and thresholds, the Commission should take into consideration existing information requirements and thresholds under Union law, in particular under Regulations (EC) No 1907/2006 and (EC) No 1272/2008, and other sectoral product legislation. A derogation based on technical feasibility could apply in cases where the presence of a substance in a product cannot be verified with the current available technologies.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-12 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.