REACH Testing

• SVHC screening: testing against ECHA’s Candidate List of substances of very high concern, which is updated about twice a year. If an article contains an SVHC above 0.1% by weight, EU suppliers must tell their customers and notify ECHA’s SCIP database, and EU producers and importers above one tonne a year must also notify ECHA.
• Annex XVII restrictions: limits on specific substances in specific products, such as azo dyes in textiles and leather, nickel release from items in contact with skin, PAHs in rubber and plastic parts, phthalates in articles, lead in consumer articles, cadmium, and hexavalent chromium in leather.

We choose the tests for your product and target market, so you do not pay for tests that do not apply.

REACH applies to products sold in the EU, and EU buyers usually ask for test reports for:

• textiles, garments and footwear
• leather goods
• toys and children’s products
• jewellery and accessories
• plastic and rubber products
• electrical and electronic products, usually tested together with RoHS
• furniture and home goods

Read our REACH SVHC testing guide for exporters.

Send finished products or the materials they are made from. The lab tests each homogeneous material, such as a fabric, a coating, a plastic part or a metal component, so include every material, colour and component you want covered. The lab confirms the quantity needed for the tests chosen. Add a bill of materials and any supplier declarations; they help target the testing.

Standard turnaround is usually 5 to 10 working days after the lab receives the samples, with express options at some labs. Cost depends on:

• full SVHC screening or targeted tests;
• the number of homogeneous materials; and
• the Annex XVII restrictions that apply to your product.

Grouping materials that share a supplier and composition reduces the number of tests.

• Sample description and photos, with the materials tested
• The version of the Candidate List and the restrictions tested
• Test methods and detection limits
• Results for each material, with any SVHC found and its concentration
• A pass or fail against each restriction

Products that are chemicals or mixtures also need a safety data sheet; see our MSDS authoring service.