Handling chemical risk information in international textile supply chains Kristin Fransson* and Sverker Molander Environmental Systems Analysis, Chalmers University of Technology, SE 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden (Received 9 September 2011; final version received 26 March 2011) In the textile industry, a large number of potentially harmful chemicals are used during production. This raises the importance of communication about chemical risks between different actors in the supply chain and therefore this study aims at describing the flows of chemical risk information up- and downstream in an international textile supply chain. The outcomes show that the main commu- nication between retailers and suppliers is through a list of restricted substances. Information most often only reaches the next tier up- or downstream in the supply chain. However, different approaches exist, of which one is described in further detail. Keywords: Textiles; chemical risk information; REACH; sustainable supply chain management 1. Introduction Textile manufacturing is one of the world’s oldest industries and clothes are one of the biggest consumer products. The textile industry is highly diverse and globalised (Bruce and Daly 2004), with the implication that most of the apparel and home textile products purchased in Europe are produced elsewhere. In 2009, EU member states collectively spent e74.9 billion on imports of textiles and clothing and received e30.4 billion for exports (European Commission 2010). The main countries producing textiles for consumption in the EU are China, India, Turkey, Bangladesh and Pakistan. As a result of a movement of textile production to countries with less stringent environmental standards (Beyer 2006, Rooij 2006), the visibility of the environ- mental impacts associated with wet treatment processes has declined in Europe (Moore and Ashley 2004). Problems related to foreign-based factories’ working environments have been addressed by Swedish importers since the late 1990s, when codes of conduct were introduced by some of the largest textile importing companies (A ¨ hlstro¨m and Egels-Zande´ n 2008). However, problems with textile workers’ exposure to chemicals persist (Engvall 2008). In addition, problems with chemical residues such as nonylphenol etoxylates and phthalates in imported textiles have recently been highlighted by both non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and Swedish newspapers (Balksjo¨ 2007, Ho¨k, 2007, Nilsson 2007, Ekstrand and Grahn 2008, Karlsson and Finnson 2008, Prevodnik 2008a, 2008b). Such attention has *Corresponding author. Email: kristin.fransson@chalmers.se Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 2012, 1–17, iFirst article ISSN 0964-0568 print/ISSN 1360-0559 online Ó 2012 University of Newcastle upon Tyne http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2012.681032 http://www.tandfonline.com Downloaded by [Chalmers University of Technology], [Kristin Fransson] at 06:12 11 June 2012