In an effort to help Indian textile and leather exporters understand REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical substances) legislation, TUV Rheinland in association with DEG Germany launched the REACH-INDIA Project, based on a public-private partnership (PPP) model on September 8, 2011 at the CEO Forum in Ranipet.
Headquartered in Cologne, Germany, TUV Rheinland provides testing, certification and consulting services. “The REACH-INDIA Project has been designed for SME textile and leather exporters in Ranipet and Karur in Tamil Nadu. The total project cost has been estimated at around Rs 2 crore,” says Project Director Shanmuga Sundaram, who is also the Country Head (Material Testing Laboratories) at TUV Rheinland India.
REACH regulation, which gathered strength in Europe, has zeroed on 53 chemical substances including boric acid, potassium dichromate and potassium chromate, amongst others, as being hazardous. Several diseases such as cancer and genetic mutation are known to be caused by these chemicals. The regulation therefore aims at controlling the ‘risk-possessing’ substances and in turn helps protect people and the environment.
On the project mission, Sundaram said that it would help small business units associated with leather and textile industries in Ranipet and Karur understand the legislation and test their products for ‘risk-possessing’ substances banned in Europe. The project aims to understand their procurement policy, supply chain and help building capacities in their own production units. It would advise these businesses to draw a strategy and a road map for complying with REACH.
There are more than 1,500 leather and textile units in Ranipet and Karur and most of the exports from here go to Europe. In view of the Government’s strategy to double exports to $500 billion by 2014, the REACH-INDIA Project is certainly welcome, according to experts.
