A world product label or world product approval based on the cumulative fulfilment of regional requirements would improve marketing chances for industry and product quality and reduce risks for environment and human health.

World product labels or approvals 

Harmonisation of technical requirements for products in Europe and worldwide has proven to be very cumbersome. The reason for this is that each country or region wants to maintain its domestic requirements as a minimum requirement without being obliged to accept any other requirements deemed unnecessary. 

The principle of the cumulative fulfilment of regional requirements as a basis for a world product label as marketing tool or a world product approval does not hurt the interest of negotiating parties in as much as each of them can maintain lower environmental or safety levels as a minimum for market access on their territories. On the contrary, products fulfilling cumulatively all regional requirements are of a higher performance and a lower risk for human health and environment. They would thus create more benefit and reduce risks on the territories of all countries or regions without creating the obligation to increase minimum requirements. 

A world product label certifying the cumulative fulfilment of regional requirements would be a first step. The label would become a quality mark appreciated by consumers and increasing marketing potentials for industry. 

A world product approval based on the cumulative fulfilment of regional requirements would, in addition, create an immediate market access in all regions or countries.  

This idea is applicable to all areas for which there are no contradicting requirements in the various regions or countries. 

Technical issues have to be solved as to the permanent renewal or modification of requirements in the various regions and countries.

Tags: product, world

 

Industry will use less dangerous substances for its products if a P2P internet database provides comparative information on functionalities and risks.

Comparative risk profiling of substances 

Imagine you are a responsible manufacturer of lemonade, of toys or of shampoo. You would like to use the less harmful appropriate sweetener, the less harmful plasticiser, the less harmful conserving substance. You screen the many databases listed by Toxnet, but none of them answers your question. The current legislative systems dealing with chemical substances are not of much help either. They just distinguish between forbidden and allowed and do not give a comparative picture. Accordingly, a responsible manufacturer cannot easily minimise the risk of doing harm to his consumers or to the environment. 

From the first scientific articles about the potential danger of a substance to the coming into force and application of a legislative ban, the process takes easily five to ten years. In the meantime the dangerous substances get into contact with consumers and the environment and can thus cause damages. Giving responsible manufacturers the possibility to avoid substances which become candidates for a ban reduce these damages and bridges the gap between the first scientific articles about the potential danger and the application of the legislative ban. 

Comparative risk profiling of substances reduces worldwide the risk of health and environmental damages caused by chemical substances used for any industrial application. It does so by allowing responsible manufacturers to choose, for any product type and required functionality, the substance which is most likely to cause no harm. It creates a benchmark for good industrial production so that all manufacturers will, at the end of the day, have to select the substances which are most likely to be harmless.  

First steps could be:

• The creation of an open source database listing substances, functions (sweetening, conserving, plasticising, etc.), product types which allows a comparison of different substances having the same function for a certain product type.
• A worldwide information campaign calling voluntary contributions to the database,
• Another worldwide information campaign inviting manufacturers to use the database in order to decrease the risk for environment, consumers and their work force.

Tags: risk, substances, world