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Discover How to Obtain the EU Ecolabel for Your Products

In a market where environmental awareness plays an increasingly important role, sustainability has become a key factor in standing out and attracting consumers. More and more people are looking for options that minimize environmental impact and contribute to the preservation of the planet. In this context, the European Union Ecolabel (EU Ecolabel) stands out as a trusted certification that verifies a company’s commitment to sustainability.

This quality seal, recognized across the EU and in EFTA countries (Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein), guarantees that products meet strict environmental criteria throughout their entire life cycle—from raw material sourcing to production, distribution, and recycling. Obtaining the EU Ecolabel not only helps businesses differentiate themselves in the market but also strengthens their reputation, builds consumer trust, and facilitates access to new customer segments that are environmentally conscious.

How can a company obtain this certification?

The process involves meeting specific requirements set by the European Commission, which vary depending on the product category. These criteria include aspects such as reducing the use of harmful chemicals, improving resource and energy efficiency, and minimizing waste and pollutant emissions.

Which Product Categories Does It Apply To?

The EU Ecolabel applies to various product categories, including:

Cosmetic Products: From creams and lotions to shampoos and shower gels, we guide you through the certification process to ensure your cosmetic products meet the EU’s rigorous ecological standards.
Pet Care Products: Includes both rinse-off and leave-on products, for private or professional use.
DIY (Do It Yourself) Products: We facilitate the EU Ecolabel certification for DIY products, including paints, varnishes, and related items, ensuring low environmental impact and user safety.
Household Cleaning Products: We offer comprehensive guidance on certifying detergents, multi-purpose cleaners, dishwashing liquids, and other cleaning products, ensuring they are both effective and environmentally friendly.
Gardening Products: From substrates and soil amendments to ground covers, we help demonstrate that your gardening products promote sustainable practices and contribute to a greener environment.
Industrial Lubricants: We provide support for the eco-certification of lubricants subject to total, partial, or accidental loss, such as oils for machinery, hydraulic systems, heavy vehicles, and other equipment, ensuring they meet EU environmental standards.

How Can We Help You?

Feasibility Assessment: We conduct a thorough analysis of your products to identify areas for improvement and define a roadmap to certification.
Technical Advice: We offer personalized advice on the specific requirements and criteria of the EU Ecolabel.
Drafting and Submission of Applications: We handle the collection, review, and submission of all necessary documentation to ensure compliance with all requirements.
Continuous assistance: From the first consultation to obtaining the certificate, our team will be by your side, providing technical and regulatory support to ensure a seamless transition.

Start Your Sustainability Journey Today!

Does REACH apply to me if I sell articles?

Colloquially, when we talk about chemical products, we think about substances or mixtures that have been manufactured in large factories which emit smoke from their tall chimneys. But in reality, we are surrounded by countless chemical substances and mixtures every day, some of which we are not even aware of.

What is an article?

All substances and mixtures can be combined to form different materials which we use to build objects with the aim of making our day-to-day lives easier; for example, a smartphone with a more durable battery, a lighter aeroplane or an item of clothing that doesn’t crease.

In accordance with the REACH Regulation, we call these objects articles: an object which during production is given a special shape, surface or design that determines its function to a greater degree than its chemical composition. The complexity of these objects increases when we combine several articles to create what we call a complex object.

For example, a bicycle is a complex object that is formed from many different articles, as shown in the illustration below:

Vector de Colorido creado por macrovector – www.freepik.es

What obligations have been established by REACH with regard to articles?

The REACH Regulation has established certain obligations for companies that produce, import and/or market articles:

Communication in the supply chain

All European companies that market an article in Europe must confirm whether the article in question contains any substances of very high concern (SVHC) that are included in the candidate list of substances for authorisation at concentrations higher than 0.1% m/m.

If that is the case, the company is obliged to notify all recipients of the article about the substance(s) included in the candidate list and provide them with necessary information about how to safely use the product.

Notifications about substances present in articles

Companies that produce and/or import articles are obliged to notify ECHA of any substances:

That are of very high concern (SVHC) and that are included in the candidate list of substances for authorisation.
That are present in the articles that the companies produce and/or import at concentrations of < 0.1% m/m.
Whose total annual substance quantity is higher than 1 tonne per year.

REACH Registration

Companies producing or importing articles must register in REACH any substance contained in an article, on the condition that the following two conditions are complied with:

The substance is intended to be released by the article within its normal conditions of use.
The total amount of substance present in the produced or imported articles from which said substance is to be emitted is higher than 1 tonne per year.

However, if the producer or importer of an article can provide documentary evidence that the substance has already been registered by another company for the same use, they will not have to submit their own REACH registration.

It is important to remember that companies that market articles must also comply with the obligation of notifying the SCIP database, in accordance with waste regulations, and in turn they may have to comply with other REACH requirements as downstream users or formulators, for example.

More information

The REACH Registration: What should I do?

There are many companies that, due to lack of awareness or understanding, still haven’t submitted a REACH registration dossier to ECHA or received a REACH registration number. These companies will face great difficulties when trying to sell their substances in the European Union since most of their clients will ask them for a ‘REACH Certificate’ that they don’t have.

If this sounds familiar to you, continue reading to find out how can you fix this.

What is the REACH Registration?

The REACH registration is one of the main requirements established in Regulation (EC) no. 1907/2006 (REACH Regulation), a European regulation that originated from the need to correctly protect human health and the environment against the risks that may occur from the manufacturing, marketing and use of chemical substances.

The aim of the REACH registration is to compile information about the hazards of a substance, identify its uses and establish the risk management measures necessary for the substance to be used safely.

Do I need to register a substance under REACH?

All European companies that manufacture and/or import a substance in quantities higher than or equal to 1 tonne per year are required to submit a REACH registration for that substance.

It is important to remember that REACH registration only concern substances. Mixtures and articles, as such, are not subject to the REACH registration, but the substances they are made from may be.

Some substances may be exempt from the REACH registration as well, for example because of the substance’s nature, the way it is obtained or the way it is used. Before submitting a REACH registration, it is a good idea to check the existing exemptions and correctly assess if one or several are applicable to your situation.

Some European companies that purchase substances directly from a European provider are not obliged to register these substances under REACH, but they must make sure that their providers comply with their obligations with regard to the REACH registration.

Non-European companies are not obliged to register under REACH the substances that they market in Europe, but they may appoint a European company to act as their only representative and register the substances for them, thus making it easier for the former to introduce their products to the European market. If you would like to learn more about the Only Representative’s role, click here.

Another company has already registered the substance, do I also need to register it?

If your company is manufacturing and/or importing a substance in quantities higher than or equal to 1 tonne per year, and even if another company has already registered this substance, you must also submit your own REACH registration.

As a general rule, for each substance there is one register entry made up of all of the companies that are obliged to register said substance. We call this a Joint Submission and it means that the majority of the costs of keeping a REACH registration entry is divided between all of the companies involved, which considerably reduces the costs that would be incurred from doing so individually. These joint submissions are usually managed by SIEFs or Consortia that sell Letters of Access to the information that has been submitted in the registration dossier.

How much does a REACH registration cost?

This is the million-dollar question… ‘what about the REACH registration, how much does that cost?’ Unfortunately, there is no set price for this process. We have come across register entries in which a company hasn’t needed to pay more than €3,000, and others involving over €500,000.

The total cost may vary greatly depending on factors such as the substance, the tonnage range that needs to be registered, the tests that need to be done, the number of companies involved in the same registration process and the official registration fees that vary depending on the size of the company (SME status). Accordingly, the economic costs of registering under REACH must be evaluated always on a case-by-case basis.

If you would like us to look into your particular case and help you to estimate the costs, and timelines of this process please contact us.

I have to register a substance, but I haven’t done so yet. What do I have to do?

Phase 1. Economic study Before starting preparations for submitting a new registration, we recommend that you evaluate the costs that your company will need to pay for this REACH registration: for example, the laboratory testing, documentation development, letter of access fees for joint submissions, risk assessment and administrative fees, among others. You should know about these costs before starting your submission because, as we have mentioned, these costs vary depending on the substance, range of tonnage, etc.
Phase 2. Informing ECHA Once you have checked the costs, after making the decision to continue manufacturing and/or importing the substance and before you submit your REACH registration application, you must inform ECHA of your intention to register the substance. This can be done by submitting an inquiry to ECHA.
Phase 3. The substance has been registered by other companies In a best-case scenario, the substance may have already been correctly registered by other companies. If this is the case, your company must join the joint submission, upon prior acceptance of a joining agreement and upon paying for the Letter of Access fees, and prepare its own individual dossier to send to the ECHA.
Phase 4. The substance has not yet been registered If the substance has not yet been registered, the company will have to find all existing information about the substance and assess whether this information complies with the requirements described in the REACH Regulation. It is most likely that the company will need to generate information through computational research (e.g. QSAR). Once all of the required information has been obtained, it must be evaluated with the aim of establishing the substance’s hazard classification and a list of recommended uses and safety conditions. All of this information will form part of the registration dossier that will be sent to ECHA.
Phase 5. Obtaining the REACH Registration number Once the Registration dossier has been submitted to ECHA, payment must be made for certain administrative tasks (official ECHA registration fees), which will vary depending on the size of the company and the range of annual registration tonnage. When ECHA has checked the information contained in the dossier and confirmed that it is all correct, a letter will be sent to the company confirming that the substance has been registered, together with the corresponding REACH registration number.

If you still have questions about the REACH registration, please contact us here.

Is my company an SME?

Is my company classified as a Small & Medium-sized Enterprise (SME)?

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are defined in the EU recommendation 2003/361.

The major goal of this recommendation is to make sure that subsides are granted exclusively for those companies which really need them. Accordingly, SME definition applies to all programs, policies and measures developed by the European Commision (EC) and aimed at these companies. The EC publishes the User Guide to the SME definition where this criteria as well as detailed information about the SMEs are set.

The main factors determining whether an enterprise is an SME are:

Staff headcount
Either turnover or balance sheet total

In order to determine company size several factors should be considered: the property, voting rights and inter-enterprise relations. Only Representative companies should take into account the company size of their represented company.

What data do I use?

According to the EU recommendation, when making the calculations, you should use the data contained in the last approved annual accounts. Newly established enterprises that do not yet have approved annual accounts should make a declaration that includes a bona fide estimate (in the form of a business plan) made over the course of the financial year. This business plan should cover the entire period (financial years) until the entity will generate turnover.

Do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected].