Support of Indian textile exporteurs

The EU Directive on the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemical substances (REACH) puts high demands on producers concerning the disclosure and safety of chemicals used in their products. This protects the environment and consumers, but at the same time it poses considerable challenges to suppliers from developing and emerging countries. In particular, for SMEs which export to EU countries it is difficult to determine the type and quantity of chemical substances in their products, and to replace those most dangerous. This severely threatens their competitiveness in the European market.

adelphi together with its partner Sustainability Support Services (SSS) supported the Indian Apparel Export Promotion Council (APEC) in strengthening REACH compliance of Indian textile exporters. For this purpose adelphi developed a strategy and roadmap to build awareness among producers of the risks and opportunities of REACH for their business, compiled a REACH compliance handbook targeted at Indian textile SMEs, contributed to improving existing informational material and supported the development of training material for textile producers and their associations. Additionally, at four workshops across India adelphi provided expert inputs on the contents and challenges of the REACH directive for the Indian textile export industry.

The project was an initiative of the MSME Umbrella Programme of GIZ in India, which in collaboration with SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India) aims to strengthen the sustainability and competitiveness of Indian MSME.