CTC criticises ECHA representation of leather
French leather and footwear research and testing organisation, CTC, has criticised the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) for its social media posts that misrepresent leather.
According to CTC, the infographic posted by ECHA misrepresents the rationale behind the EU's action on Cr (VI) in leather. CTC claims that the restriction was adopted because of the skin-sensitizing properties of Cr (VI), which can cause allergies for consumers, and this reason can be traced back to the opinions of ECHA's committees RAC and SEAC.
CTC further argues that ECHA has not justified the restriction of Chromium VI in leather articles based on its carcinogenic nature, as the background document to the RAC/SEAC opinion itself highlights the lack of studies on dermal carcinogenicity of Cr (VI) when setting up this restriction.
In its own posting, CTC said "Morevover, it is misleading for consumers to assume that leather automatically contains Chromium VI, as it has never been used for tanning leather. The infographic shared by ECHA conveys this message, and it could mislead consumers".
