Handling chemical risk information in international textile supply chains

Abstract

In the textile industry, a large number of potentially harmful chemicals are used during production. This raises the importance of communication about chemical risks between different actors in the supply chain and therefore this study aims at describing the flows of chemical risk information up- and downstream in an international textile supply chain. The outcomes show that the main communication between retailers and suppliers is through a list of restricted substances. Information most often only reaches the next tier up- or downstream in the supply chain. However, different approaches exist, of which one is described in further detail.