Material Compliance is a key component of product compliance and a prerequisite for access to many international markets. Regulations such as REACH and RoHS place requirements on the substances and materials contained in products and can trigger substance restrictions as well as information, documentation, and verification obligations.
With TQ’s Material Compliance Consulting, we support you in identifying and assessing relevant substance requirements as well as in the risk-based evaluation of your products’ material compliance.
The basis for this is the available material information and supplier declarations. If needed, targeted material analyses by external partner laboratories supplement the assessment.
Our services for material compliance
Electrical and electronic products may be subject to different legal substance requirements depending on the product type and target market. For manufacturers, it is therefore crucial to identify the relevant requirements at an early stage and assess compliance in a traceable manner.
The TQ-Product-Compliance-Center supports you in determining the substance requirements relevant to your product and target markets, evaluating existing material information and supplier declarations, and identifying possible compliance risks. If required, the assessment is supplemented by targeted material analyses conducted by external partner laboratories.
We support you in identifying and assessing relevant national and international substance regulations as well as customer-specific material compliance requirements for electrical and electronic products in the intended target markets.
Regulatory Priorities (Selection)
European Union: RoHS, REACH (SVHC Candidate List and Annex XVII), POP Regulation, as well as substance-specific requirements of the EU Batteries and Packaging Regulations
China: China RoHS
USA: TSCA Section 6(h), California Proposition 65 (CP65)
Canada: CEPA and related substance restrictions
Cross-cutting substance topics: PFAS and other regulated substance groups
The selection of requirements is made on a product-specific basis and taking into account the intended sales markets.
We assess compliance with relevant legal substance requirements for components, assemblies, and electronic products.
We support you with traceable documentation of material compliance and in clarifying regulatory issues.
REACH and RoHS in Focus
As key requirements for electronic products, REACH and RoHS often form the basis of a successful material compliance strategy.
Material Compliance describes compliance with legal requirements for the substances and materials contained in a product. The relevant requirements depend, among other things, on the target market, the product category, and the materials used. TQ supports the identification and assessment of the applicable substance regulations.
Which substance-related requirements apply to a product depends, among other things, on the product type, materials, target market, and the company’s role in the supply chain. Depending on the product, requirements arising from RoHS, REACH, the POP Regulation, the EU Battery Regulation, or other national and international substance regulations may be relevant.
TQ supports the product-specific identification and assessment of the relevant material compliance requirements and shows which evidence is required for the further conformity assessment.
REACH regulates chemical substances and includes, among other things, obligations for information, notification, authorization, and restriction. For articles, the SVHC candidate list and the restrictions under Annex XVII are particularly relevant. Compliance with the respective applicable requirements can be assessed and documented on the basis of suitable supplier, material, and product information.
RoHS by contrast specifically restricts certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment and, for the products covered, is part of the CE conformity assessment. Manufacturers must demonstrate that the applicable substance restrictions are complied with, taking into account any applicable exemptions.
SVHC stands for “Substances of Very High Concern” (particularly hazardous substances). If an article contains a substance on the REACH Candidate List at a concentration of more than 0.1% by weight (w/w), this gives rise in particular to information and notification obligations toward customers and authorities.
Supplier declarations and material declarations are an important basis for assessing material compliance. Whether they are sufficient as evidence depends, however, on their quality, validity, product relevance, and the respective regulatory and substance-related risk.
TQ evaluates existing supplier documentation on a risk-based basis for plausibility and informational value. If there are relevant information gaps or increased substance risks, additional supplier information or targeted material testing may be required.
An analytical investigation can be useful when supplier declarations are missing, are not sufficiently reliable, or when there is an increased substance risk due to the material, manufacturing process, or regulatory requirement.
In this case, the entire product should not be tested as a blanket measure. Based on a risk-based assessment, relevant materials, components, and substance groups can be specifically selected. TQ supports you in defining the scope of the investigation and in the technical evaluation of the results from external partner laboratories.
