Institutional Management Plan for Hazardous Chemical Substances in Textile Products

Due to accidents related to chemical substances at home and abroad, the effects of hazardous chemicals on the environment and interest in them are increasing. In order to prevent the occurrence of hazardous chemical accidents, it is first necessary to clarify institutional standards for hazardous chemicals. Among the daily life products in which hazardous chemicals are detected, textile products are in close contact with the human body for a very long time, and thus are closely related to human health. However, our society's interest in the health of chemical substances in textile products is still insignificant. Therefore, this paper examines the seriousness of hazardous chemical substances in textile products and the limitations of their management system, and considers institutional supplementary measures. Formaldehyde, arylamine, and dimethyl-fumarate, which are regulated as harmful substances in textile products, mainly cause skin diseases through skin contact, and may cause organ damage when absorbed into the body. In Korea, hazardous chemicals are regulated in advance through the KC system. However, this system regulates only some of the heavy metals that are eluted, and chemicals such as phenols and toluene are not subject to regulation. The issuance of the KC mark is poor, and there is a problem that there is no obligation to mark the certification mark if the product is not intended for under 14 years of age. Therefore, it is necessary to expand and strengthen the scope of the regulation. It is mandatory to re-inspect OEKO-TEX® STANDARD, the standard of multinational corporations, every three years. The KC system also needs to follow this. The post-safety management system used when harmful fiber products exceeding the regulatory standards were analyzed by dividing into a product accident investigation and a national recall system. In order to increase the recall recovery rate, it is necessary to strengthen the information collection system, improve business awareness, and classify the recall stage as supplementary measures. Companies need to provide highly reliable textile products to consumers by participating in the ZDHC and Higg Index, which are programs for reducing hazardous chemical substances in textiles