Analysing substance derogation requests under Article 6.7 of Ecolabel Regulation EC 66/2010

Article 6(6) of the Regulation (EC) No 66/2010 (EU Ecolabel Regulation) requires that ecolabelled products shall not contain substances and mixtures meeting the criteria for specific CLP classifications. Article 6(7) then gives the Commission the power to grant derogations for the use in ecolabelled products of substances that meet the criteria for specific CLP classifications in the event that substitution is not technically feasible via the use of alternative materials or designs, or that substitution will result in products having a significantly higher overall environmental performance compared with other goods of the same category. Though the need for most derogations is identified during the development of Ecolabel criteria, derogation requests arise also after the criteria adoption and need to be evaluated in isolation from the criteria development or revision process. Three derogation requests have been submitted and should be evaluated in the course of the project.