Development of EU Ecolabel Criteria for Absorbent Hygiene Products Preliminary Report – Draft v.5 January 2013 1 (141) Development of EU Ecolabel Criteria for Absorbent Hygiene Products Preliminary Report – Draft v.5 DATE: March 2013 Authors: European Commission JRC – IPTS DEKRA Consulting GmbH - Sustainability Solutions PE International DG JRC (IPTS) 2013 2 (141) Table of Contents Table of Contents ...................................................................................3 List of Abbreviations..............................................................................6 1. Background and Introduction .........................................................9 2. Definition of product scope ...........................................................11 2.1 Overview of definitions of sanitary products...............................................11 2.2 Rationale for the definition of the product scope........................................13 Criterion 1: Coverage under existing EU Ecolabelling Scheme ......................................13 Criterion 2: Products to be included due to categorisation of products in other ecolabelling schemes ...............................................................................................14 Criterion 3: EU Ecolabel requirements and typical characteristics of products suggested for the product group AHPs......................................................................................15 Criterion 4: Market volume of relevant groups of sanitary products................................17 Criterion 5: Products to be excluded from EU ecolabelling scheme due to legislation ...19 2.3 Conclusions....................................................................................................19 2.4 Selected product scope – main product characteristics ............................20 Single-use children's diapers ..........................................................................................21 Feminine care pads.........................................................................................................22 Feminine care tampons...................................................................................................23 Breast pads.....................................................................................................................23 2.5 Additional information on products excluded from the scope ..................23 Incontinence products.....................................................................................................23 3. Existing Legislation and Standards..............................................26 3.1 Review of relevant regulations and legislation............................................26 General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) 2001/95/EC ..................................................26 Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC ........................................................................26 European Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive 94/62/EC....................................27 3 (141) Product Liability Directive 85/374/EEC ...........................................................................28 Directive on the Protection of Animals Used for Scientific Purposes 2010/63/EU ..........28 Medical Devices Directive 93/42/EEC.............................................................................28 Biocidal Products Regulation 98/8/EC ............................................................................29 REACH and CLP.............................................................................................................30 European Cosmetics Directive........................................................................................32 3.2 Environmental Labels and Green Public Procurement Schemes for AHPs...................................................................................................................33 The Blue Angel - Germany..............................................................................................33 Nordic Swan - Scandinavian Countries..........................................................................33 Green Seal - USA ...........................................................................................................41 Good Environmental Choice - Australia ..........................................................................41 Environmental Choice - New Zealand.............................................................................42 Eco Mark - Japan............................................................................................................42 Swedish Environmental Management Council procurement criteria...............................42 EDANA GPP Criteria.......................................................................................................44 Product Category Rule (PCR) for Absorbent Hygiene Products (AHP) ..........................48 3.3 Standards and testing procedures............................................................58 ISO 15621 Urine absorbing aids – General guidelines on evaluation.............................58 Test methods developed by industry ..............................................................................58 Other relevant regulations and testing procedures .........................................................59 3.4 Other environmental claims.......................................................................59 Claim 1: Raw materials derived from renewable sources ...............................................60 Claim 2: Certified organic or sustainably produced raw materials ..................................61 Claim 3: Products being compostable or biodegradable.................................................61 Claim 4: Chlorine-free bleaching.....................................................................................62 Claim 5: Product free from lotions and fragrances..........................................................63 3.5 Conclusion ..................................................................................................63 4. Market analysis...............................................................................64 4.1 Market data..................................................................................................64 Sales volume of AHPs in Euros ......................................................................................65 Production volume of AHP in mass.................................................................................70 4 (141) Import and export figures for AHP...................................................................................72 Market growth rates for AHPs .........................................................................................73 Market shares for AHPs ..................................................................................................77 4.2 Conclusions from the market data analysis.............................................78 5. Technical analysis..........................................................................82 5.1 Technological aspects and material compositions .................................82 Single-use Children's Diapers.........................................................................................82 Feminine care pads.........................................................................................................84 Tampons .........................................................................................................................86 Breast pads.....................................................................................................................87 5.2 Description of production processes of AHPs.........................................87 Manufacture of children's diapers ...................................................................................87 Manufacture of feminine care pads.................................................................................88 Manufacture of tampons .................................................................................................89 Manufacture of breast pads ............................................................................................89 Description of raw materials used in the production of AHPs .........................................90 5.3 The end-of-life of AHPs ..............................................................................94 5.4 Life cycle assessment of AHPs.....................................................................95 Introduction .....................................................................................................................95 Overview of published LCA studies ................................................................................96 LCA case studies, materials and methods......................................................................99 LCA results....................................................................................................................108 Sensitivity analysis........................................................................................................118 Summary.......................................................................................................................121 Substances of concern and other product related issues .............................................124 6. EU Ecolabel criteria development...............................................131