REACH & RoHS Compliance in PSA Adhesives: A Practical Guide for Exporters
Published by Focus Polymers Technical Team · March 15, 2026
What REACH Means for PSA Adhesives
REACH is managed by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). It maintains a Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs) — chemicals identified as carcinogenic, mutagenic, toxic to reproduction, or persistent in the environment. As of 2025, this list contains over 250 substances. Under Article 33, if any SVHC is present in your product above 0.1% by weight, you must declare it to your customer. Third-party test reports from accredited laboratories like TÜV, SGS, or Bureau Veritas are expected by European importers — self-declarations are not sufficient.
What RoHS Means for Label Products
RoHS (Directive 2011/65/EU) restricts 10 hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. This directly affects any label that becomes a component of EEE — barcode labels on circuit boards, safety labels on battery packs, identification labels on cable harnesses, and tamper-evident seals on electronic devices. The restricted substances include lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, PBB, PBDE, and four phthalates (DEHP, BBP, DBP, DIBP). Thresholds are 0.1% (1000 ppm) for most substances, 0.01% (100 ppm) for cadmium.
What Your European Customers Will Ask For
In practice, European label converters and brand owners evaluating an adhesive supplier will request: a REACH SVHC test report covering the current Candidate List, a RoHS test report if the label will be applied to EEE, and a Safety Data Sheet in EU-compliant format. Without these documents, you will not get past the supplier qualification stage. This is not a negotiation — it is a market entry requirement.
How Focus Polymers Addresses This
White Magic HX-855H was tested by TÜV Rheinland (India) against the full ECHA SVHC Candidate List (242 substances at time of testing) and the complete RoHS restricted substances list. Result: not detected for all 242 SVHCs, and full PASS on all RoHS parameters including the four phthalates added under RoHS 3. This is an independent, accredited test report (Report No. 147026476) that European importers can verify directly with TÜV.
Compliance Summary
TÜV Rheinland Certified · REACH SVHC: Not Detected (242 substances) · RoHS 2011/65/EU: PASS · Report No. 147026476 · Available on request
Related Products
White Magic HX-855H
REACH & RoHS compliant acrylic PSA emulsion
Need compliance documentation for your export orders?
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