Future-proof your business

Find safer alternatives to hazardous chemicals

Chemicals are used in all sorts of manufacturing. Unfortunately, chemicals designed for certain functions – such as flame retardants, water repellents and plastic softeners – are many times hazardous and pose a liability to both your business as well as human health. Make sure YOUR product is toxic free – substitute with a safer alternative.

miDori® bioSoft – outstanding softness for cotton and cotton blend based textiles

valPure® V70 - the first next generation coating technology with epoxy-like performance

ANTIGEL® KF - Antioxidant with additives in solvent mixture

Oerlikon Balzers ePD: Reach-compliant Chrome look for plastic parts on a new level

Chrome and Zinc-free Corrosion Inhibitor for Coatings: Highly Effective Drop-In Replacement of Hexavalent Chromate

Mild and creamy surfactant for skin and haircare products

KIESOTON . Acetone Substitute (Acetonersatz)

High-quality leather made purely from vegetables

Halogen free flame retardant for Polyolefin extrusion - HFFR 00G62 EVA

MycoTEX

Paxymer – halogen free (non-halogenated) flame retardant synergist

Effective acidic cleaning agent - can replace hazardous acids/corrosion inhibitors.

HeiQ Eco Dry – Durable water repellency (DWR) without fluorine (non-PFC)

miDori® bioDry 1.0 - unique combination of softness and wicking for cotton and cotton blends

Eco-friendly chrome plating based on nanotechnologies

Non-ionic surfactants for degreasing – high performance at low concentrations

The SpinDye®-coloring method will soon be the new industry standard for coloring fabrics

Kieserol KF13 BIO parts cleaner . (Biological detergent for cleaning tables/ parts cleaner)

Sciessent Curb® Fluorine-Free Durable Water Repellent

Green Polyurethane™ - Zero Isocyanates, Zero VOC

Explore Safer Alternatives by Category

Construction

Electronics

Textile

Chemicals under scrutiny

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Industry Requests for Safer Alternatives

Non-CMR Fast Epoxy Curative

Alternative to Salicylic Acid as an Accelerator

Conditioning agents for skin and hair cleansing products

Biodegradable chelating agents

Water and oil repellant surface treatments

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Marketplace Supporters

Do like the following organisations and support the core idea of Marketplace – to increase the visibility of safer alternatives and make them available to the market.

H&M

IKEA

ECHA is looking for an alternative!

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) just posted a request on Marketplace.

Why? One company has submitted an Application for Authorisation to ECHA in order to allow continued use of Trichloroethylene in the extraction process of caprolactam. The legislation states that an authorisation should only be granted if there are no safer alternatives available.

ECHA is therefore reaching out to solution providers here on Marketplace, urging them to submit information about their alternatives.

How’s Marketplace doing? Here is the answer

What do Marketplace users think of the platform and how is it being used? Do you know how many ads are published? Here are some hard numbers to answer those questions.

Chromium VI – the carcinogen of international fame

For some time now, chromium VI has perhaps been the most well-known toxic chemical in the world – largely because of the Hollywood movie Erin Brockovich starring Julia Roberts. That was over 20 years ago, but the problems have not stopped.

The Danish Popcorn Revolution of 2015

In May 2015, the Danish supermarket COOP completely stopped selling microwave popcorn. The shelves where it used to be were suddenly empty. Then in October the same year, it reappeared on the shelves. What had happened?

Frequently asked questions

What is Marketplace and how can it help your company?

Here’s a collection of the most asked questions we get from time to time.

Circular economy will never take off unless we adress hazardous chemicals in recycled materials

Looking at design and production, and what the barriers for a circular economy are, it always comes down to hazardous chemicals.

Four approaches to substitution your company should start considering

At the face of it the driver for substitution and chemicals management is simple – greener and safer chemicals are the only sustainable path forward.

Additional Resources

SINimilarity shows if a substance is structurally similar to a substance on the SIN List, which in turn indicated similar problematic properties. The aim is to help avoid substituting one problematic chemical with another.

Go to SINimilairity

The Textile Guide walks you through the process of chemicals management from a textile industry perspective. You will learn to identify the relevant chemicals and find ideas on how to phase them out.

Go to Textile Guide

The SIN (Substitute It Now!) List is a globally used database of chemicals likely to be banned or restricted in a near future, as we have selected them for fulfilling EU´s REACH ”Substances of Very High Concern” criteria.

Go to SIN List

GreenScreen® for Safer Chemicals is a method for comparative chemical hazard assessment. It can be used by anybody interested in assessing the inherent hazards of chemicals and their potential effect on human health and the environment.

Go to GreenScreen

The Substitution Support Portal provides general information on substitution and hundreds of ”case stories”, examples of successful substitutions.

Go to SUBSPORT

The OECD Substitution and Alternatives Assessment Toolbox (SAAT) is a compilation of resources relevant to chemical substitution and alternatives assessments.

Go to OECD Substitution Toolbox (SAAT)

SIN Producers is a database of companies that are producing or importing the most hazardous chemicals in Europe. This information can be used for making sustainable investments, identifying companies with a product portfolio likely to be regulated.

Go to SIN producers