Nano & Me - Technology in our lives

Does the law provide high enough protection?

Labelling

The law does not require that nano textile products are labelled as ‘nano’. This means that, unless a manufacturer voluntarily marks its products as such, consumers might not be aware that they things they buy are nano-based.

Is anything being done about this?

There are a number of voluntary initiatives which companies can choose to adopt. For example, the European Commission’s Code of Conduct for Responsible Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies Research encourages the labelling of nano-objects.

The British Standards Institute (BSI) has published guidelines on the labelling of products containing nanomaterials

Safety requirement: can we test nano?

Even though the General Product (Safety) Regulations will apply to nano textile products, there is concern that we lack the information and appropriate assessment methods to determine whether they are in fact safe. There is also the issue that testing under the Regulations focuses on whether products are safe for human health, not whether they are safe for the environment.

Is anything being done about this?

International standards organisations are currently developing methods to identify and measure potential risks from nanomaterials and their applications. For further information, see the Introduction to Law and Nano page.

Several nano-specific risk strategies have also been designed to help companies assess, monitor and manage the possible impacts of nano-based products and processes. For more information, see CENARIOS Managing Nano Risks and DuPont and Environmental Defense Fund Nano Risk Framework.