Cleaning

The Detergents Regulation (EC) No. 648/2004 covers the manufacturing, sale and use of detergents. The regulation was published on the 8th April 2004 and entered into force on the 8th October 2005. It was initially developed to cover essentially the labelling of detergents and biodegradability of surfactants. As a Regulation, it is directly applicable in all Member States and is not open to interpretation by them. There has been a number of updates to the regulation since it enforcement.

Any natural or legal person responsible for placing a detergent or a surfactant for a detergent on the market must comply with this regulation.The Regulation applies to the following:

• Manufacturers/Producers of detergents
• Importers of detergents
• Any person changing the characteristics of a detergent

• Any person changing the labelling or packaging of a detergent
• Packagers working on their own account (e.g. company A purchases a detergent in bulk from company B and re-packages the detergent with its “own” name on the box)

Further information on the Regulation can be found on the European Commission website here.