A dated declaration
A declaration pinned to a Candidate List version, naming each substance with its EC or CAS number and concentration, signed by a named person. This is what a buyer contract actually asks for.
Regulation (EC) 1907/2006 · REACH · Candidate List 253 substances (4 Feb 2026)
One part puts you in scope.
A substance on the Candidate List, above 0.1% of any one component, and the whole product carries the duty. There is no REACH certificate. What a buyer accepts is a dated declaration, and the list behind it moves twice a year.
The problem
A hidden gram, a product in scope.
A five-gram zipper pull can put a six-hundred-gram jacket in scope. If a substance on the Candidate List sits above 0.1% of the weight of any one component, the whole product carries the duty. The threshold is measured against the part, not the finished product, so building the part into something bigger never dilutes it away.
A substance hides in the smallest part. The 0.1% threshold is measured against that part, and the duty still lands on whoever brings the finished product across the border.
253substances on the Candidate List today, and it grows twice a year
45days you have to answer a consumer who asks, and the answer is free
32%of substances in imported mixtures arrived unregistered (REF-12, 2024)
0official REACH certificates exist. The proof is a dated declaration
Once an item is an article, it stays an article. The 0.1% threshold applies to every component article, even after it is built into a larger product.
Court of Justice of the EU · C-106/14The flow
One declaration, built part by part.
The answer is scattered across every part in the product and every supplier behind it. Bindu builds it in seven moves.
01 · Decompose
Break the product into its parts.
Bindu breaks each product down to the lowest article level, because the 0.1% threshold is measured against each component, not the whole product.
component articleslowest level0.1% denominator
02 · Identify
Name the substances in every material.
Each material resolves to substances by EC number and CAS number, so a part is matched to what it is actually made of, not to a guess.
EC numberCAS numbermaterial to substance
03 · Screen
Check every part against today's list.
Every part is screened against the Candidate List version of the day and the Annex XVII restriction limits that apply to it.
Candidate ListAnnex XVIIdated version
04 · Ask
Ask the supplier up the chain.
Where the data is missing, Bindu requests a dated declaration from the supplier who made the part. They approve it in their own workspace before it is sent.
supplier requestup the chainapproved at source
05 · Measure
Weigh the substance against the part.
Where a listed substance is present, it is weighed against 0.1% of that component, so a small part with a concentrated substance is caught, not lost in the total.
0.1% w/wper componentconcentration
06 · Declare
Build the dated declaration.
Bindu assembles a declaration pinned to the Candidate List version, naming each substance, with the Annex XVII statement and Y-code the customs entry needs.
dated declarationlist version pinnedY-code ready
07 · Re-open
Re-screen when the list moves.
The Candidate List changes about twice a year. When it does, every past screening runs again, so an answer that was clean last year does not quietly go stale.
twice a yearauto re-screenno stale answer
The scan
What the border checks, restriction by restriction.
Our first vertical is textiles, footwear and apparel, customs chapters 61 to 64. Two restrictions land in 2026, on top of the Candidate List that always applies. Pick a restriction.
Candidate List253 substances, above 0.1% per part
Candidate ListInform business buyers (Art. 33)
Candidate ListAnswer consumers free within 45 days
Candidate ListUpdated about twice a year
FormaldehydeAnnex XVII, entry 77
Formaldehyde0.062 mg/m³ for furniture and wood
Formaldehyde0.080 mg/m³ for other articles
FormaldehydeApplies from 6 August 2026
PFHxAAnnex XVII, entry 79
PFHxAConsumer textiles and footwear
PFHxA25 ppb, 1,000 ppb for the sums
PFHxAApplies from 10 October 2026
Azo dyesAnnex XVII, entry 43
Azo dyes22 restricted aromatic amines
Azo dyes30 mg/kg per amine, skin contact
Azo dyesTested by EN 14362
Chromium VIAnnex XVII, entry 47
Chromium VIChromium VI in leather
Chromium VI3 mg/kg limit
Chromium VITested by ISO 17075
PhthalatesAnnex XVII, entry 51
PhthalatesDEHP, DBP, BBP and DIBP
Phthalates0.1% by weight, as a sum
PhthalatesPlasticised materials
NickelAnnex XVII, entry 27
NickelProlonged skin contact
Nickel0.5 µg/cm² a week release
NickelTested by EN 1811
Private buyer standards like AFIRM and OEKO-TEX sit above this legal floor. The restrictions here are the floor the border enforces, and the Candidate List behind them moves about twice a year.
Granularity
What proof actually holds up.
There is no REACH certificate. What a buyer accepts is a dated declaration, not a badge, and the difference is the whole game.
A one-line letter
A generic 'REACH compliant' note with no list version and no substance names proves nothing. It also expires the moment the list moves, which it does twice a year.
A test report
A lab result against a specific restriction limit backs a claim on a part. Bindu links to the accreditation body's public register so a human can confirm the lab, since those registers have no API.
From 2026 the border checks the declaration and the Y-code on the customs entry, not a certificate. A claim is only as good as the list version it is pinned to.
The calendar
The list never stops moving.
REACH has no single start date. The Candidate List grows twice a year, and two textile restrictions land in 2026. The two dates in cobalt are where it gets real for an importer.
Since Feb 2023
Customs declarations carry REACH Y-codes for restricted goods, per CN code. The border already asks whether a shipment complies.
4 Feb 2026
The Candidate List reaches 253 substances, adding n-hexane and bisphenol AF. Every prior screening re-opens against the new list.
6 Aug 2026Textile deadline
Formaldehyde emission limits under Annex XVII entry 77 apply to consumer articles, including textiles and wood-based furniture.
10 Oct 2026Textile deadline
PFHxA and its related substances are restricted in consumer textiles and footwear under Annex XVII entry 79.
23 Dec 2026
Annex XVII entries 80 and 81 apply, restricting DMAC and NEP. The restriction list keeps growing.
Twice a year
The Candidate List updates again, and every answer you filed before is measured against the new version.
The loop
A REACH answer is never final.
Screen a product today and it is clean. Then the Candidate List adds two substances, and one of them is in a dye you use. The answer you filed is now wrong, and nobody told you.
That is the treadmill. The list moves about twice a year, and every update re-opens every prior screening. The work is not screening once; it is screening again, on every change, across every part you ever declared. Bindu re-runs the screen when the list moves, so the answer stays true instead of quietly going stale.
- the answer goes stale
- the buyer re-asks
- a new substance lands
- a part slips through
How it's built
How Bindu proves it.
REACH is screening against a list that keeps moving, part by part. Bindu is that pipeline: parts in, a dated declaration out, re-run every time the list changes. Pick a piece.
The denominator
Article decomposer
Breaks each product into its component articles, because the 0.1% is measured against the part, not the whole. A complex product becomes the list of parts it is really made of.
- Component articles
- Lowest level
- 0.1% base
Pricing
Get your priceWhat a REACH document costs.
Reach · ask any supplier, up the chain
€159a shipment. One commodity per shipment.
Fixedone price per document, no chasing
- Ask a supplier up the chain for the one document you need.
- They approve it in their own workspace before it is sent.
- One shipment is one commodity: a raincoat and coffee are two shipments.
Industry: A compliance analyst chasing one document costs about half a day.
Keeping your workspace live is €20 a month. EU-hosted, GDPR compliant. Prices exclude VAT.
Who proves it
The list moves twice a year. Start with one shipment.
Bindu breaks a product into its parts, screens each against the dated list, asks suppliers for what is missing, and builds the declaration a buyer will accept. When the list moves, it runs again.
253 and risingthe Candidate List Bindu screens every part against
0.1% per partmeasured against each component, not the whole product
Dated proofa declaration pinned to a list version, not a badge
45-day answera consumer question answered inside the deadline, free
Re-screenedevery past answer re-opened when the list moves