Some outdoor clothing is treated with a biocide to deter insects. In these cases, the clothing is considered a biocidal product.
Textile products with biocidal treatment may need authorisation
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Textile articles treated with biocides can in some cases be considered biocidal products. Examples include outdoor clothing and mosquito nets treated to repel mosquitoes or dog blankets treated to keep fleas and other insects away. To be sold, these types of biocidal products always need to be authorised.
A treated article or a biocidal product?
An article that has been treated with a biocidal product to protect the article itself is considered a biocidal product. This could be, for example, training clothes that have been treated with a biocide to prevent the garments from bad smell or fabric that has been treated to prevent it from being destroyed by moths, for example.
Read more about articles treated with biocides.
There are also textile products that have been treated with a biocide to protect the user of the article, such as outdoor clothing or horse blankets and blankets that have been treated to keep away mosquitoes, ticks and gnats. In cases where the biocidal treatment is intended to protect the user of the article, the product primarily has a biocidal function and should therefore be considered a biocidal product.
Examples of common treatments that the Swedish Chemicals Agency consider makes an article a biocidal product are icaridin (also known as picaridin) or permethrin in outdoor clothing and permethrin in dog blankets, dog vests and picnic blankets. The treatment has been applied to protect the user of the product from insects and not to protect the product itself. We therefore consider that the article primarily has a biocidal function, which makes it a biocidal product that must be authorised to be sold or used in Sweden.
Mattresses and blankets for animals may be treated with a biocide to keep away lice and fleas from the animal. These textile products are then considered as biocidal products and require an authorisation to be sold in Sweden.
Biocidal products require an authorisation
The main rule is that a product authorisation is required for biocidal products to be sold and used in Sweden. The product authorisation is issued by us at the Swedish Chemicals Agency and is specific to the product. A product authorisation requires extensive documentation and it might be time-consuming to apply for an authorisation if you have not applied before. If you sell biocidal products without an authorisation it is a criminal offence and can lead to fines or imprisonment.
Read more here about applying for an authorisation for a biocidal product.
In some cases, the European Commission has decided that an article should be considered a biocidal product, this is the case for horse blankets treated with insecticides.
Read the European Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2016/903 of 8 June 2016.
External link.
The legislation on articles treated with biocides is relatively new and an evolving regulatory area. Therefore, the application of the rules may differ between EU Member States. The aim is to harmonise the application in all Member States.
Read more here about the rules on biocidal products in Sweden.
European Chemicals Agency's (ECHA) guidance document on articles treated with biocides.
, 2.5 MB.