G/TBT/N/SWE/132  
 
6 July 2017  
(17-3623) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
  NOTIFICATION  
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6  
 
1. Notifying Member : SWEDEN   
If applicable, name of local government involved  (Article 3.2 and 7.2) :  
2. Agency responsible:  Swedish Ministry of the Environment a nd Energy  
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers , email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification  shall be indicated if different from above : National Board 
of Trade Sweden  
Adress: Box 6803, 113 86 Stockholm, Sweden  
Phone: +46 690 48 00  
Email: kommerskollegium@kommers.se  
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [   ], 5.7.1 [   ], other:  
4. Products cove red (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading. 
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):  Rinse -off cosmetics 
that contain solid plastic particles which have been added for exfoliating, cleaning or 
polishing purposes  
5. Title, number of pages  and language(s)  of the notified document:  Förordning om 
ändring i förordningen (1998:944) om förbud m.m. i vissa fall i samband med hantering, 
införsel och utförsel av kemiska produkter (3 page(s), in Swedish)    
6. Description o f content:  The placing on the market of rinse -off cosmetics that contain 
plastic particles which have been added for exfoliating, cleaning and polishing purposes is 
prohibited. An exception is made for plastic particles that consist only of naturally 
occur ring polymers that have not been chemically modified. Derogations may be granted 
for plastic particles that have been produced with naturally occurring polymers as a raw 
material if it is shown that they biodegra de quickly to monomers in an aquatic 
environ ment and that they are not liable to cause damage to aquatic organisms.  
Plastic particles is defined as solid particles of plastic which are 5 mm or less in size in any 
dimension and which are insoluble in water.  
Plastic is defined as a polymer within th e meaning of Article 3(5) of Regulation (EC) No 
1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, to which additives or other 
substances may have been added.  
The ban may enter into force on 1 January 2018 at the earliest. A transition rule will allo w 
distributors to the sell rinse -off cosmetics containing plastic particles for six months after 
the entry into force provided that the cosmetic products have been placed on the Swedish 
market before the date of entry into force.   
7. Objective and rationa le, including the nature of urgent problems where applicable: 
Protection of the environment; The purpose of the regulation is to reduce the discharge to 
sea, lakes and watercourses of plastic particles less than 5 mm in size in any dimension 
from rinse -off cosmetic products.  G/TBT/N/SWE/132  
 
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  The growing amount of plastic waste and microplastics in the oceans represents one of the 
major threats to the marine plant and wildlife. Plastic particles of micrometer size or less 
can pass through the waste water treatment into the recipients and plastic particles can 
thus end up in sea, lakes and streams. Plastic particles accumulate in the marine 
environment. Microscopic plastic particles in the sea, lakes and streams can damage 
aquatic organisms and affect biodiversity. The ingest ion by filtering aquatic animals of 
plastic particles also causes plastic particles to enter the nutrient chain. Microscopic plastic 
particles have been found among other things in cod, haddock, whiting and prawns. In 
Sweden, microscopic plastic particles have been found in common and commercially 
important species such as blue mussel and sea crayfish.  
With today's technology it is impossible to capture and collect plastic particles that have 
reached the marine environment. It is therefore necessary to tak e measures at the source 
which will prevent plastic particles from reaching the marine environment.  
Several countries have already introduced or are about to introduce measures aimed at 
reducing the discharge of microscopic plastic particles to sea, lakes and streams. In 
December 2015, the United States introduced a law prohibiting the manufacture and sale 
of rinse -off cosmetics containing microbeads (the Microbead Free Waters Act of 2015). In 
March 2017, France decided to prohibit the placing on the market  of rinse -off cosmetics 
intended for exfoliation or cleaning that contain solid plastic particles less than 5 mm in 
size (Decree no 2017 -291 of March 6, 2017, relatif aux conditions de mise en oeuvre de 
l'Interdiction de mise sur le marché des produits cos métiques rincés à use d'exfoliation the 
netoyage comportant des particules plastiques solides et des bâtonnets ouatés à usage 
domestique dont la tige est en plastique). The ban will enter into force on 1 January 2018.  
There are no less restrictive measure s available which will achieve the purpose of the 
regulation. The proposed measures are proportionate and are necessary for reducing the 
risks to the environment caused by plastic particles in seas, lakes and streams. The rules 
apply to all parties making rinse-off cosmetics available on the Swedish market and are 
therefore not discriminatory.  
8. Relevant documents:  Draft of the proposed technical regulation and regulatory impact 
assessment   
9. Proposed date of adoption:  Not specified  
Proposed date of entry into force: 1 January 2018 . The ban may enter into force on 1 
January 2018 at the earliest  
10. Final date for comments:  90 days from notification  
11. Texts available from : National enquiry point  [X] or address, telephone and fax 
number s and e mail and website address es, if available , of other body:   
https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2017/TBT/SWE/17_3072_00_x.pdf