Publication
Study of different strategies and approaches followed by footwear companies in vietnam to comply with reach regulation
| datacite.subject.fos | Engenharia e Tecnologia::Outras Engenharias e Tecnologias | pt_PT |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Cavaco, Isabel | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Sainz, Daniel | |
| dc.contributor.author | Chau, Nguyen Le Minh | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2020-05-29T10:29:21Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2020-05-29T10:29:21Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2019-12-18 | |
| dc.description.abstract | The European Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemical (REACH) is the world’s most ambitious initiative governing the use of chemicals not only on their own but in mixtures or articles. REACH assures the supply of safe products that do not present any hazards to end users or if there is a hazard, it must be communicated properly along with risk management plans. Theoretically, REACH compliance is only mandatory for European companies. In fact, REACH could influence company’s activities beyond its border through economic interdependence. Outsourced manufacturing is a good example as European buyers play an important role on fostering REACH application in other countries. By taking advantages of low labor cost and favorable tariff reduction from Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) which Vietnam has signed with Europe, Vietnam becomes an attractive outsourcing destination of many European footwear buyers. Since “made in China” is no longer cheap, it could be foreseen that Europeans would soon move their manufacturing to Vietnam which is now maintaining the second position after China. However, there is a risk that Vietnam loses its opportunity due to REACH compliance issues. REACH compliance is not easy and it is much more challenging in developing countries, where gaps in technologies and stringency of standards each country applies are encountered. The objective of this thesis has been to assess the difficulties felt by Vietnamese companies, in particular footwear companies, when faced with the requirements of REACH regulations. To address the compliance situation in Vietnam, an online survey was developed and disseminated to Vietnam footwear suppliers with the support of Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (LEFASO) and Decathlon (a European brand having its manufacturing in Vietnam). The survey has sets of questions that allow the researcher to assess Vietnam footwear supplier’s awareness of REACH regulation, particularly, Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs) communication obligations and Restricted Substances (RS) management. The survey also digs into difficulties Vietnam footwear suppliers are facing as well as solutions they are applying to overcome these difficulties. None of LEFASO’s company member participated in the survey. Out of suppliers of Decathlon in Vietnam, only 13 companies responded. The results of the study are largely based on these answers. Data from the survey reveals that almost all of the suppliers are familiar with the REACH regulation and aligning REACH requirements to their operations. Major concerns identified by suppliers when trying to comply with REACH regulation are costs of testing products against chemical lists, lack of knowledge of where regulated chemicals are introduced to the supply chain and frequent addition of new chemicals in the regulated list. These issues would be resolved if information of chemical compositions of materials supplied to the industry is made available. Although suppliers are coming up with individual processes to improve information flow throughout their supply chain, there are still shortcomings which would become another problem in the future. In the light of that, an approach proposed by the researcher is also discussed in the study to tackle both current and foreseeable problems | pt_PT |
| dc.identifier.tid | 202482685 | pt_PT |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/13966 | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | pt_PT |
| dc.rights.uri | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ | pt_PT |
| dc.subject | REACH regulation | pt_PT |
| dc.subject | Compliance | pt_PT |
| dc.subject | Vietnam | pt_PT |
| dc.subject | Footwear | pt_PT |
| dc.title | Study of different strategies and approaches followed by footwear companies in vietnam to comply with reach regulation | pt_PT |
| dc.type | master thesis | |
| dspace.entity.type | Publication | |
| rcaap.rights | openAccess | pt_PT |
| rcaap.type | masterThesis | pt_PT |
| thesis.degree.grantor | Universidade do Algarve. Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia | |
| thesis.degree.level | Mestre | |
| thesis.degree.name | Mestrado em Inovação Química e Regulamentação (Erasmus Mundus) | pt_PT |
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