The European Commission has adopted a Europe-wide restriction on a certain class of “greener” solvents used for dry cleaning of textiles.
The recent adoption of a restriction on siloxanes could be a problem for some luxury retailers, as these solvents have been touted as a “safer” substitute for perchloroethylene (Perc), a substance still widely used for dry cleaning silk, suede, wool and other luxury fabrics.
On May 16, 2024, the European Commission adopted a restriction on D4, D5, and D6 siloxanes, used in some “greener” dry cleaning processes and previously touted as substitutes for Perc, a chemical that has itself raised concerns among regulators in France, Denmark, and the United States.
“This measure will protect our environment by reducing emissions of these very persistent and very bioaccumulative substances by up to 90 percent,” the European Commission said of the new restriction on siloxanes D4 (octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane), D5 (decamethylcyclopentasiloxane) and D6 (dodecamethylcyclohexylhexane).
The problem is that there are few alternatives, and the use of Perc in dry cleaning still raises some concerns. As early as 2012, France called for a phase-out of Perc by 2022, and just two years ago the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency revealed its intention to restrict this widely used chlorinated solvent as part of a proposed bill. The goal is to phase out Perc from all consumer uses within 2 years and from dry cleaning within 10 years.
Denmark also has limits on all chlorinated solvents that include Perc.
It is therefore interesting that the European Commission, instead of adopting a Europe-wide restriction on Perc, has targeted the “greener alternatives” D4, D5 and D6, all of which are used in various consumer and professional products, including cosmetics, dry cleaning, waxes and cleaning products, but will now be banned in mixtures; in a concentration of 0.1 percent by weight of the respective substance or more.
The restriction will apply in full as of June 6, 2026, and follows a June 2018 EU decision that identified D4 and D5 as substances of very high concern (“SVHCs”) with very persistent and very bioaccumulative (“vPvB”) and persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (“PBT”) properties.
Some consumer goods sectors-and the dry cleaning industry-that still use these substances will likely consider reverting to Perc use. These include those in the luxury textile goods sector that produce only dry-cleanable items.
But it is not only regulators who are showing concern about the use of Perc. Perc is increasingly under scrutiny by third parties, including the ZDHC MRSL, which believes Perc is limited to 5 mg/kg (5 ppm) but can still be used if proper exposure and emission controls are in place. For example, in sealed systems that completely recycle the solvent.
While in bluesign BSSL, Perc is limited to 5 mg/kg, but is reduced to 1 mg/kg (1 ppm) in finished articles.