REACH

The shape, surface and design of an object represent its physical appearance. And can be understood as other than chemical characteristics and are not to be confused with physical characteristics that result from the chemistry of the material(s) the object is made of.

According to Article 3(3) of the REACH Regulation the shape, surface or design must be deliberately determined and given during a production step (the “production step” of an article can also be understood to include the assembly of the components (which can themselves be articles) of a complex article (e.g. a laptop)

A set of objects that are merely collected together to be supplied does, on the contrary, not have a particular production step during which a specific shape, surface or design is given to the set or kit. This applies regardless of whether the objects are

• used separately (like the different casseroles and pans of a cookware set),
• used together (like in a portable power tool consisting of tool, battery and charger), or
• assembled into a single object (like a flat pack furniture).

  Therefore a set of objects cannot be regarded as one article, but has to be regarded as many articles, substances and/or mixtures.

Substances, mixtures and articles can be contained inside of packaging, such as a carton, a plastic wrapping or a tin can. The packaging does not belong to the substance, mixture or article being packaged and i s therefore to be considered as a separate article under REACH.