ZDHC Roadmap to Zero
Also known as: ZDHC, Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals
Industry initiative of the ZDHC Foundation (Amsterdam) for the complete elimination of hazardous chemicals from textile, apparel and leather production — MRSL, wastewater limits, chemical gateway.
Description
The Roadmap to Zero, driven by the formally founded (2015) ZDHC Foundation based in Amsterdam, is the world's leading industry cooperation to eliminate hazardous chemicals in the textile, leather and footwear value chain. It emerged as a response to Greenpeace's 2011 Detox campaign and is now backed by around 250 signatories — brands (including Adidas, Nike, Puma, H&M, Zara), suppliers, chemical producers and testing institutes.
Its central tools are the ZDHC MRSL (Manufacturing Restricted Substances List) — a positive list of permitted and a negative list of prohibited chemicals in production, independent of the finished product — and the ZDHC Wastewater Guidelines with limit values for effluents from dyeing and finishing. Via the ZDHC Gateway chemical manufacturers can have their formulations certified for conformity (Level 1, 2, 3); factories must use conformant products. ZDHC also defines a Chemical Management System framework. ZDHC compliance has effectively become a prerequisite at all major European retail chains.
Properties
| Issued by | ZDHC Foundation (Amsterdam), formally since 2015 |
|---|---|
| Core tools | MRSL, Wastewater Guidelines, ZDHC Gateway |
| Signatories | ~250 (brands, suppliers, chemistry, testing) |
| Origin | Response to Greenpeace Detox campaign 2011 |
Related product categories
Sources & references
1- ZDHC Roadmap to Zero offiziell roadmaptozero.com https://www.roadmaptozero.com/
