Guide to Chemical Management for E-Commerce Platforms

The rapid growth of the retail e-commerce sector has brought significant economic benefits and enhanced consumer convenience, but it has also given rise to new governance challenges. One pressing issue is the widespread sale of products containing toxic and hazardous chemicals through online platforms. Without adopting forward-looking and proactive chemical management strategies, e-commerce platforms risk being trapped in a reactive mode of compliance. This not only exposes them to increasing regulatory and legal liabilities—such as fines, product recalls, litigation, and reputational damage—but also magnifies such risks and costs as chemical-related regulations and enforcement efforts continue to tighten both domestically and internationally.

With the rapid development of the retail e-commerce industry, it has triggered a series of new governance challenges while promoting economic prosperity and convenience of life. Among them, the sale of products containing toxic and hazardous chemical substances on e-commerce platforms has become an urgent problem. If e-commerce platforms do not take forward-looking and proactive chemical management measures, it will be difficult for them to get rid of the compliance risks and corporate costs (including fines, lawsuits, recalls, loss of brand reputation, etc.) brought by passive management, and this risk and cost will be amplified with the strengthening of the scope and intensity of domestic and international regulations and policies on chemical control.

To support e-commerce platforms in effectively addressing this challenge, Shenzhen Zero Waste Environmental Public Welfare Undertakings Development Center (Shenzhen Zero Waste) , in collaboration with REACH24H Consulting Group, jointly developed the "Guide to Chemical Management for E-Commerce Platforms".The guide aims to assist e-commerce platforms in establishing a proactive chemical management strategy —enabling them to respond to tightening regulatory requirements and evolving market expectations.

The guide begins with an in-depth analysis of of the harms posed by chemicals to human health, the ecological environment, and vulnerable populations such as children and pregnant women. It emphasizes the need for e-commerce platforms to take seriously the presence of toxic and hazardous chemicals in their products. By drawing on scientifically grounded research and well-documented case studies, the guide helps platforms gain a clearer understanding of the scale and urgency of the challenge.

The guide then provides a systematic overview of relevant laws, regulations, and standards governing chemicals in products, both in China and internationally. These regulatory frameworks not only offer e-commerce platforms a clear basis for legal compliance but also serve as critical references for formulating effective chemical management strategies.

In parallel, the guide compiles recent findings on product categories sold through e-commerce platforms that have been found to contain toxic and hazardous chemical substances—spanning non-food consumer goods, food and food contact materials, as well as commercial chemicals.

Subsequently, the guide organizes the laws, regulations and standards for the management of chemicals in products in China and internationally. These laws, regulations and standards not only provide e-commerce platforms with a clear basis for compliance, but also provide important references for them to develop effective chemical management strategies.

At the same time, the guide also compiles the areas where products sold by e-commerce platforms contain toxic and hazardous chemical substances in recent years, including non-food consumer products, food and food contact materials, and commercial chemicals.

Building on an analysis of relevant regulations, policy trends, and best practices both domestically and internationally—and informed by the operational realities of Chinese e-commerce platforms—the guide outlines the overarching goals and guiding principles for chemical management in the sector.

The overarching goals is to uphold and promote the protection of human health and the environment by progressively minimizing the presence and impact of toxic and hazardous chemicals across the platform’s operations and value chains—guided by legal and contractual responsibilities, and in proportion to the platform’s business scale and social influence. The guiding principles —namely Priority-Driven Approach, Results-Oriented Action, Expertise-Led Management, Leveraging Strengths While Facing Challenges, and Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration—provide a strategic foundation for e-commerce platforms to develop more responsible and effective chemical management systems.

To support the achievement of these goals, the guide sets out a practical roadmap for e-commerce platforms to strengthen their chemical management practices. This roadmap is divided into two key sections: Regulatory Compliance and Beyond Regulatory Compliance, each providing clear steps and targeted recommendations.

In the Regulatory Compliance section, platforms are advised to gain a comprehensive understanding of relevant laws and standards, identify high-risk chemicals and associated product categories, and implement management measures throughout the product lifecycle.

The Beyond Regulatory Compliance section emphasizes the importance of developing a forward-looking chemical management strategy, conducting corporate chemical inventories and chemical footprint assessments, improving consumer communication, and enhancing transparency through the disclosure of chemical-related information.

In order to achieve these goals, the guide details a roadmap for e-commerce platforms to follow in chemicals management. The roadmap contains two core sections,  Regulatory Compliance and Beyond Regulatory Compliance, and provides specific management steps and recommendations. In the regulatory compliance section, companies are required to fully grasp relevant regulations and standards, develop a list of risky chemicals/products of key concern, and manage them throughout the process. In the beyond regulatory compliance section, it is emphasized that companies should formulate a chemical management strategy, carry out a corporate chemical inventory and chemical footprint accounting, strengthen communication with consumers, and disclose information related to chemical management.

Finally, we encourage major e-commerce platforms to engage with the contents of this guide, adopt its recommendations and practical measures, and translate them into meaningful actions. Doing so will not only help mitigate compliance risks and reduce operational costs, but also demonstrate corporate social responsibility and contribute to the sustainable development of the industry.