Whether it’s pressure from consumers or disclosure requirements from legislation (such as California’s Proposition 65 or the European Union’s REACH), there is a growing demand for transparency around the chemical composition of products. Knowing what chemicals come in contact with and make up your products gives you the ability to respond to customer and supply chain requests or make strategic changes to your design to omit certain chemicals. Managing this information requires collecting detailed – and often proprietary – information from each leg of your supply chain. With a proactive approach to product chemical analysis, you will have new insights into your product, factory, and supply chain to make improvements for consumers and the environment.

Laws in the US only require manufacturers to track safety concerns related to chemicals used in a facility, but not the chemical composition of a product itself. Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) are mandated and carry valuable information about the chemicals used in a facility. Most companies use software to collect and store SDSs, but don’t have a systematic process for maximizing the information to determine chemical composition. Our sustainability experts begin by developing a bill of materials for your product. We then collect SDSs from every level of your supply chain to understand which chemicals are present and at what strength. We then pass this information through our software, which cross-references each chemical with regulatory lists such as EPS, CA Proposition 65, BIFMA Annex B, Red List, REACH, SCIP, etc, and more. This software allows us to effectively and efficiently process chemical data from your supply chain. Once we understand your product’s composition and how it aligns with applicable standards, we can help respond to ongoing customer inquiries, strategize changes, and manage supply chain requests.

• Regulatory compliance
• Transparency for shareholders
• Improved brand image
• Safety for workers
• A credit towards various certifications

Client Profile
Mid-sized manufacturer of electrical components with three facilities and 600 employees.

Before Foresight
As a supplier to larger companies pursuing rigorous certifications, this company was regularly asked to provide documentation for their components’ chemical composition. This information is essential for achieving BIFMA e3 LEVEL certification, and their customers needed details beyond what was available. Like many companies, they maintained a software to collect and organize SDSs, but did not have a systematic process for building a bill of materials, analyzing SDS’ for chemical information, and responding to consumer or client requests for chemical information.


After Foresight
The sustainability team at Foresight leveraged their experience and expertise to develop a process for chemical management. We created a bill of materials for the product and precisely identified the materials throughout the supply chain. Equipped with this information, we engaged with each manufacturer to collect SDS’s and compile the results for a full picture of their product’s chemical composition. We cross-referenced the list of chemicals with regulatory requirements to ensure conformance. Developing a chemical management process helped them become a preferred supplier in their industry and allowed them to earn a credit towards their BIFMA e3 LEVEL certification. Foresight continues to manage and respond to chemical requests on their behalf.

Frequently Asked Questions

After creating a bill of materials, we can determine each step of your product’s genesis. We then get the contact information for each manufacturer and contact them to obtain their SDS’s.

Always start by creating a bill of materials to know the suppliers, materials, and weights. From there, you can determine the chemical composition of your product, reference regulatory lists, and respond to customers.

Proposition 65 legally requires companies to disclose information about the potentially harmful effects of chemicals in their products. Foresight can assist you in obtaining information from your supply chain to assess your products for compliance with CA Proposition 65 and determine if it’s necessary to label your product.

Using our software, we can quickly and efficiently cross-compare your product’s chemical makeup with several regulatory lists, certification requirements, and legislation.

The cost is dependent on the number of suppliers in your chain. We typically charge $500 per supplier to obtain, organize, and present the information.

Depending on your supply chain’s responsiveness, it can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months.