The Chemicals Management Working Group (CMWG) formed in spring 2011 as a subgroup of the OIA Sustainability Working Group to establish shared approaches and tools for the assessment and management of chemicals and their potential impacts on humans and the environment across product life cycles.

CMWG Vision
We envision and strive to create a world in which all consumer products are produced using Green Chemistry practices, ultimately using inherently safer chemicals and reducing or eliminating hazardous chemicals, in order to preserve human health and a clean environment.

CMWG Mission
Provide education, guidance and decision-making tools to drive continuous improvement and innovation in chemicals management practices industry-wide in order to accelerate the development and use of Green Chemistry, and ultimately reduce or eliminate hazardous chemicals in consumer products and their emissions to the environment and workplace.

CMWG Goals

• Build chemicals management awareness, knowledge and understanding
• Enable and accelerate better decision-making and drive innovation through Green Chemistry
• Collaborate with like-minded efforts toward shared goals

The CMWG is currently focused on three important projects:

1. A framework and set of indicators for companies to benchmark chemicals management policies and practices, which will integrate with the index tools for apparel, footwear and equipment being developed in conjunction with the Sustainable Apparel Coalition
2. An equivalency matrix that will provide an inventory of existing tools for chemicals management and an objective view of what is addressed by each
3. An examination of the use of Durable Water Repellency treatments in the outdoor industry, including identifying use cases and performance requirements and exploring potential alternatives to traditional chemistries

Backgrounder on DWR treatments