■ Product Safety

At Buckeye, stewardship is a part of our culture. From the way we manage our operations and the products we offer our customers, to the activities we support in the communities in which we operate, we realize we play an important role in society. Here are some examples of our most significant stewardship initiatives.

We are committed to ensuring our customers can depend on Buckeye products for superior performance, quality and safety. It is the policy of Buckeye that its products shall be safe for humans and the environment when used as intended. In this pursuit, we have developed and implemented a Product Safety policy which applies to all sites and is focused on four principles including assessment, design, execution and labeling. For details of the Product Safety principles, please click this LINK to Product Safety Principles.

Buckeye’s Global Product Safety and Regulatory Affairs (PS&RA) department maintains current knowledge to ensure product compliance with pertinent regulatory systems in the United States [Food & Drug Administration (FDA), Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)], Canada [Domestic Substances List (DSL), Health Canada] and Europe [Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), Classification, Labeling and Packaging (CLP)].

The global PS&RA group constantly monitors global regulation developments that could affect Buckeye’s products or their distribution. The group routinely reviews our product portfolio to determine the potential impact of any emerging issues. This involves regular interactions between our PS&RA group and each of the sites.

Among the most important Product Safety issues recently:

REACH

This European Community regulation on chemicals and their safe use (EC 1907/2006) deals with the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemical substances. The aim of REACH is to ensure the protection of human health and the environment from exposure to chemicals while enhancing the competitiveness and innovative capability of the European Union (EU) chemicals industry.

The REACH Regulation places greater responsibility on industry to manage the risks from chemicals and to provide the public with safety information on regulated substances. Manufacturers and importers are required to gather information on the properties of their chemical substances and to register the information in a central database run by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki.

Buckeye is committed to complying with our obligations with respect to REACH, and to date, we have met all requirements pertaining to our products. Furthermore, we are committed to only using suppliers who are in full compliance with this regulation.

PHARMACOPOEIA

Our Lumberton plant provides hygienic and cosmetic purified cotton to customers and in doing so must meet the US, European and Japanese Pharmacopoeia’s standards for these products. These Pharmacopoeias are scientific organizations which set standards of identity, quality, purity and strength for medicines, dietary supplements and food ingredients. Recognized and used in many countries, these standards help manufacturers ensure the production of consistent quality ingredients and finished products. The Pharmacopoeias collaborate with industry, regulators and other experts to create written standards. Lumberton routinely evaluates their products against these standards to ensure compliance with all characteristics.