Evaluating Chemicals in Textile Products in the North American Market

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Environment Canada has determined that any intellectual property arising from the performance of the work under this Contract will be vested in Canada on the grounds that the main purpose of the Contract, or of the deliverables contracted for, is to generate knowledge and information for public dissemination (section 6.4.1 of the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat Policy on Title to Intellectual Property Arising under Crown Procurement Contracts).

I. MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS

Project Team Experience

• At least one member of the proposed team must have, as a minimum, a university degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering or another related discipline. Proof of the degree must be provided upon request.

• At least one team member must demonstrate experience working on a minimum of two projects related to textiles. Experience must be clearly demonstrated on team member resume.

• The Project Manager must demonstrate a minimum of two years of experience in project management for projects involving technical background data gathering. Experience must be clearly demonstrated on Project Manager’s resume.

Confidentiality

It is understood and agreed that the Contractor shall, during and after the effective period of the ensuing Contract, treat as confidential and not divulge, unless authorized in writing by the Departmental Representative or her delegate, any information obtained in the course of the performance of the ensuing Contract.

Subject to the Access to Information Act, R.S. 1985, c.A-1, the parties agree that the terms of this Agreement are confidential and each party shall use the same degree of care to prevent disclosure of the terms of this Agreement to third parties as it uses to protect its own confidential information of similar nature.

Any failure of the Contractor to respect the confidentiality obligations is a default of the Contractor for which the Minister may terminate the contract.

II. BACKGROUND

In October 2011, the Government of Canada announced the launch of the second phase of the Chemicals Management Plan (CMP) to continue its commitment to protecting the health and environment of Canadians. As part of the second phase of the CMP, approximately 500 substances in nine groups have been identified as priorities for action. These nine groups of substances are planned to be assessed and, if necessary, managed for potential risks to human health and the environment. Information gathering for these substance groupings was initiated in December 2011. In order to facilitate stakeholder engagement with the textile sector as well to potentially inform risk assessment and risk management activities, key information on the North American textile sector is needed.

Canadian textile firms are moving away from commodity products and dependence on the traditional apparel and footwear markets and into technical products and markets such as construction, personal protection, the military, sports and leisure industries, boat and shipbuilding, aerospace and medical textiles. While there are similar studies that have been conducted in Europe and by the United Nations Environment Program , this Contract will look at the North American market in order to help to improve understanding of any differences between the North American and European textile product markets.

This contract focuses on how certain chemicals that are included in the second phase of the CMP, are introduced into the North American market through a wide variety of textile products. Information is requested on the following substances that are expected to be relevant to the textile sector:

1. Aromatic azo- and benzidine based substances 2. Phthalates 3. Boron-containing Substances 4. Selenium-containing Substances

This project will also inform any future efforts to manage chemicals in textile products by providing valuable information on the types of textile products in which these chemicals could be found.

III. PURPOSE

The purpose of the initiative is to identify how certain chemicals are introduced into the North American textile market, and to identify, assess and describe the impact of international regulations and other standardized non-regulatory measures affecting the manufacture, use, waste disposal and recycling of textile products on the North-American market.

IV. OBJECTIVES

The contractor must: 1. Gather information and create a list of textile products that may contain certain chemicals in the North American textile market 2. Evaluate existing measures affecting the North American textile market 3. Submit draft and final reports as per the schedule provided

V. DESCRIPTION OF WORK

This following list of tasks is comprehensive, but may not necessarily be exhaustive. The Contractor is encouraged and expected to provide any additional information discovered during the contract period that is deemed relevant in fulfilling the objectives of this contract.

Tasks

The consultant must perform the following specific tasks

1. Gather Information to Assess Chemicals in North American Textile Products (November 2013 - March 2014)

1.1. Create a list of textiles by NAICS code, (as defined in APPENDIX C), found in the North American market that are likely to contain the following substances. A listing of these substances and representative CAS numbers are provided in APPENDIX D.

a. Aromatic azo- and benzidene based Substances c. Phthalates d. Boron-containing Substances e. Selenium-containing Substances

1.2. For each textile product identified in task 1.1, rate the likelihood of the product containing the substance as:

- High probability - Medium probability - Low Probability

1.3 For each textile product identified in task 1.1 provide: a. The product category and sub category (as defined in APPENDIX C) where appropriate b. The substance name as defined in APPENDIX D c. The substance function code as defined in APPENDIX E d. The names of the manufacturers and/or importers e. The country of origin f. The product trade names where possible g. The quantity of products manufactured and imported where possible

2. Evaluate Existing Measures Affecting the North American Textile Product Market (March 2014 - June 2014)

2.1. Identify and describe existing national and international regulations and other standardized non-regulatory measures / best practices affecting the manufacture, use, end-of-life disposal and recycling of textile products on the North-American market, including those being reviewed under the Stockholm and Basel Conventions.

2.2. Assess the existing measures identified in task 2.1 in terms of their impact on the textile sector, including a description of how effective the measure is in terms of meeting its objective (ex, corresponding compliance rates, industry response, etc..) and where possible cost-effectiveness.

2.3. For each measure identified in task 2.1, identify any challenges or gaps as well as recommendations for improvement.

VI. INFORMATION SOURCE REQUIREMENTS

In assisting the Contractor in completing the tasks stated above, Environment Canada will provide the following:

1. A report from the Swedish Chemicals Agency, “Hazardous chemicals in textiles – report of a government assignment.” 2. GENIVAR. 2009. Socio-economic Study of the Textile, Leather and Tanning Industry, GENIVARS’s Final Report to Environment Canada.

Information is to be gathered from public sources.

VII. DELIVERABLES AND SCHEDULE

Regular feedback (at least every two weeks) through email, and/or phone calls must be maintained between the Contractor and the Departmental Representative.

Schedule And Deliverables

Task/Activities Approximate Dates Deliverable 1: Draft Report for Task 1 to be submitted to Departmental Representative March 3, 2014 Deliverable 2: Final Report for Task 1 to be submitted to Departmental Representative March 31, 2014 Deliverable 3: Draft Report for Task 2 to be submitted to Departmental Representative June 9, 2014 Deliverable 4: Final Report for Task 2 to be submitted to Departmental Representative June 30, 2014

Draft Reports: Draft reports must be provided electronically in Microsoft Word (Microsoft Office Suite 97-2010) and must reflect the requirements outlined in Tasks 1 and 2. The draft reports must also consider and address comments received during regular progress of the project. Environment Canada will review and provide comments to the Contractor within one (1) week after receiving the draft reports.

Final Reports: The Contractor must provide the final reports in hard copies and electronically in Microsoft Word (Microsoft Office Suite 97-2010) and Adobe Acrobat (PDF). The final reports must address the requirements identified in the Statement of Work and must take into consideration all comments provided on the draft reports.

VIII. ACCEPTANCE OF DELIVERABLES All reports produced by the Contractor will be subject to review by persons designated by the Department Representative. All work is to be performed to the satisfaction of the Department Representative.

IX. METHOD OF PAYMENT Payments will be made according to the following schedule: • 60% of the total professional fees will be paid following the completion, delivery, and acceptance of the Final Report for Task 1 (Deliverable 2).

• 40% of the total professional fees will be paid following the completion, delivery and acceptance of the Final Report for Task 2 (Deliverable 4).

X. PROJECT BUDGET Environment Canada has established funding for this project at a maximum amount of $65,000 (excluding HST).

The contract is to be completed on or before June 30, 2014.