Survey of nanotcnological consumer products
3 Survey of products
- 3.1 Product areas
- 3.2 Status in Denmark at the start of 2006
- 3.3 Identification of consumer products through the Woodrow Wilson database
- 3.4 Analyses of the survey data
3.1 Product areas
The survey of consumer products is based on direct contact with suppliers or use of information sources, e.g. the internet, advertising etc. There is no legal requirement to producers or importers of products to declare the content of nanomaterials. Therefore, it is not possbile to be certain that a producer or importer who uses the prefix ‘nano’ in association with a product are referring to a content of nanoparticles, a nanometer thin surface layer that is formed upon use, a nanotechnological function expressed when used or whether it is the technolgy behind the product that is ‘nano’. The likelihood that ‘nano’ is used in advertisement without a background in real nanotechnology is assessed as minimal.
Among other things, identification of products was based on the database “A Nanotechnology Consumer Products Inventory[3]”, which is a cooperation between the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and Pew Charitable Trusts. The products in this database (356 in November 2006), which is updated regularly fulfills mainly the following conditions: The products can be purchased directly by the consumers or identified by the producer or another source as based on nanotechnology and the information about nanomaterials in the product seems probable.
The database categorizes the products as follows:
- Appliances (heating, cooling and air; large kitchen appliances, air cleaners and air condition devices, domestic appliances, bio-up and textile protection products)
- Automotive(exterior) maintenance and accessories)
- Goods for children (basics; toys and games)
- Electronics and computers (audio; cameras and film, computer hardware; display; mobile devices and communications, television; video)
- Foodstuffs (cooking, foodstuffs, storage, dietary supplement)
- Health and fitness (clothing, cosmetics, filtration, personal care, sporting goods, sun screen)
- Home and garden (cleaning, construction materials, home furnishings; luxury products; paint)
- Surface treatment (overlapping several groups)
The survey investigates if the products registered in the database are also marketed in Denmark or may be available through a web shop. We have registered if products, which are not sold in Denmark at present, are sold in our neighbouring countries and may be imported to Denmark through cross-frontier shopping, or if they may be introduced into the Danish market later on.
3.2 Status in Denmark at the start of 2006
In the start of the survey in 2006, the American market showed approx. 80 consumer products (Bullis, 2005). Soon after the establishment of the American Woodrow Wilson database, a considerable number of consumer products were registered: 8 March 2006: 212, in the middle of May 2006: 276 and by the end of the project in the beginning of November 2006 356 products were registered.
Already in 2005 the first Danish specialized web shops with nanoproducts for surface treatment and care products for the regular consumer appeared. In the beginning of 2006, the most well-known products socks treated with nano-silver particles and sun lotions with nanofilters were intensivly advertised. Also, for a number of yeards certain black paints has contained ‘carbon black’ (20-100 nm) applied as colouring agent, and in some paints the thickening agent silica is used in nano size (down to approx. 10 nm).
3.3 Identification of consumer products through the Woodrow Wilson database
In 2006 SPT has asked its 83 member companies within the washing- and cleaning detergent and cosmetics trade, if they market nanotechnological products, and 31 companies corresponding to approx. 37.5% replied. None of the companies in the washing- and cleaning detergent trade informed that they apply nanotechnology in their products on the Danish market. Four companies producing cosmetic products reported that they apply the technology in specific products, primarily sun lotions, on the Danish market.
This survey does not count individual products containing ‘carbon black’ or silicium dioxide nanomaterials. Hempel A/S informs that the percentage used in paints is below 0.01%.
Besides the inquiry to the above companies the survey also identifies if the products registered in the Woodrow Wilson database are also present on the Danish market, or may be available in a web shops. A number of products was found by searching on the internet for Danish companies selling nanoproducts. The identified companies are primarily selling their product via the internet.
The proposed survey method was based on contacting Danish producers and suppliers of products containing nanoparticles or products based on nanotechnology, but this method turned out unsatisfactory. Therefore, the survey of consumer products is primarily based on the Woodrow Wilson database. At the time of writing the number of products registered in this database was 356. However, all these products do no fulfill the definition of consumer products included in the survey project. For instance foodstuffs, dietary supplement and equipment for production, preparation and storage of foodstuffs are registered in the Woodrow Wilsom database but are not included in the survey of The DEPA. All the surveyed products can be purchased directly by the consumers. A local database has been established to register products that can be purchased or provided through web shops. The products in this database are categorized as follows:
- Child products (care products, games and plays)
- Applicances (heating, air cleaning and cooling, refrigerators, washing machines)
- Cross cutting(comprises products for surface treatment widely applied)
- Electronics and computers (audio, camera and films, computer hardware, display, mobile units and communication, television, video)
- Car accessories (Exterior and interior care and accessories
- Home and garden (cleaning aids, building materials, home furnishings, luxury, paint
- Personal care and sports equipment (clothes, cosmetics, sun screen, filtration, personal care, sporting goods.
The product categories used in the present Danish database are the same as in the Woodrow Wilson-databasen, and also here sunscreens are registered as its own group. Normally sunscreens are a part of the cosmetics group, but since there are a comparably large number of sunscreen products with nanomaterials they are grouped separately.
It is registered, if products not sold in Denmark at present, are sold in our neighbouring countries and may be imported to Denmark through cross-frontier shopping, or if they may be introduced into the Danish market later on. Besides the Woodrow Wilson database, a large number of products have been identified by direct contact with Danish producers and importers of nanotechnological consumer products.
In the following, the number of products of the above product categories has been calculated. The figures show a comparison to the products registered in the Woodrow Wilson database. This comparison gives an overview of the number of products found in Denmark within the category in question.
Figure 2: Survey of number of products in the individual product categories in Denmark and in the Woodrow Wilson database.
As previously mentioned, the category ’Foodstuffs and storage’of the Woodrow Wilson database is not included in this survey. However, refrigerators are included because they can also be classified as appliances. As shown in the figure, there are fewer products in the individual categories in Denmark than registered in the Woodrow Wilson database, however except the categories ‘Home and garden’ and ‘Car accessories’. The reason why there are many products in the two categories is that many products are based on surface treatments and have been found through direct contact with importers and internet searches. Generally spoken, the survey shows that the main part of the products in Denmark fall under the categories ‘Personal care and sports euipment’ and ‘Home and garden’. The individual categories are further examined below with focus on Danish findings.
In the Woodrow Wilson database only two products for children are found, of which one is a toy and the other is wet tissues containing silver nanoparticles. In the Woodrow Wilson database, this category also includes sun lotions for children, but these products would appear in the present survey under the category ‘Personal care and sports euipment (cosmetics). Thus, no products in the category ‘Child products’ have been found in Denmark.
Figure 3: Electric devices (heating, air cleaning and cooling, refrigerators, washing machines)
Two out of three products have been found within the category refrigerators and washing machines. The refrigerators are coated with nano silverparticles with anti-bacterial effect preventing bacteria coatings and obnoxious smells, whereas the washing machines have either antibacterial coatings or rinsing water to which is added silver ions from electrodes. The latter is in fact not nanotechnology, since silver ions are not designed, but the technology is often reported as nanotechnology. Samsung, the producer of the washing machines, has been registered with one product but in reality the company is marketing six models with the Silver Wash system. No products were found within heating, cooling, and air-cleaning.
The category ‘Cross cutting’ comprises in Denmark three surface treatment products with different applications, which is not already included in the category ‘Home and garden’ or ‘Car accessories’. There are 11 corresponding products in the Woodrow Wilson database.
Figure 4: Electronics and computers (audio, camera and films, computer hardware, display, mobile units and communication, television, video
The category ’Electronics and computers’ comprises only products containing nanomaterials which may be exposed to the consumer or nanomaterial produced by means of nanotechnology similarly to the entry criteria in the Woodrow Wilson database. Computers that only contain nanotechnology in memory chips etc. are not included. Most products are categorized in ‘Displays’. They are found in both videos, mobile telephones and televisions. The consumer is not intentionally in contact with the display by ordinary use but is typically exposed in connection with cleaning etc. In the hearing aid, the surface is treated to be dirt repelling.
Figur 5: Automotive(Interior maintenance, exterior maintenance and accessories.)
The main part of ’Automotive’-products is exterior maintenance products such as sealing, anti-dim agents and vax. Besides, there are a couple of petrol/diesel-additives to be mixed in the tank by the consumer. The market is governed by a few importers and it is presently a most popular type of consumer products, and the direct contact has provided considerably more products on the Danish market to the survey compared to the products identified through the Woodrow Wilson database.
Figure 6: Home and garden (cleaning, building materials; home furnishings; paint.
In the category ‘Home and garden’, the main part of the products are intended for cleaning and surface treatment. It is a question of definition if a product is intended for surface treatment or cleaning, as most surface treatments substitutes cleaning or minimizes cleaning. Due to this they are placed under the same category ‘Cleaning aids’.
Surface treatment and cleaning products especially for cars are categorized under ‘Automotives’. Just as is the case with the category ‘exterior car maintenance’ there are more products on the Danish market in the category than registered in the Woodrow Wilson database. This is also due to the direct contact with the importers of the products. One product in the sub category furniture is a furniture textile which has become repelling after treatment with a nanoproduct.
Figure 7: Personal care and Sports equipment (tøj; kosmetiske produkter; filtration; personlig pleje; sportsartikler; solcreme)
Next to ’Cleaning aids’ the category ‘Personal care and sports equipmet’ is the category with most products and of this ‘Cosmetics’ is the largest category. As it appears from figure 7, the main part of the products registered in the Woodrow Wilson database can also be found on the Danish market either purchased directly or from a web shop. Generally, there is not much specific available information on the content of nanoparticles of the products, typically titanium dioxide or zinc oxide. In other cases, the content is nanoemulsions or ingredients in nano-sized capsules intended for care products to go deeper into the skin.
In sunscreen lotions titanium dioxide in the nanosize range is used as UV filters. Titanium dioxide was assessed by the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Products (SCCP) to be safe for consumers when used in sunscreens in concentrations up to 25% regardless of the particle size.
The sub category ‘Personal care’ includes products that are not directly cosmetics, such as for instance products for treatment of hear loss, thin hair etc.
Clothing is another category where several products are sold from web shops. Primarily ‘repelling clothes’ are surface treated with the nanoproduct to prevent dirt from sticking to the clothes. Under this category also fall odourless socks and corresponding slippers containing nanosilver particles.
The sport articles found on the Danish market are primarily products structurally enhanced with nanomaterials, e.g. in tennis rackets and golf clubs.
3.4 Analyses of the survey data
3.4.1 Origin of the products
Most products identified on the Danish market originate in Europe and not the USA or Asia as the products registered in the Woodrow Wilson database do. Of the 135 European products on the Danish market, 90 comes from Germany and the remaining from England, Finland and France respectively. Three products are formulated in Denmark based on import of nanomaterials from the above countries.
Figur 8: Countries of origin for nano products.
The reason why a great number of articles of EU-origin exist is mainly that quite many surface treatment products from Germany have been surveyed in connection with the direct contact to Danish importers and searches on the internet. These products are not represented in the Woodrow Wilson database, which – even if it in principle covers the whole world – presumably is biased toward products from the American domestic market.
3.4.2 Nanomaterials in consumer products
It was not possible to identify the nanomaterial of the main part of the products (202 out of 243 products). Of the 41 known products, approx. half of the nanomaterials are found in cosmetics (six with zinc oxide and 13 with titanium dioxide, 10 with antibacterial silver in textiles and kitchen appliances, and 12 with carbon tubes or balls (seven with carbon tubes in sporting goods and five with fullerenes in cosmetics).
In sunscreen lotions titanium dioxide in the nanosize range is used as UV filters and this use was assessed by the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Products (SCCP) to be safe for consumers. Zinc oxide is presently not allowed as a UV filter in sunscreens. SCCP has demanded more data from the industry to assess the safe use the ultrafine particles. In chapter 4, human exposure has been assessed. Zinc oxide is accepted for use as a colouring agent in cosmetic products.
Silver is used in the surveyed products as a disinfectant attached to the fibres used for garment production or released in a nanotechnological process in laundry machines. It is regarded as a biocide and silver (CAS no. 7440-22-4) is also registered on the EU’s liste of existing biocides, i.e. biocides on the market before 2000. Silver is under biocide risk assessment in the EU.
In the EU it is decided to treat fullernes as a new substance with the associated consequence that it must be registered. It is assumed that the present products with fullerenes are imported with products formulated outside the EU. In that respect there is no requirement for registration of the substance.
Figure 9: Identified nanomaterials in products (in total 41 in Danish products)
3.4.3 Categorization of products after type of nanomaterial
In the figure below, a categorization of the surveyed nanoproducts has been undertaken. It has been assessed whether the nanomaterial of each individual product contain ‘nanoparticles encapsulated in solid materials’, ‘nanoparticles suspended in liquids’ or ‘surface-bound nanoparticles’, please refer to the categorization tool from NanoDTU (Hansen et al. 2007) and section 1.4. The consumer products that can be defined as articles and also categorized as ‘surface-bound nanoparticles’ are assumed to fall under a group with expected low exposure (see Chapter 4).
Figure 10: Number of Danish consumer products categorized on type of nanomaterial.
The nanomaterial in the vast majority of products on the Danish market falls under the category ‘Nanoparticles suspended in liquids’ (154 pcs.) which includes the many products for surface treatment. The remaining products are categorized in ‘Nanoparticles encapsulated in solid materials’, ‘Film of nanomenter thickness’, ‘Surface-bound nanoparticles’ and ‘Nanostructured film’, in total 81 products. In chapter 4, human exposure has been assessed based on the categorization.
| Appliances | Other uses | Electronics and computers | Automotives | Home and garden | Personal care and sports equipment | Total | |
| Nanoparticles suspended in liquids | 3 | 24 | 58 | 69 | 154 | ||
| Nanoparticles encapsulated in solid materials | 5 | 30 | 35 | ||||
| Film in nanometer thickness | 1 | 1 | 20 | 22 | |||
| Surface-bound nanoparticles | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 19 | |
| Nanostructured films | 8 | 8 | |||||
| Not categorized | 5 | 5 | |||||
| Total | 4 | 3 | 10 | 25 | 67 | 134 | 243 |
Table 3: Categorization of Danish consumer products based on type of nanomaterial and group of articles
The table shows that most products contain particles suspended in liquid and next after this nanoparticles encapsulated in solid materials. For products containing particles in liquids exposure will be possible, whereas the risk of exposure to nanoparticles encapsulated insolids e.g. golf balls is expected to be limited. Approximately half of the products with nanoparticles suspended in liquids are found in the category ‘Home and garden’ including mainly products for surface treatment and cleaning (Cleaning aids). The other half is found in the category ‘Personal care and sports equipment’. In this category cosmetics are the products typically containing nanoparticles suspended in liquids. With respect to nanoparticles encapsulated in solid material, sporting goods such as for instance tennis rackets, golf clubs and ski represent the main part of the products.
3.4.4 Where to buy the products?
A great part of the consumer products are sold from web shops in Denmark and abroad, especially products for surface treatment within the product types ‘Automotives’, ‘Home and garden’ and ‘Personal care and sports equipment’, while a smaller part is shelved in Danish shops. Especially electronic products, sun lotions and sport articles are available in physical shops.
Within the area ‘Personal care and sports equipment’ clothing and cosmetics are primarily sold from web shops, whereas sporting goods are sold from the physical shops. Sun lotion, also a big area, is sold from the physical shops. Nanoparticles have been applied as physical sun screens in sun lotions for many years and consequently they are very well established on the market. In the other great category ‘Home and garden’, 21 identified cleaning and surface treatment products are sold from the shops and more than double the number from the web shops.
Figure 11: Consumer products found in neighbouring countries, physical shops or web shops.
Footnotes
[3] The Woodrow Wilson database (http://.nanotechproject.org/44/consumer-nanotechnology) compiled in “The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies”
Version 1.0 August 2007, © Danish Environmental Protection Agency