Product Safety and Transparency

All products manufactured under Essity's name are assessed for their potential safety risks. When the product is considered safe for use, it is approved and released to the market. To ensure the highest safety standards, Essity have extensive procedures which our internal toxicologists continue to improve and develop. In addition, Essity cooperates with external toxicology and life science experts for ensuring independent reviews.

The safety work does not end with the product being released to the market. Product life cycle management and regular updates of the safety assessment ensure the safety over the product´s entire life cycle.

Each product is assessed to comply with the applicable regulations, guidelines, standards and Essity's safety criteria.

• Where product-specific national and international regulations exist, these will be followed as a minimum for each market where Essity sells the product. In markets where lower safety demands apply, Essity will voluntarily apply higher safety standards, such as those established in Europe or North America.

• Where more general safety provisions apply, Essity will apply these as a minimum and additionally incorporate forefront toxicological and chemical know-how to further increase the safety level.

• Since the 1960s, a time when scientific awareness related to product safety was starting to evolve, Essity has actively worked towards maintaining the highest safety standards with its products. Building on that experience and evidence, Essity applies not only today´s state-of-the-art but also more than 50 years' experience.

Any product or product component which Essity sources from third parties must also follow the Essity product safety and chemical criteria, as described in the Global Supplier Standard. Essity has continuous improvement measures in place to secure that its high standards are implemented across the whole value chain.

Internal business procedures ensure that information which may be relevant to product safety, such as complaints, adverse events as well as new regulations or trends from the public discussion, will be included into the product safety assessment. When necessary, changes will be made to existing products or product-related information. Essity actively engages in the public debate regarding product safety to understand and take the lead in responding to upcoming concerns from its customers, consumers and regulatory bodies.