Covered Covered Spring 2018 | Page 5

TITANIUM DIOXIDE Overview of Kingfisher (B&Q) market research into impact of hazard labels Kingfisher (owners of B&Q) commissioned research in November 2017 to establish the impact of the new CLP labels paint manufacturers would have to put on paint, if the industry cannot get a derogation on labelling. They showed 2,000 adults in the UK the same label (pictured right) and asked consumers about their reaction to this label for four DIY products - a wall paint, a weed killer, a drain unblocking product and a glue (TiO 2 was not mentioned, they were testing the reaction to the label, which is for a generic mixture, but as close to how it’s thought to look for a wall paint). For those seeing the label on a wall paint: 76% 52% of people seeing the label think that it means that the product poses a risk of cancer to them if they breathe it in, 9% think that it poses this risk if you get it on your skin of those who were asked about wall paint are less likely to buy after reading the label (compared to 42% for other products) 61% of those less likely to buy a product, 61% said that it was because it is not normal for wall paint to have these warnings, compared to 28% among those asked about other products 40% said that they were less likely to buy wall paint because they were worried about continuing exposure for them or others after the paint dries 35% of those who said that the warning label made no difference to their likelihood to buy wall paint, 35% said that it was because they wouldn’t have any other choice Covered Spring 2018 5