Editorial: Sustainability assessment of chemicals in consumer products

Chemicals are the building blocks of today's consumer products, serving varied functional performance roles in materials, products and technologies. Recent data reveal that ~350,000 chemicals and chemical mixtures have been registered globally for production and use (Wang et al., 2020). Common examples, such as plasticizers, flame retardants, and preservatives, are prevalent in various consumer products. Exposure to several chemicals has been associated with detrimental effects on human health and on ecological integrity. Consumer products can be a significant source of human exposure to their chemicals constituents due to close contact during use; they can further harm ecosystems and wildlife when they enter natural environments. Overall, chemicals in consumer products can be released from multiple life cycle stages, enter multiple environmental compartments, and expose humans and ecological receptors through multiple pathways and routes (Fantke et al., 2021; Li et al., 2021). Such a “multidimensionality” of the issue of chemicals in consumer products necessitates a thorough understanding and effective management in the context of environmental sustainability.