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California Proposition 65: Reformulation of Chemicals in Consumer Goods

SafeGuardSHardgoods, Hardgoods, SoftlinesJuly 16, 2021

Several Prop 65 settlements have been reached for consumer products containing BPA, formaldehyde or lead. Many of these allow a Prop 65 warning as an alternative.

California Proposition 65 (Prop 65) is the ‘Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986’, a ballot initiative passed overwhelmingly by Californian residents in November 1986. It requires the state to publish a list of chemicals that are known to cause cancer, birth defects and/or reproductive harm. First published in 1987, the list has evolved to include approximately 900 chemicals.

Among the list of chemicals is bisphenol A (BPA, CAS 80-05-7), which has been on the Prop 65 list since 2015, formaldehyde (gas, 1988), and lead (1987).

Under Prop 65, companies doing business in California must provide a clear and reasonable warning before knowingly and intentionally exposing anyone to a listed chemical. Unless exempt, businesses have 12 months to comply with this requirement once a chemical is listed.

In this communication, we summarize several settlements involving the three aforementioned chemicals in certain consumer goods (Table 1).

Entry

Scope

Reformulation/Warning

1Bamboo bed sheet sets and bamboo pillowcase sets≤ 40 μg formaldehyde gas per 8 hours of expected use, otherwise warning
2Drain plugs< 1000 ppm lead, otherwise warning
3Duck callsBPA-free, otherwise warning
4Food containers/storageBPA-free, otherwise warning
5Garments≤ 75 ppm formaldehyde (ISO 14184-1) – garments must comply with the Oeko-tex 100 standard in effect at the time of manufacturing
6Padlock keys< 1000 ppm lead, otherwise warning

Table 1

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