As we adjust to a new year with changing regulations and requirements, requests for transparency and ingredient disclosure are at an all-time high. One of those newer and changing regulations, driven by ingredient disclosure, is the California Cleaning Product Right to Know Act. The Act was filed and approved by the Governor of California in October of 2017, with the intention to go into effect in phases (from 2020 to 2021). This Act requires that manufacturers of a "designated product" disclose, on the product label and on the product's webpage, information about the chemicals within the product. Outside of any exceptions detailed in the Act, any products that fail to meet these requirements would be prohibited from sale in the state of California.
What is a designated product?
As described in the Act, a "designated product" is considered, "a finished product that is an air care product, automotive product, general cleaning product, or a polish or floor maintenance product used primarily for janitorial, domestic, or institutional cleaning purposes." Cosmetics, personal care items, a trial sample of a designated product that is not packaged for individual sale, and several others would not be considered a “Designated Product”. For each Designated Product, the manufacturer must disclosure if that product contains any chemicals on the 22 separate lists that they have selected. Most of these lists are widely recognized and are created by federal, state, and even international agencies. The disclosure requirements for the Act went into effect in stages. The first was the online disclosure requirement and went into effect on January 1, 2020. The on-label requirements went into effect on January 1, 2021. With the Act now in full swing, manufacturers are expected to have already disclosed this information and continue to maintain it. Any violation of this disclosure requirement would be considered a crime.
Why is the Act important?
It’s important to note that this Act is not the first or only of its kind. The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) made effort to implement the Household Cleansing Product Information Disclosure Program in 2019, but it was deemed null and void by the NYS Supreme Court for failure to comply with the state’s requirement on enacting a “rule”. However, the NYDEC has continued to work on the program with the intention to implement it properly. New Jersey is also working on passing a cleansing product disclosure bill. Many other ingredient disclosure regulations exist within the US, the EU, and others. It is safe to assume that more of these disclosure requirements will be coming, and the existing ones are likely to become more robust to continue to protect workers and consumers. Aside from the very present and real moral implications, these disclosure requirements are often considered severable if violated. In these cases, its essential that manufacturer’s comply with mandated requirements to avoid the potential legal consequences.
How can Toxnot help?
Using the California Cleaning Product Right to Know Act as an example, Toxnot can provide the tools needed to establish an effective form of supply chain management. For this Act, manufacturers need to screen their products against 22 different substance lists. For anyone with complex products or a large library of products, this can become a tedious and time consuming job, especially considering the fact that lists are constantly changing. In Toxnot, you can import your library of products, collect additional data if necessary, then screen those products against those updated lists automatically. We have upwards of 80 lists in Toxnot already, most of the 22 lists that this Act references are included in that. Additionally, you can add custom substance lists in Toxnot to fill in any gaps where lists are missing. Lastly, we can work with you to create custom reports to meet a wide range of customer and regulatory needs. A job that previously could have taken the time of a full-time position can now take just minutes.
The future of sustainability and disclosure is here and we’re excited to help you create safe and compliant products! If you would like to hear more about how Toxnot can help, send us an email to our support team or schedule a conversation with us here.
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