Prop 65 – Do you need a label update?
Keeping Consumers Safe with a Prop 65 Label
There is a huge new burden on manufacturers that sell products to consumers in California – and it may require a label update:
All manufacturers, producers, packagers, importers, suppliers, and distributors, regardless of whether they are located in California or out of state, must provide a warning if their products cause exposures to any listed chemical to individuals in California.
If you are selling anything with ingredients on the prohibited list, you may need to update the language on your labels. The NFIB has an excellent summary of the newly updated law on their website. According to NFIB,
More specifically, a warning label is required if the chemical included has either a 1 in 100,000 chance of causing cancer over a 70 year period, or unless it may be said that exposure to 1000 times the amount of the chemical within the product has no observable effect on reproductive health
The update effective in August 2018 is actually just a more strict interpretation of the law passed in 1986 – Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act This law requires disclosures if any of 900 listed chemicals are present in your product. Read the full NFIB article by clicking here.
California even has a specific website dedicated to the new law. Check more on that site by clicking www.p65warnings.ca.gov
We are All About Full Disclosure
This law seems onerous, but it is no more so than the mandate 20+ years ago to provide nutrition facts on all food packaging. Now, this consumer information seems standard, but at one time, it was a big change for all food producers. This will be the same. Besides marketing and branding, your labels need to give consumers clear and complete information.
Easy Redesign
We aren’t a graphic design company, but we can help with basic layout changes. Editing your label to be compliant and still be attractive – we can do that. We are experts at fitting lots of information onto a small label. The cost for this redesign is very affordable in most cases. And, if you need a full rebranding, we can refer you to some excellent design agencies. Adding a separate Prop 65 label to your packaging is another option – we can help with that too.
Other Label Questions? We can help
As always, we are here to help with any and all label questions. We can help with technical, aesthetic and financial questions related to your label project. Please call us today. We would be happy to help.
This article is intended to provide Oregon and Washington businesses with general information and is not intended to serve as legal advice regarding any specific matter; information should not be acted upon without legal advice.
