Just a few weeks ago the State of California approved the Safer Consumer Products Regulations, which go into effect almost immediately on October 1.
A media statement from the Department of Toxic Substances Control said, “The regulations require manufacturers to seek alternative safer chemical ingredients in widely used products. This is one of the first programs of its kind in the world.”
They will be publishing a list of some 1200 Candidate Chemicals and a list of proposed Priority Products. The first list of 230 candidate chemicals is expected to be available in mid-September.
This is pretty amazing because it is a regulation requiring manufacturers to make their products less toxic.
Here is an article directed to businesses about how the new law will affect them: GreenBiz: What you need to know about California’s new consumer products law
This is going to shake things up because I know that many companies don’t have a clue about what toxic chemicals are in their products.
Yesterday on Toxic Free Talk Radio I interviewed Martin Wolf, Director of Product Sustainability and Authenticity for Seventh Generation. We talked about exactly this: identifying toxic chemicals throughout the supply chain of products. You can listen to the interview at How Seventh Generation is Eliminating Toxics Throughout Thier Supply Chain
Times are changing for toxics! Finally!
I’m going to be watching how this plays out.
It will be interesting to see how the “Trade Secret” exemption protections in the law interfere with full disclosure. There is a path in the law to challenge these trade secret claims on an individual basis as deemed appropriate by the designated powers. Call me cynical, but I suspect there will be a lot of arm twisting, lobbying and the usual politicking over this issue, especially when it pertains to fragrance products. It’s a start though. Good for California.