As reported previously in Counselor Promogram, the state of California will soon unveil new rules under its Proposition 65 measure. Generally known as Prop 65, these new rules will take effect on August 30 of this year, and they’ll be focused on ensuring all products sold and used in California are properly labeled to warn consumers about their ingredients.

The original legislation lists chemical warning regulations for consumer products in California. But starting August 30, 2018, Prop 65 will require more rigorous warnings for products that contain chemicals the state has deemed to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity. California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has adopted new regulations in an effort to provide more meaningful and useful information about chemical exposure to the public.

In addition, the new warnings will say a product “can expose you to” a specific Proposition 65 chemical rather than saying the product “contains” the chemical. Ultimately, the additional regulations taking effect August 30 provide for new warning labels that specifically identify at least one of the chemicals in any product that create an exposure to a user. The specific warning must also be provided for products sold on the internet and through catalogs.

In an effort to educate suppliers in the promotional products industry about the impact of these new Prop 65 rules, ASI will be mailing informational letters to all supplier firms. These letters will be mailed over the next week, and are letting all suppliers know that businesses with 10 or more employees must comply with these new rules. “Since ASI distributor members sell your products in California, we are following up on recent changes to the Prop 65 regulations that may impact how your company provides these Prop 65 warnings,” the letter states.

For more information and an analysis of how the changes will impact the promotional products market, please see our previous report.