California Gov. Gavin Newsom this week signed a number of bills into law that could potentially affect promotional products companies that do business in the Golden State.

With Newsom putting his signature to SB343, California becomes the first state to prevent companies from labeling their products and packaging as “recyclable” unless they meet mandated criteria that proponents say would demonstrate that the items are truly being recycled.

Putting the recycling symbol on products or packaging that fail to meet the criteria would constitute a crime.

In effect, products will be considered recyclable if the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) determines they have a viable end-market to be recycled into and meet particular design standards, such as not containing certain chemicals the state considers toxic. CalRecycle would collect data on which types of plastics and other materials are most commonly recycled across California.

These proposed regulations on the use of the recycling symbol on products/packaging could impact the #promotionalproducts industry: https://t.co/xrbEE7ooZN @ASI_MBell @Melissa_ASI @Tim_Andrews_ASI

— Chris Ruvo (@ChrisR_ASI) September 14, 2021

Meanwhile, Newsom inked into law AB 1200, which prohibits disposable food packaging from containing intentionally added Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs)  and requires cookware manufacturers to disclose the presence of hazardous chemicals such as PFASs on product labels and online. 

Promo suppliers that offer cookware will want to pay attention to the latter requirement. The legislation outlines various rules related to disclosure.

“The bill would require, beginning January 1, 2023, a manufacturer of this cookware to post on an internet website for the cookware a list of chemicals in the cookware that are present on the designated list, among other information,” the legal language reads. “The bill would prohibit a manufacturer from making a claim, either on the cookware package commencing January 1, 2024, or on the internet website for the cookware commencing January 1, 2023, that the cookware is free of any specific chemical if the chemical belongs to a chemical group or class identified on the designated list, unless no individual chemical from that chemical group or class is intentionally added to the cookware.”

Newsom also signed AB652, which bans the use of toxic PFASs in products for children, beginning July 1, 2023.

Specifically, AB652 defines a juvenile product as an item designed for use by infants and children under the age of 12, including everything from a baby/toddler foam pillow, car seat and infant swing, to a nursing pad, playpen, stroller, car seat and more. The law does not pertain to children’s electronic products, such as personal computers, game consoles, power supply units, mouse pads and keyboards.