Cleaning products manufacturers have less than two months to meet new California online disclosure requirements going into effect on January 1, 2020. Passed in 2017, the Cleaning Products Right to Know Act requires manufacturers to disclose ingredients information about their cleaning products on their website and on the product’s label.
The first phase of compliance requires disclosure on the manufacturer’s website by January 1, 2020.
The second phase takes effect one year later on January 1, 2021, and extends ingredients disclosure requirements to product labels.
Who Is Covered?
Manufacturers are defined as either a "person who manufactures the product and whose name appears on the product or a person or entity that the product is manufactured for or distributed by, as identified on the product label."
Accordingly, a distributor may be covered even if the product is manufactured by another entity. Those with private label products should take heed.
What Is Covered?
The Act applies to air care products such as air fresheners and odor removers, automotive cleaning products, and general household cleaning products such as soap, detergent and floor maintenance products.
What Is Required on January 1, 2020?
A manufacturer must post on its website, in an electronically readable format:
- Each ingredient contained in the product (with some exceptions);
- The Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) number for these ingredients;
- The functional purpose served by each ingredient; and
- A link to the hazard communication safety data sheet for the product in question.
A manufacturer may protect some information under the Confidential Business Information (CBI) exception, although specific steps must be taken to benefit from this protection and a generic name forthe ingredient must still be disclosed.
Thinking Ahead
Compliance with the January 1, 2021, deadline for product labels will likely involve more time and resources than website postings. As manufacturers implement compliance plans for the first compliance deadline, they should also keep in mind the January 1, 2021, deadline.
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