On January 12, 2026, before leaving office, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed S.B. 1042, the “Protecting Against Forever Chemicals Act,” into law, thus adding the Garden State to the list of states that have enacted legislative bans on the sale of certain product categories that contain intentionally added PFAS. Beginning in 2028, the law will ban sales of cosmetics, carpets, fabric treatments, and food packaging that contains intentionally added PFAS, as defined in the statute.
Also beginning in 2028, the statute will require labeling for most cookware that contains an intentionally added PFAS in the handle of the product or in any product surface that comes into contact with food, foodstuffs, or beverages, with a few limited exceptions.
Under S.B. 1042, PFAS is defined as “substances that include any member of the class of fluorinated organic chemicals containing at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom.” Fluoropolymers are not exempted. (Interestingly, shortly after New Jersey declined to follow New Mexico’s lead on a fluoropolymer exemption, New Mexico itself announced that it would be reevaluating the scope of its fluoropolymer exemption – stay tuned for a future post on that issue).
In addition, S.B. 1042 commits the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to undertake affirmative steps concerning PFAS. Under the statute, NJDEP is required to establish and implement a source reduction program for PFAS that will, among other things, “encourage[e] the proper management of materials that contain PFAS and the use of safer alternatives,” and to report to the Governor regularly on the effectiveness of this program. Further, NJDEP is required to conduct PFAS-related research and monitoring (including sampling of soil, water, air, biosolids and fish, plant and animals) and to provide a report to the Governor regularly with its research findings. The statute includes funding and appropriation directions to cover the costs of the required source reduction program and PFAS research.
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