California Governor Signs Cleaning Products Right To Know Act

Are You Impacted?

On 15 October 2017, the Cleaning Product Right to Know Act of 2017 was signed into law, making California the first state to require ingredient labeling for cleaning products. The Act requires that hazardous chemicals and other ingredient information are identified on product labels and online. Online ingredient listing is required by 1 January 2020, while on-package disclosures are required by 2021.

The new law sets out the following requirements:

Affected cleaning products

"Designated cleaning products" are required to comply with this law; these are defined as finished products that are one of the following:

General cleaning product;
Air care product;
Automotive product; or
Polish or floor maintenance product used primarily for commercial janitorial, domestic, or institutional cleaning purposes.

A "general cleaning product" is a soap, detergent, or other chemically formulated consumer product designed or labeled to indicate that the purpose of the product is to clean, disinfect, or otherwise care for: fabric, dishes, or other wares; surfaces including, but not limited to, floors, furniture, countertops, showers, and baths; or other hard surfaces, such as stovetops, microwaves, and other appliances.

A "chemically formulated consumer product" is defined as a product that is manufactured from chemicals to be used by household, institutional, or commercial consumers without further processing for specific purposes. Dilution by the user is not considered further processing.

“Automotive product” means a chemically formulated consumer product labeled to indicate that the purpose of the product is to maintain the appearance of a motor vehicle, as defined in Section 670 of the Vehicle Code, including products for washing, waxing, polishing, cleaning, or treating the exterior or interior surfaces of motor vehicles. “Automotive product” does not include automotive paint or paint repair products.

Other definitions are provided in the legislative text.

Product Labeling

Manufacturers of any designated product sold in California must disclose on the product label the information specified by either paragraph (1.) or (2.):

A list of each intentionally added ingredient contained in the product that is included on a designated list, and a list of each fragrance allergen included on Annex III of the EU Cosmetics Regulation No. 1223/2009 as required to be labeled by the EU Detergents Regulation No. 648/2004 on 1 January 2018, when present in the product at a concentration at or above 0.01% (100 ppm).
A list of all intentionally added ingredients contained in the designated product (unless it is CBI), a statement that reads "Contains fragrance allergen(s)" if present in the product at a concentration at or above 0.01% (100 ppm). Fragrance ingredients or colorants may be listed on the product label as "fragrances" or "colorants," respectively.

An "intentionally added ingredient" is "a chemical that a manufacturer has intentionally added to a designated product and that has a functional or technical effect in the designated product, including, but not limited to, the components of intentionally added fragrance ingredients and colorants and intentional breakdown products of an added chemical that also have a functional or technical effect in the designated product."

If a designated product label does not include a full list of intentionally added ingredients, it must include all of the following:

A statement that reads: "For more ingredient information visit";
An address for a website that provides all of the information required by Section 108954.5 (online disclosure requirements); and
A toll-free phone number.

Any chemicals listed under Proposition 65 are not be required to be listed on the designated product labels until 1 January 2023.

Product labels must also disclosure the manufacturer of the product along with the manufacturer’s toll-free telephone number and internet website address.

Statements relevant to fragrance allergens are required if any are present in the product at or above a concentration of 0.01% (100 ppm): "Contains fragrance allergen(s)."

Fragrance allergens which require listing

Fragrance allergens which require listing are those included on Annex III of the EU Cosmetics Regulation No. 1223/2009 as required to be labeled by the EU Detergents Regulation No. 648/2004 on 1 January 2018, if present in the product at a concentration at or above 0.01% (100 ppm).

Other fragrance ingredients or colorants may be listed on product label as "fragrances" or "colorants," respectively.

Designated list of chemicals

The "designated list" of chemicals which must be specified on the label include those:

Listed under Proposition 65;
Classified as carcinogens, mutagens, or reproductive toxicants (CMRs) under the EU's Regulation (EC) 1272/2008 Annex VI Category 1A or 1B;
Identified as Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs) under the EU's REACH Regulation (1907/2006) for endocrine disrupting properties;
Included in the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) Candidate List of SVHCs under REACH for persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT), or very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPBT) properties;
For which a reference dose or reference concentration has been developed based on neurotoxicity in the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS);
Identified as carcinogenic to humans, likely to be carcinogenic to humans, or as Group A, B1, or B2 carcinogens in IRIS;
Identified as PBT to the environment by the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry Domestic Substances List (DSL);
Classified by the EU in Annex VI to REACH as respiratory sensitizer category 1;
Group 1, 2A, and or 2B carcinogens identified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC);
Neurotoxicants that are identified in the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry’s Toxic Substances Portal, Health Effects of Toxic Substances and Carcinogens, Nervous System;
PBT priority chemicals that are identified by the U.S. EPA's National Waste Minimization Program;
Reproductive or developmental toxicants identified in Monographs on the Potential Human Reproductive and Developmental Effects published by the U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP), Office of Health Assessment and Translation;
Among other chemicals identified to have PBT, carcinogenic, toxic air contaminant, water pollutant, or other harmful qualities by specified state, federal or other agencies.

Internet Disclosures

Affected manufacturers must also post ingredient information on their website, as specified in Section 108954.5. This information includes intentionally added ingredients with CAS RNs, the functional purpose served by each ingredient, designated fragrances and allergens, among other information.

Nonfunctional constituents must also be disclosed online if present at a concentration of 0.01% (100 ppm) or more. The following are designated as "nonfunctional constituents": 1-(3-chloroallyl)-3,5,7-triaza-1-azoniaadamantane chloride; 1,4 dioxane; 1,1 dichloroethane; acrylic acid; benzene; benzidine; DMDM hydantoin; 1,3 butadiene; carbon tetrachloride; chloroform; ethylene oxide; nitilotriacetic acid; butyl benzyl phthalate; butyl decyl phthalate; di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate; diethyl phthalate; diisobutyl phthalate; di(n-octyl) phthalate; diisononyl phthalate; dioctyl phthalate; butylparaben; ethylparaben; isobutylparaben; methylparaben; propylparaben; formaldehyde; diazolidinyl urea; glyoxal; imidazolidinyl urea; polyoxymethylene urea; sodium hydroxymethylglycinate; 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol; N-nitrosodimethylamine; and N-nitosodiethylamine.

Chemicals listed under Proposition 65 are not required to be listed until 1 January 2023, unless it is also considered a "nonfunctional constituent." Furthermore, 1,4 dioxane must be listed if it is present in the final product at a concentration of 0.001% (10 ppm) or above.

Intentionally added ingredients must be listed in descending order of predominance by weight in the product, except that ingredients present at a weight below 1% may be listed following the other ingredients without respect to the order of predominance by weight.

Confidential Business Information (CBI)

CBI protections are provided in section 108955.

Safety Data Sheets (SDS)

An employer that is required to maintain SDSs and ensure that those are readily accessible has responsibilities under this proposed law. Such an employer must make readily available the printable information described in subdivision (c) of proposed Section 108954.5, which is the list of each intentionally added ingredient (excluding certain fragrance allergens and CBI), and a list of all "nonfunctional constituents" at a concentration of 0.01% or above. The extended deadline for Proposition 65 chemicals (see below) is also applied for SDS compliance.

Exemptions

Exemptions include:

Home appliances, foods, drugs, and cosmetics including personal care items such as toothpaste, shampoo, and hand soap;
Industrial products are excluded if they are specifically manufactured and used in: oil and gas production, steel production, heavy industry manufacturing, industrial water treatment, industrial textile maintenance and processing other than industrial laundering, food and beverage processing and packaging, or in other industrial manufacturing processes;
Trial samples if the product is not packaged for individual sale, resale or retail and includes a statement that the product is not for sale or resale; and
Pesticides under Section 12753 of the Food and Agriculture Code are exempted from complying with Section 108954 (product labeling).

Compliance deadlines

The online disclosure deadline is 1 January 2020.
The product label disclosures are required to be in place by 1 January 2021.
Chemicals which are listed under Proposition 65 are not be required to be listed on the label until 1 January 2023.

Products manufactured before these dates are in compliance if the product displays either the day, month, and year of manufacture of the product.