In the United States, California is undoubtedly the most active and most advanced State when it comes to protecting consumers from chemical substances considered to be harmful. One of the most emphatic examples is Proposition 65. At the Regulatory Congress organised by Cosmed on 27 and 28 March 2024, Simone Swafford, from the IBA (Independent Beauty Association) presented Prop 65 and its latest developments.
Proposition 65 is a California law designed to address growing concerns about consumer exposure to toxic chemicals.
It is based on a list of substances known to be carcinogenic or toxic to reproduction, published by the State and updated regularly (its lastest update is dated 29 December 2023). Prop 65 currently lists some 900 substances, many of which are used for cosmetic purposes.
This law requires all consumer products sold online or in shops in California containing one (or more) of these substances to carry a warning label.
The warning statement
Originally, labelling had to state that the product “contains” a listed substance.
An amendment to Prop 65, which came into force in 2018, now requires a warning that the product “can expose” the consumer to a substance. And it must also state which substance is involved. This applies whether the substance is added intentionally or is present as a component of a raw material.
It should be noted that if the product contains several listed substances, the manufacturer may indicate only one of them and therefore “choose” which to display.
The warning can take two forms, both preceded by a yellow triangle symbolising the …
