These quick updates were provided to PPAI’s Product Responsibility Action Group during its February meeting by Karolyn Helda, QIMA, and Rick Brenner, Product Safety Advisors:
United States
- A Connecticut law requiring labels that clearly disclose PFAS presence in products before sale will take effect July 1, 2026.
- State lawmakers in Washington and New York have reintroduced textile EPR bills.
- California is moving forward with the implementation process of its textile EPR law that passed in 2024 and is currently reviewing producer responsibility organization proposals from three groups, with PRO selection due in March.
- A federal court has halted Oregon’s EPR program for producers that are plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the law via preliminary injunction. A full ruling is expected in July.
- New Jersey has proposed a prohibition on heavy metals in children’s products (S2075). The bill prohibits lead, mercury and cadmium in certain products for children under 6 years of age and requires immediate recalls for noncompliant products.
- New Jersey has proposed prohibition and labeling requirements for PFAS in consumer products (S733) that includes phased-in bans and labeling requirements, and a separate prohibition on PFAS in apparel (S1281) that does not include a labeling provision.
- New Jersey also has proposed a Toxic Packaging & Plastics Reduction EPR bill (S670) that would require progressive reduction of plastic packaging by weight (over 10 years) and minimum recycled content for cardboard, among other measures. The bill includes expanded bans on toxic substances in packaging, including 14 broad chemistries such as PFAS, vinyl chloride and heavy metals like lead, mercury, cadmium and hexavalent chromium. This would result in the most extensive list of chemical prohibitions for packaging in the U.S.
- Massachusetts has proposed a prohibition on intentionally added PFAS (House Bill 4870) that includes annual product registration for “priority products.
U.S. CPSC
- The U.S. CPSC Safety Standard for Infant Neck Floats was finalized in December and will take effect June 15, 2026.
- The CPSC has taken an aggressive approach over the past year, touting a 32% increase in recalls from the previous year. The download available below lists the 68 product recalls from Jan. 1 through Feb. 5. (View CPSC Recall Guidance here.)
- CPSC has withdrawn its certification of four Chinese product testing labs. It is unclear whether this invalidates any existing results/certificates from those labs. Firms may want to retest any product with documentation from any of the four decertified labs as a risk reduction measure.
Europe
- France has issued a new rule for implementing its PFAS ban in textiles, footwear, waxes, cosmetics and waterproofing agents. The rule introduces specific PFAS limits for covered products and allows for the use of a total fluorine screening test to determine compliance.
Canada
- Canada has delayed phases 2 and 3 of its Federal Plastics Registry in response to industry feedback on lack of feasibility. A revised timeline will be announced by Environment and Climate Change Canada this summer.
- Canada has published the Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations to to prohibit the manufacture, use, sale and import of certain toxic substances and products containing them, with a limited number of exemptions. The 2012 regulations will be replaced by the 2025 version on June 30, 2026.
