Proposition 65
What is it, why is the warning on my products, and should I be concerned?
Proposition 65, officially the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, is a law that requires warnings be provided to California consumers when they might be exposed to chemicals identified by California as causing cancer or reproductive toxicity. The warnings are intended to help California consumers make informed decisions about their exposures to these chemicals from the products they use. The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) administers the Proposition 65 program and publishes the listed chemicals, which includes more that 850 chemicals. In August 2016, OEHHA adopted new regulations, effective on August 30, 2018, which change the information required in Proposition 65 warnings.
We are providing the following warning for products linked to this page:
WARNING: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.
Why is the warning applied to these products?
Any business who sells products in the state of California is required to warn consumers if there is a chance they could be exposed to any one of the over 850 chemicals on their published list. This means that if one of our products contains a listed chemical, even if the level of that chemical is so low that it poses no real health hazard or risk, we are required by law to list it on our packaging and on our website.
We do this not only to follow the laws in place, but also to offer transparency to our customers about the products they may be purchasing. However, because the Prop 65 standard for exposure is “one excess case of cancer in 100,000 individuals exposed to the chemical over a 70-year lifetime,” it can be difficult for consumers to understand their actual exposure risk.
Should I be concerned?
As the American Cancer Society notes, “not every compound labeled as a possible cancer-causing substance has been proven to the worldwide scientific community to actually cause cancer.” Although some of our products are marked as having materials flagged by Proposition 65, this does not necessarily mean that they carry a high risk of reproductive issues or cancer.
Proposition 65 standards tend to be more strict than federal and international standards. Many of the products you see with a Prop 65 warning are actually considered safe by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and World Health Organization (WHO) standards. This is because each organization has a different definition of "significant risk". Proposition 65 standards are so strict, that even naturally occurring levels of certain substances in foods exceed their legal limits. Spinach and Brussels sprouts, for example, contain up to 30 times the limit of lead set by Proposition 65, yet are completely safe to eat (FDA).
If you'd like to learn more about Proposition 65 and its regulations, we invite you to visit their website for more information:
California Proposition 65 »