New York to Require Manufacturers to Disclose Chemical Ingredients in Cleaning Products
New York announced the launch of its Household Cleansing Product Information Disclosure Program on April 25, 2017. This program will require manufacturers of household cleaning products sold in New York to disclose – on their websites – information on the chemical ingredients of those products. The state has issued draft guidance on the disclosure requirements and the Household Cleansing Product Information Disclosure Program Certification Form. Public comment on the form will be accepted through June 14, 2017. Manufacturers are to post all required information by no less than six months following publication of the final guidance document. In a press release announcing the program, the governor’s office noted that this program will serve as a pilot for potential expansion to other consumer products of concern, such as personal care or children’s products.
The Household Cleansing Product Information Disclosure Program is based on New York’s Environmental Conservation Law Article 35 enacted in the 1970s. It authorizes the state to require manufacturers to furnish product information for the public record. These requirements have been codified in the state’s Code of Rules and Regulations (NYCRR) at Part 659.6.
Detailed instructions for posting the information required are provided in the guidance document. The guidance discusses where on a manufacturer’s website the information should be located. It also notes that “information disclosed under this program must not be restricted from indexing by search engines, such as Google and Bing.”
Information requirements include
• Whether the product contains fragrance ingredients, including ingredients added to mask the scent of other ingredients (solvents, surfactants, etc.) in so-called “unscented” products;
• Intentionally added ingredients;
• Trace quantities; and
• Ingredients present only as an unintentional consequence of manufacturing.
Manufacturers will also be required to report on which of the chemicals in their products have been subject to the GreenScreen® comparative chemical hazard assessment (for information on the GreenScreen® Benchmark program see, the Clean Product Action website). In addition, manufacturers must disclose whether their products contain any nanomaterials and whether any of the chemicals in their products are included on a list of chemicals of concern (for information on the lists of chemicals of concern at issue, see the guidance document).
Manufacturers will be required to update their disclosures each time the ingredients in a product are changed, or a new product is introduced to the market.
