New York State Delays Enforcement Of Cleaning Products Disclosure

New York state’s Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) is delaying enforcement of a provision of its cleaning product disclosure program for three months, according to ChemicalWatch reports. Adopted in June 2018, the Household Cleansing Product Information Disclosure Program requires manufacturers to post specific information about their products and the ingredients they contain online.

The initial deadline of July 1, 2019 required manufacturers employing more than 100 people, and covered by the program, to disclose intentionally added ingredients – with the exception of fragrances – and nonfunctional ingredients present above trace quantities. (Additional details on disclosures is available here.)

But on Jan. 9, the NYSDEC said it will pause enforcement for a three-month period. Instead, it "will begin enforcing any violations of the above required disclosure as of Oct. 2, 2019.

The June 2020 requirements for smaller employers to comply, and for manufacturers to begin disclosing fragrance ingredients and nonfunctional byproducts and contaminants, still stands.

The delay was attributed to input from the New York state attorney general’s office. The attorney general sought more time to thoroughly weigh the potential impact of the guidance.

In the meantime, litigation brought against the program by the Household & Commercial Products Association (HCPA) and the American Cleaning Institute continues.

Among industry concerns is that New York’s program differs from California’s cleaning product ingredient disclosure law, specifically around which impurities and contaminants must be reported. California’s law was adopted several months earlier than New York’s, but its disclosure deadline for intentionally added ingredients is not until Jan. 1, 2020.