The Household & Commercial Products Association (HCPA) released the following statement today in response to a report from Clean and Healthy New York (CHNY), which evaluates how cleaning product manufacturers conform to New York State’s Best Management Practices and SB258, California’s law for ingredient disclosure.
“One of the highest priorities of HCPA is making sure that member companies are knowledgeable of relevant federal, state, and local laws,” said Steve Caldeira, President & CEO, HCPA. “HCPA member companies pride themselves on creating products that contribute to public health and meet the rigorous safety standards required by the government.”
In fact, HCPA played a lead role in negotiating SB258, California’s Cleaning Product Right to Know Act of 2017, which requires cleaning product manufacturers to disclose the ingredients in their products. This ensures consumers and workers have the information they need to make informed decisions about the products they use to stay safe and healthy.
“HCPA was the lead industry supporter of California’s Cleaning Product Right to Know Act, and member companies invested significant resources into meeting the ingredient disclosure requirements at the time of the law – and they will continue to do so,” said Caldeira. “We are shocked and totally dumbfounded as to why CHNY would call their compliance into question.”
CHNY claimed that HCPA member companies do not conform to the Household Cleansing Product Information Disclosure Best Management Practices (BMP), which were released by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) in early 2020. However, unlike SB258, New York’s BMP is not yet a law.
“It’s inappropriate and unfair to grade a company on requirements that don’t even exist,” said Caldeira. “Even if there are no changes to the rule, companies will still have more than two years to comply as part of the regulatory process, which means they are 100 percent compliant today. A company cannot be expected to go through the process of changing their labels to comply with a rule that is still in development. This would cause confusion and undue costs to consumers.”
Additionally, if the BMP becomes a law, it lacks scientific backing. For example, the BMP requires cleaning product manufacturers to disclose infinitesimal levels of theoretical contaminants that are not even required to be disclosed by drinking water providers under either New York or federal law.
“We respectfully ask CHNY to work with NYSDEC and key stakeholders, including industry, to issue a reasonable and science-based draft regulation – one that provides consumers and workers with valuable and useful information about these critical products, similar to what was achieved in California. HCPA has provided this feedback to NYSDEC in the past and remains committed to working collaboratively to arrive at a workable solution.”
The Household & Commercial Products Association (HCPA) released the following statement today in response to a report from Clean and Healthy New York (CHNY), which evaluates how cleaning product manufacturers conform to New York State’s Best Management Practices and SB258, California’s law for ingredient disclosure.
“One of the highest priorities of HCPA is making sure that member companies are knowledgeable of relevant federal, state, and local laws,” said Steve Caldeira, President & CEO, HCPA. “HCPA member companies pride themselves on creating products that contribute to public health and meet the rigorous safety standards required by the government.”
In fact, HCPA played a lead role in negotiating SB258, California’s Cleaning Product Right to Know Act of 2017, which requires cleaning product manufacturers to disclose the ingredients in their products. This ensures consumers and workers have the information they need to make informed decisions about the products they use to stay safe and healthy.
“HCPA was the lead industry supporter of California’s Cleaning Product Right to Know Act, and member companies invested significant resources into meeting the ingredient disclosure requirements at the time of the law – and they will continue to do so,” said Caldeira. “We are shocked and totally dumbfounded as to why CHNY would call their compliance into question.”
CHNY claimed that HCPA member companies do not conform to the Household Cleansing Product Information Disclosure Best Management Practices (BMP), which were released by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) in early 2020. However, unlike SB258, New York’s BMP is not yet a law.
“It’s inappropriate and unfair to grade a company on requirements that don’t even exist,” said Caldeira. “Even if there are no changes to the rule, companies will still have more than two years to comply as part of the regulatory process, which means they are 100 percent compliant today. A company cannot be expected to go through the process of changing their labels to comply with a rule that is still in development. This would cause confusion and undue costs to consumers.”
Additionally, if the BMP becomes a law, it lacks scientific backing. For example, the BMP requires cleaning product manufacturers to disclose infinitesimal levels of theoretical contaminants that are not even required to be disclosed by drinking water providers under either New York or federal law.
“We respectfully ask CHNY to work with NYSDEC and key stakeholders, including industry, to issue a reasonable and science-based draft regulation – one that provides consumers and workers with valuable and useful information about these critical products, similar to what was achieved in California. HCPA has provided this feedback to NYSDEC in the past and remains committed to working collaboratively to arrive at a workable solution.”