California Residents
Proposition 65
Attention California residents:
California’s Proposition 65 entitles California consumers to special warnings for products that contain chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm if those products expose consumers to such chemicals above certain threshold levels. We know you’re concerned about product safety, and we take the necessary steps to comply with all applicable safety and health requirements.
Please visit the California state government official website for more information: https://www.p65warnings.ca.gov/
We are providing the following warning for products linked to this page:
⚠ WARNING: This product can expose you to chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.
What is Proposition 65?
California Proposition 65 is an approved initiative that addresses concerns about exposure to chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm. To comply with Proposition 65, businesses are required to display a warning for listed chemicals unless exposure is low enough to pose “no significant risk” of cancer or is significantly below levels observed to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm. By providing this warning, Proposition 65 enables Californians to make informed decisions about the products they purchase and use.
What does a warning mean?
If a warning is placed on a product label, the business issuing the warning is aware or believes that one or more listed chemicals is present.
For chemicals that are listed as causing cancer, the "no significant risk level” is defined as the level of exposure that would result in not more than one excess case of cancer in 100,000 individuals exposed to the chemical over a 70-year lifetime. In other words, a person exposed to the chemical at the “no significant risk level” for 70 years would not have more than a “one in 100,000” chance of developing cancer as a result of that exposure.
For chemicals that are listed as causing birth defects or reproductive harm, the “no observable effect level” is divided by 1,000 in order to provide an ample margin of safety. Warnings are issued if the exposure to listed chemicals which cause birth defects or reproductive harm exceed 1/1000th of the “no observable effect level.”
What types of chemicals are on the Proposition 65 list?
The list contains a wide range of naturally occurring and synthetic chemicals that are known to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm. These chemicals include additives or ingredients in common household products, food, drugs, tobacco, pesticides, dyes, solvents, construction products, manufacturing products, and byproducts of chemical processes. The list of chemicals is available at https://oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65/proposition-65-list
I recently bought a product that came with a Proposition 65 warning. How can I trust that the product is safe?
According to the OEHHA, the organization that administers Proposition 65, “the fact that a product bears a Proposition 65 warning does not mean by itself that the product is unsafe.” Proposition 65 can be considered to be more a “right to know” law than a pure product safety law. It is intended to inform and empower Californian consumers so they can better decide whether or not they would like to purchase and use the product.
Why do we display Proposition 65 warning on certain products?
We have chosen to display the Proposition 65 warning based on the possible presence of one or more listed chemicals, without evaluating the level of exposure. The level of exposure in our products may be negligible or well within the “no significant risk level.” However, to uphold Californian consumers’ rights to make informed decisions, we have opted to place the Proposition 65 warnings on all or many of our products.
Prop 65 warnings are seen throughout California in a wide range of settings -- in restaurants, grocery stores, hotels, schools, hospitals, buildings and on a wide variety of consumer products. In addition, some internet and mail order retailers have chosen to provide Prop 65 warnings on their websites or in catalogs for all their products and for all consumers.
If you want more information, the one thing to do is to ask the manufacturer to explain the warning. But please remember that just because another brand does not have the warning, this does not automatically mean that the other brand is free of the substance or has lower levels.
Where can I get more information on Proposition 65?
For general information about Proposition 65, please visit https://www.p65warnings.ca.gov/