A Blog for Brands

How California Prop 65 Affects You

Written by QRG Staff | Sep 6, 2018 6:33:00 PM

Last week, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) begin enforcing the new California Prop 65 warning requirements. In the promotional products industry, suppliers, distributors and end buyers are all subject to liability so it’s important that we are all informed. The California Prop 65 changes apply to all products that are made after August 30, 2018, and contain any of the 900-plus chemicals that are on the OEHHA list as being known to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm. The substances and chemicals causing the largest area of concern include heavy metals (such as lead and cadmium) and phthalates (such as DEHP and DINP) among others.

The State of California requires businesses to provide a "clear and reasonable warning" before "knowingly and intentionally" exposing California consumers to any listed chemicals and substances. Failure to warn against such exposures can lead to serious fines and penalties. Therefore, you may notice new compliance warning labels on QRG product and you will find warnings in product descriptions found in on our online Product Search, as illustrated below.

QRG is committed to providing high quality, safe products to our customers and we work with our supply chain partners to implement processes to help ensure the purchase of raw materials that will meet Proposition 65 standards. All of QRG’s preferred manufacturers have established testing procedures to ensure that all of our products comply with all federal and state requirements.  By properly managing the raw materials that go into our products and by testing for contaminants, such as lead and phthalates, we strive to ensure that all our products are Prop 65 compliant. As always, we are committed to improving and refining our processes to ensure compliance.