If you sell products to California customers, you've probably heard of Proposition 65. Here's what you need to know.
What is Prop 65?
Prop 65 (the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act) requires businesses to provide warnings if their products contain any of over 1,000 chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive harm.
The Risk of Ignoring It
Enforcement is real. Private "bounty hunters" can sue non-compliant businesses and collect a portion of the penalties. Fines start at $2,500 per violation per day.
Even if you don't have a physical presence in California, selling online to California residents makes you subject to the law.
The Good News
You don't need to remove every chemical from your products. You just need to warn customers.
What You Should Do
- Identify which of your products contain common Prop 65 chemicals (lead, BPA, phthalates, cadmium, etc.)
- Add a clear warning on those product pages
- Keep records of your compliance efforts
I have created the
Prop 65 compliance module
- Lets you manage all chemicals from admin
- Assign chemicals to specific products
- Automatically displays the warning on product pages
- Adapts the warning text based on which chemicals are present
The warning includes the chemical names and the specific hazard type (cancer, reproductive harm, or both).