Proposition 65 & US EPR registrations

Listrar summary

Two very different Californian inventions with the same lesson: US market access increasingly runs through registers. Proposition 65 requires a clear and reasonable warning before knowingly exposing Californians to any of roughly 900 listed chemicals — enforced largely by private plaintiffs armed with 60-day notices. The EPR wave is newer: state packaging laws (California, Oregon, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota) require producers to register with a producer-responsibility organisation, report material data and pay eco-modulated fees — and California's SB 707 extends the model to textiles. No PRO registration, no sale.

Who does it apply to?

• Prop 65: any business with 10+ employees selling into California, wherever incorporated
• EPR: producers and brand owners of packaged goods sold in enrolled states
• Online sellers — both regimes reach e-commerce explicitly
• SB 707: apparel and textile producers selling in California

Main obligations

• Prop 65: know your chemical exposures against the OEHHA list, product by product
• Prop 65: display compliant warnings — the short-form rules were tightened effective 2025, transition to 2028
• EPR: register with the state's PRO before the enrolment deadline
• EPR: report packaging material composition and weights annually
• EPR: pay fees eco-modulated by recyclability — design choices become invoices

Key dates

November 1986

Prop 65 enacted by ballot initiative; warnings since 1988

2018

'Clear and reasonable warning' overhaul takes effect

January 2025

Short-form warning amendments effective; compliance transition to 2028

2025-2027

First packaging-EPR registration and reporting waves: Oregon, Colorado, California

2024 →

California SB 707: first US textile-EPR law phases in

Products in scope

• Prop 65: any consumer product that can expose users to a listed chemical — apparel, jewellery, electronics, furniture, food contact goods
• EPR: packaging and paper products in enrolled states; textiles in California under SB 707

Obligations by actor

Brand / producer

Test or certify against the chemical list; warn where needed; register and report to PROs

Importer / distributor

Verify upstream compliance — liability follows the chain into California

Retailer

Display warnings correctly; platforms increasingly demand proof upstream

Online marketplace

Ensure third-party listings carry required warnings

Documents and evidence to keep

• Chemical test reports and supplier certificates, mapped to each SKU
• Warning-label records: which text, which product, since when
• PRO registration numbers and annual material reports per state
• 60-day-notice history and settlements, if any — they shape your risk profile

Sanctions and risks

• Prop 65: up to $2,500 per violation per day, plus attorney fees — private enforcers file thousands of notices a year
• Settlement culture: most actions end in paid settlements with reformulation commitments
• EPR: sale of unregistered products becomes unlawful in the state; fees and penalties accrue

Key articles

• HSC §25249.5 et seq. — the statute itself
• OEHHA Prop 65 — the chemical list and warning regulations
• SB 54 (2022) — California's packaging EPR law

Official text

• Proposition 65 — OEHHA