Our consumer products experience includes:

• Advising clients on whether their products are subject to the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) lead, lead-in-paint, and phthalate restrictions, as well as the ASTM F963 Toy Safety Specification, and how to come into compliance with those new obligations.
• Counseling on the CPSIA testing and compliance certification requirements, including how to certify compliance with the Flammable Fabrics Act (FFA), the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), and the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA).
• Assisting clients in developing procedures for the application of tracking labels to their products that incorporate our clients’ logistical considerations as well as the legal requirements for tracking labels under the CPSIA.
• Obtaining a favorable opinion from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) General Counsel that printers and printing supplies would not be the subject of CPSC enforcement actions under the Labeling of Hazardous Art Materials Act (LHAMA).
• Advising clients on potential liability for retailers under the Consumer Product Safety Act and Federal Hazardous Substances Act and the penalties associated with noncompliance.
• Assisting clients in assessing their potential notice and recall obligations under authorities enforced by the CPSC.
• Counseling clients on the growing body of state laws restricting materials in consumer products.
• Advising clients on the extent to which state lead and phthalate laws are preempted by the CPSIA.
• Advising a consumer products retailer on Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requirements for reporting health and safety studies on lead in consumer products, and on reporting to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on CPSIA-related recalls for products containing excessive levels of lead or phthalates.
• Evaluating numerous electronic products to determine compliance with the European Union’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive and identifying a number of ways that a product could be modified to ensure compliance.
• Helping a major consumer products manufacturer choose among various alternative chemicals to be incorporated into a new line of products by assessing the current regulatory requirements and future regulatory outlook for each of the chemicals under consideration.
• Counseling companies on the potential need to register consumer products with antimicrobial or pest repellent properties under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and obtaining a favorable resolution of several cases alleging that products were not properly registered.
• Advising clients on all aspects of federal and state requirements associated with the production, import, labeling, marketing, distribution, and use of surface, air, and water disinfectants. This includes helping clients navigate EPA’s relevant product registration policies and guiding clients through the regulatory frameworks applicable to non-chemical pesticide devices (such as UV lights and air ionizers) that make antimicrobial claims.
• Counseling on enforcement exposure risks associated with the import, production, and use of disinfectant products in light of EPA’s prioritized focus on products in the marketplace that make anti-coronavirus and other antimicrobial claims.
• Assisting clients in complying with state laws and regulations mandating that companies marketing electronic products and mercury-containing devices register with the states and with implementing plans for ensuring that the products are managed properly at their end-of-life.
• Counseling clients on the requirements for labels and other warnings for consumer products containing carcinogens or developmental/reproductive toxins under California’s Proposition 65 and obtaining favorable settlements in several cases alleging inadequate warnings for products under Proposition 65.
• Helping a major manufacturer of consumer products develop product labels and related documents that could be used worldwide to instruct end-users how to properly recycle or dispose of the products at their end-of-life.
• Reviewing green marketing claims prior to publication for compliance with the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) Guidelines for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims, as well as state and international guidance on acceptable green claims.
• Providing training for various clients (including in-house counsel, marketing personnel, and other personnel) on advertising generally, including green claims, TSCA, pesticide regulation, and other requirements affecting their consumer products.
• Advising on compliance with the European Union RoHS and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directives and their counterparts in other parts of the world.
• Counseling on mercury and other heavy metal restrictions under the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal and other international agreements and proposed agreements.
• Counseling on proposed and final federal, state, and foreign “extended producer responsibility” or product take-back requirements involving electronics and other products.
• Advising clients on U.S. and foreign product take-back requirements involving expired pharmaceuticals, pesticides whose registrations have been canceled, and other products.
• Assisting clients in various industries (e.g., foods, toys, and hardware) to ensure that recalled products were collected and managed (i.e., recycled or disposed of) in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local requirements governing solid or hazardous wastes and water discharges.
• Working successfully with the California Attorney General’s office to avert Proposition 65 cases related to consumer products, including a matter in which the prospective plaintiff withdrew the notice and another in which we first persuaded the Attorney General’s office that there was no important health issue at stake and then enlisted the office’s support in convincing a private plaintiff that no statutory violation was occurring.
• Advising clients on Lacey Act requirements applicable to their products, conducting a Lacey Act compliance review for a large retailer client, preparing Lacey Act training materials for clients, and analyzing product and supply chain risk areas under the Lacey Act.
• Representing clients in EPA enforcement action alleging violations of the pesticide “treated article exemption” in connection with the sale of antimicrobial-treated housing fixtures, including negotiating settlement terms and advising on compliant marketing claims under the exemption.