California Prop 65 Warning
Understanding Prop 65
WARNING: Cancer and Reproductive Harm - www.P65Warnings.ca.gov
1. What is Proposition 65?
It is a California law that requires the State of California to publish a list of chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm, officially known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986. Updated annually, this list has grown to include over 900 chemicals. Under Proposition 65, businesses are required to provide Californians a warning if their products, activities, or establishments might expose Californians to a chemical that is on that list.
For more information on Proposition 65, please visit the OEHHA website at: oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65/general-info/proposition-65-plain-language
2. I don't live in California, Why am I seeing this Warning?
SheFly Apparel makes every effort to comply with every state and every federal law and their regulatory standards. To comply with California Law, we provide a warning on any product webpage that contains a Proposition 65 listed chemical unless we know for certain California has determined such a product does not require a warning. Because we cannot be certain that something we ship to Texas will not be sold in California, we choose to put the warning on all such product webpages, regardless of their final destination.
3. Does the warning mean the Product is unsafe?
No. The fact that a product has California’s Proposition 65 warning does not mean that the product is unsafe. Coffee shops, hotel lobbies, amusement parks, gasoline, and automobiles all have Proposition 65 warnings in California. Thus, the State of California has listed chemicals that the US Food and Drug Administration and the US Environmental Protection Agency, among others, have deemed safe. In this way, some authorities categorize Proposition 65 as a ‘right to know’ law rather than a true product ‘safety’ law.
4. So how does SheFly determine if one of its products should have a California Proposition 65 warning?
SheFly will place a Proposition 65 warning on a webpage if a product contains a chemical that California has listed as a reproductive harm risk, and there is no evidence that a dose 1,000 times greater would not cause observable reproductive harm in test animals, or has listed as a cancer risk, and there is no evidence that fewer than 1 in 100,000 individuals exposed to the chemical would have an increased risk of cancer as a result of that exposure over a period of 70 years.
5. If the warning doesn’t automatically mean “unsafe” what does it mean?
The “cancer” short warning confirms that if you are exposed to the chemical every day for 70 years, it could, theoretically, increase your chances of getting cancer by .001%. As stated in the Californian Law: 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.
The “reproductive harm” short warning confirms that test animals did not show signs of birth defects or reproductive harm unless they were exposed to 1,000 times the dose indicated on the list. The Californian Law states that chemicals that are listed as causing birth defects or reproductive harm, the “no significant risk level” is determined by identifying the highest dose level which does not exhibit observable reproductive harm in test animals and dividing the exposure level by 1,000.
6. Does SheFly Apparel engage in animal testing?
No. SheFly does not engage in animal testing. Industry data and other historical data have been relied upon for some product safety compliance.
7. Can you summarize/answer the question “Why is there a Proposition 65 Warning”?
California law requires that a warning must be given to Californians unless exposure is below what California considers “significant.” For birth defects or other reproductive harms, California has defined “significant” as exposure 1,000 times less than an amount which would produce observable harm (0.1%). For cancer related harms, California has defined “significant” as a rate of exposure over the course of 70 years that might result in 1 additional incidence of cancer in 100,000 (0.001%).
Our products are in compliance with all state and federal regulatory standards and proper consumer use of our products fall well below the exposure levels required to increase chances of cancer, birth defects or reproductive harm.
