Proposition 65 Compliance


Overview

Proposition 65 is an initiative that was voted into law in California in 1986. Formally known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, it was passed to help California residence make more informed purchases regarding their exposure to toxic chemicals.

In this article, you will learn how to flag products with the Proposition 65 Compliance warning.

Set Proposition 65 Warning on Products

You can set Proposition 65 Warning manually or in bulk.

Manually

A default Proposition 65 Warning can be configured on your product’s home page.

  1. Go to Catalog > Manage Catalog > select a product
  2. Click Edit.
  3. In the Details panel, check the Has Proposition 65 Warning box and enter your message.

Enable Prep 65

In Bulk

To bulk update Proposition 65 information on products, go to Catalog > Tools > Import Product Info > Generate Template.

The fields you can choose are: HasProposition65Warning, Proposition65WarningMessage, and HasProposition65WarningLabelOnPackage. By using a custom template, you choose the information to include for each column and can even save the template for later use.

You can use plugins to add Prop 65 warnings to products automatically, under certain conditions. Contact Sellercloud Support for more information on requesting your custom plugin.

Manage Proposition 65 Warning for Channel Listings

The Proposition 65 Warning feature is available on all of the major marketplaces, including Amazon, eBay, Walmart Marketplace, Newegg, Sears and Houzz. You can set different Proposition 65 Warnings for each channel following the steps below:

  1. Go to Catalog > Manage Catalog > select a product > Toolbox > channel.
  2. Click Edit.
  3. In the Listing Details panel, check the Has Proposition 65 Warning box and enter your message.

Using the channel’s Proposition 65 Warning setting and adding a warning message will make the listing compliant on that product’s page.

Product warnings are automatically included in the attributes sent to the respective channels that are listing that product. Refer to the below screenshot to see where it falls in the attribute list.

Proposition 65 timeline

If you sell products in California – regardless of your business location – Proposition 65 applies to your business. Other states are likely to start imposing similar regulations based on this and other legislative trends:

  • November 1986 – Proposition 65 (“Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986”) is enacted to require the state of California to maintain and update a list of chemicals known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity. Most companies complied with a broad product warning like “This product may contain a hazardous chemical that may cause health risks.”
  • 2016 – Law is reformed make Prop 65 warnings more useful to the general public and to guide business as to how and where to provide warnings.
  • August 30, 2018 – Amendments effective this date apply to all products manufactured after this date that are sold in California. These amendments make Prop 65 far more enforceable.

Under the new regulations, a business must place specific warnings that include the chemical’s name and its health risks onto product labels and websites to be protected under safe harbor.

Want more Prop 65 background and compliance advice from the experts at Sellercloud? Check out our blog What is Proposition 65 and How to Protect Your Business From Compliance Violations.

Sellercloud compliance features

Sellercloud offers a group of features to automate your Prop 65 compliance processes. You can use any ones you want or all three:

  • Flag products with Prop 65 warnings – Product orders will require acknowledgment in ShipBridge before shipping is allowed.
  • Mark a product’s channel’s properties with “Has Proposition 65 Warning” – Sends the information to all major marketplaces. Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Houzz, etc., that have catalog attributes to flag the item as subject to Proposition 65 – and to show the warning message.
  • Use your own custom product/shipping plugin rules for Prop 65 compliance.

Learn more about each of these features below.

Flagging products with Prop 65 warnings

This option lets you flag a product with a warning for the warehouse to acknowledge before shipping the product. This allows them to confirm that the product has the appropriate labels before leaving the warehouse. While product warnings can be added for any purpose, you can leverage this feature for Prop 65 compliance.

Follow these simple instructions to add and acknowledge product warnings.

Marking products’ channel attributes with ‘Has Proposition 65 Warning’

For products requiring Proposition 65 compliance, Sellercloud lets you set the product’s channel properties to flag those items as subject to Proposition 65.

Using the channels’ Has Proposition 65 Warning setting and adding a warning message will make the listing compliant on that product’s page. Sellercloud supports this feature in all of the major marketplaces, including Houzz, Newegg, Sears, Walmart, Amazon, and eBay.

In Product Summary > Toolbox > Channel > check the Has Proposition 65 Warning box and enter your message:

Product warnings are automatically included in the attributes sent to the respective channels that are listing that product. That is, when you check the generic product flag, the related channel-specific attributes are automatically updated and sent to the channel to ensure that everything sent to the channels will be compliant.

Ordering custom plugins

You always have the option to order a custom plugin using rules for your unique business to ensure Prop 65 compliance. Learn more about:

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