What the notice is and why it reaches you
Proposition 65 is a California law that requires warnings before businesses expose people in California to chemicals the state has listed as causing cancer or reproductive harm. It can be enforced by public prosecutors and also by private parties, who must first serve a notice of violation on the business and on public enforcers, and then wait a set period before filing suit. The notice must be accompanied by a certificate stating that the sender consulted someone with relevant experience and believes the case has merit. A business selling products into California can receive Prop 65 notices even if it has no office there, although very small businesses are exempt from the warning requirement.
Using the waiting period well
The waiting period before a private enforcer can sue is the most useful time you will have. Identify the exact products and sizes named, confirm whether they were sold into California and through which channels, and find out who in your supply chain made them. The regulations generally place primary warning responsibility on manufacturers, producers, and distributors, and retailers often pass notices upstream under their vendor agreements, so check those indemnity clauses. Gather testing data, ingredient and material specifications, and any warnings already in use. Do not change labels or pull products in a rush without advice, since what you do can affect both the claim and future sales.
Choices about resolution
Responses range from showing that no warning was required, to adding a compliant warning, to reformulating the product, and many matters end in settlements that must be reported to the state and, once a lawsuit is filed, approved by a court. Warning content and placement follow detailed rules, including short-form options that have been revised recently, so confirm the current version before printing anything. In a first meeting we review the notice, the product data, and your distribution, and we identify whether the matter should be handled by you, by a supplier under indemnity, or jointly.
