Prop 65 DisclaimerUpdated 9 months ago

Products made with our plant-based epoxy resin may contain extremely trace amounts of BPA that are barely detectable and well under the Prop 65 threshold, which is why they feature the Prop 65 Warning which says “This product contains a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm” which means the resin 

If you’re alarmed, please rest assured that this warning label does NOT mean our products will cause you harm or that our products violate any product safety standards or requirements. 

The Prop 65 Warning is part of California’s “Right to Know” statute that ensures citizens of the Golden State are informed about the chemicals they may come into contact with when they consume certain products, even if those chemicals are present in very small and scientifically harmless amounts. 

The California government has even clarified that “the fact that a product bears a Proposition 65 warning does not mean by itself that the product is unsafe.”

If that’s the case, why is the Prop 65 label there at all?  

The California Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, which is commonly known as “Proposition 65” or “Prop 65,” is a statue that ensures California state citizens are informed when products contain even trace amounts of chemicals that are known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm.

If you live in California (or own things that may also be sold in California), you’ll see this warning on items you already own as well as on items in your workplace, in restaurants, and countless other spaces. 

In fact, the State of California currently lists around 900 chemicals that must be disclosed under Prop 65, including common dyes, solvents, drugs, food additives, tobacco products, and more; this list is updated at least annually.

Many of these chemicals are routinely used in everyday consumer products with no documented harm. However, Prop 65 requires companies to warn consumers about the potential for exposure unless the company can demonstrate that exposure causes “no significant risk,” which means that the exposure levels must be at least 1,000 times less than the scientifically-established safe level. 

Unfortunately, the process to prove that this is the case can be difficult and costly, especially on a per product basis. So in the interest of full transparency and cost effectiveness (we want as many dollars going back into our cleanups as possible), we decided not to pursue certification and instead will include this warning label on all 4ocean products that contain our plant-based epoxy resin, which contains extremely trace amounts of BPA that are barely detectable and well under the Prop 65 threshold.

Please visit the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) website or go to P65warnings.ca.gov to learn more about Prop 65.