State Action on PFAS Expands with Bans, Labeling, and Reporting Requirements

Colorado, Maine, Vermont, and Connecticut legislators enacted new PFAS phase-outs this year for certain consumer products. California, New York, Minnesota, Washington, and several other states are already moving forward with their own PFAS regulations, while still others nationwide are debating doing so. Without federal regulation to preempt these activities, manufacturers, retailers, and importers of products containing PFAS will need to familiarize themselves with a host of state laws and regulations that impact their ability to manufacture, import, sell, and distribute their products.

The time to do so is imminent. Several states, as well as EPA, also have near term deadlines for reporting PFAS in consumer products. The deadline under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is May 2025.[1] Making an already difficult task more so, state laws differ in their scope, definitions, and exceptions for both reporting and sale of products containing PFAS. For example, while some states define the term “intentionally added PFAS” to cover chemicals that “serve[] an intended function or technical effect in the product or product component,”[2] other states define the term by using an objective quantity, such as “100 parts per million” of “total organic fluorine.”[3]

Maine Expedites and Clarifies Product Bans While Reducing Reporting Requirements 

On April 16, Maine’s governor signed into law an “Act to Amend the Laws Relating to the Prevention of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Pollution.”[4] These amendments significantly alter the structure of Maine’s existing PFAS product regulations. The state had previously banned intentionally added PFAS in carpets/rugs and fabric treatments starting in 2023, imposed a reporting requirement across all products that would have begun on January 1, 2025, and otherwise banned all products containing intentionally added PFAS in 2030.[5] Maine amended the law to eliminate the general reporting requirement, and instead phase out PFAS across several categories of products, require reporting on a select set of products granted extensions, and eventually phase out the use of PFAS across nearly all products by 2032.

Starting January 1, 2026, Maine will prohibit intentionally added PFAS in the following products: 

• cleaning products;
• cookware; 
• cosmetics; 
• dental floss; 
• juvenile products (products designed to be used by infants and children under 12); 
• menstruation products; 
• textile products (not including outdoor apparel for severe wet conditions or vehicle components); 
• ski wax; and
• upholstered furniture.[6]

Maine’s new PFAS provisions contain further bans for products that will take effect over the next decade and a half. Starting on January 1, 2029, no person will be allowed to sell artificial turf containing intentionally added PFAS. January 1, 2029 will also be the first day of a ban on outdoor apparel containing intentionally added PFAS unless said apparel is accompanied by a disclosure stating that the product was “made with PFAS chemicals.”[7] All other products containing intentionally added PFAS are banned in Maine starting January 1, 2032 under the amended law, with the exceptions of HVAC/refrigeration equipment and refrigerants, foams or aerosol propellants, which are banned starting January 1, 2040.[8] 

Under the amended law, Maine may exempt any products from the listed bans if they are determined to have a “currently unavoidable use” of PFAS. A “currently unavoidable use” is defined as “a use of PFAS that the [Maine Department of Environmental Protection] has determined by rule under this section to be essential for health, safety or the functioning of society and for which alternatives are not reasonably available.”[9] Additionally, the amendments list categorical exemptions for the product bans, including firefighting foam, prosthetics and orthotics, federally regulated veterinary products, products developed for public health or environmental testing, federally regulated motor vehicle components, watercraft and seaplanes, semiconductors, and non-consumer electronics and laboratory equipment.[10] Additional currently unavoidable use determinations must be made by application. Under the new law, reporting requirements will only apply to manufacturers who sell products with a “currently unavoidable use” of PFAS.[11] Manufacturers of products meeting the “currently unavoidable use” standard must submit notices to the state regulatory agency by January 1, 2032. 

Overall, Maine’s updated PFAS products law prescribes a more aggressive phase-out schedule with shorter timelines for many product categories. While the state reduced reporting duties for most manufacturers, companies must update their compliance plans to ensure they will be able to sell their products when the bans take effect in 2026 and beyond. 

Colorado Expands Product Bans and Introduces Labeling Requirements for Outdoor Apparel

On May 1, Colorado’s Senate Bill 24-081, “Concerning Measures to Increase Protections Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Chemicals,” was signed into law. An update to Colorado’s previous PFAS statutory provisions, the law ushers in significant expansions of the state’s upcoming bans on PFAS-containing products. 

Colorado’s original PFAS product measures, passed in 2022, prohibited the sale of carpets and rugs, fabric treatments, food packaging, oil and gas products, and juvenile products that contained intentionally added PFAS chemicals starting on January 1, 2024.[12] Bans on PFAS in cosmetics, indoor textile furnishings and upholstered furniture were slated to begin on January 1, 2025, followed by prohibition of PFAS-containing outdoor textile furnishings and upholstered furniture starting on January 1, 2027.[13] The amended version of Colorado’s PFAS products law builds upon these initial bans. 

Under the new amendments, the following products are banned if they contain intentionally added PFAS starting January 1, 2026:

• cleaning products (except those used as floor maintenance products in a hospital or other medical setting);
• cookware;
• dental floss;
• menstruation products; and 
• ski wax.[14]

A statewide ban on the installation of artificial turf with intentionally added PFAS also will begin on January 1, 2026, although all preexisting turf containing PFAS is not subject to this ban and can be legally maintained.[15]

Starting January 1, 2028, Colorado will prohibit the sale of the following PFAS-containing product types:

• cleaning products used as floor maintenance products in a hospital or other medical setting;
• textile articles (including accessories, apparel, backpacks and handbags and other textiles “primarily used in households and businesses”);
• outdoor apparel for severe wet conditions (apparel “intended primarily for us in outdoor activities” that (1) provides protection to extreme rain or wet conditions, (2) is designed by outdoor sports experts and (3) is “not marketed for general consumer use”); and
• food equipment intended primarily for use in commercial settings that comes into direct contact with food.[16]

In a strange wrinkle to this law, the 2028 ban on outdoor apparel for severe wet conditions is a sunset to a labeling requirement for those products that begins on January 1, 2025. Starting in 2025, manufacturers cannot sell outdoor apparel for severe wet conditions in Colorado absent an accompanying disclosure including the phrase “Made with PFAS Chemicals.”[17] This disclosure requirement will only exist for three years until the 2028 blanket ban on both textile articles and outdoor apparel for severe wet conditions with PFAS takes effect. 

Colorado’s enhanced PFAS bans align closely to measures included in Maine’s amended PFAS products statute, forming part of the general trend towards stronger restrictions. 

Vermont Tightens Bans on PFAS-Containing Products 

On May 30, 2024 Vermont overhauled its PFAS restrictions by enacting Senate Bill 25 “An act relating to regulating consumer products containing perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances or other chemicals.”[18] While Vermont already had PFAS bans in place for some household and commercial products such as food packaging, carpets and rugs, stains and water resistance treatments, and ski wax,[19] the new law significantly expands the scope of the state’s PFAS-containing product prohibitions.

Starting on January 1, 2026, Vermont will ban intentionally added PFAS in:

• aftermarket stain and water-resistant treatments;
• artificial turf;
• cookware;
• cosmetics;
• food packaging;
• incontinency protection products (defined as a disposable, absorbent hygiene product designed to absorb bodily waste for use by individuals 12 years of age and older);
• juvenile products;
• menstrual products;
• rugs and carpets;
• ski wax; and
• textiles. [20]

The Vermont law also includes an amended definition  of “regulated PFAS” which includes:

(A) PFAS that a manufacturer has intentionally added to a product and that have a functional or technical effect in the product, including PFAS components of intentionally added chemicals and PFAS that are intentional breakdown products of an added chemical that also have a functional or technical effect in the product; or

 (B) the presence of PFAS in a product or product component at or above 50 parts per million, as measured in total organic fluorine.[21]

This new definition sets out an objective, test-based standard for the identification of alleged violations. Vermont’s latest PFAS laws are a significant expansion of the state’s previous efforts to protect consumer health by banning internationally-added  PFAS in commonly used products. Like the Maine and Colorado laws passed previously, Vermont’s statute aims to phase-out PFAS across a broad range of consumer products in the near term.

Connecticut Issues Bans that Will Follow a Brief Disclosure Period

Connecticut’s new “Act concerning the use of PFAS in certain products,” represents a significant increase in that state’s phase out legislation. Enacted on June 6, 2024, the new law builds upon Connecticut’s previous bans of PFAS in food packaging, extending the state’ restrictions to a variety of other consumer products.[22] Connecticut’s law partially mirrors Minnesota’s efforts to restrict the use of PFAS in consumer products by enacting disclosure requirements before banning the use of the chemicals.[23]

Unlike Minnesota’s six-year disclosure period before a general ban on PFAS containing products, Connecticut has uniquely telegraphed its phase-out of PFAS by creating a two-year window between 2026 and 2028 where certain products containing PFAS can be sold as long as manufacturers report and disclose. 

Therefore, beginning on January 1, 2026, Connecticut will require manufacturers to provide notice to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (“DEEP”) before they can sell any of the following products containing intentionally added PFAS.

• apparel;
• carpets and rugs;
• cleaning products;
• cookware;
• cosmetic products;
• dental floss;
• fabric treatments;
• children’s products;
• menstruation products;
• textile furnishings;
• ski wax; and
• upholstered furniture.[24]

Notices filed with the state DEEP for products containing PFAS must include a brief description of the product, the function of PFAS in the product, all relevant chemical abstract service registry numbers or, if no such number is applicable, the molecular formulas and weights for all PFAS intentionally added to the product, the amount of each PFAS in the product, as well as manufacturer-specific information.[25]

Additionally, to sell any of the above products containing intentionally added PFAS after January 1, 2026, manufacturers must provide labels clearly indicating that the product or one of its components contains PFAS.[26] Outdoor apparel for several severe wet conditions and turnout gear containing PFAS will also require labeling for consumers starting January 1, 2026, but may be sold without filing notice to the DEEP.

Starting January 1, 2028, Connecticut will ban all products containing PFAS that were previously allowed to be sold with accompanying DEEP notices and consumer disclosures/labels including outdoor apparel for several severe wet conditions and turnout gear.[27] Additionally, upon the law taking effect on October 1, 2024, the use or sale of biosolids or wastewater sludge containing PFAS as “soil amendments” will be immediately banned in Connecticut.[28]

Connecticut has employed a gradual approach to removing intentionally added PFAS from the consumer market, with reporting and disclosure requirements paving the way for outright bans as the state attempts to phase out PFAS. At the signing ceremony for this law, the Governor called for future amendments that would allow for the continued use of PFAS in products where use of the chemicals is unavoidable.[29] 

California Bill Seeking Blanket Ban on PFAS in Products Looms Large

While the foregoing states have all enacted legislation that identifies specific product groups for restrictions on added PFAS in manufacturing, California’s SB 903 seeks to institute a wholesale ban on PFAS in consumer products in the most populous state in the country. Introduced in February 2024, the bill remains in the California Senate and has been amended twice. The most recent amendments include a January 1, 2032 start date for a complete ban on intentionally-added PFAS in all products, with exceptions for currently unavoidable uses.[30] If enacted, SB 903 would be the most impactful state law banning PFAS to date, after similar approaches were adopted in Maine and Minnesota.[31] We will be monitoring this proposal’s progress closely. 

Conclusions

As concerns grow about the presence of PFAS in everyday products, states are taking legislative action by instituting bans, labeling and disclosure on PFAS across large segments of the economy. From cosmetics to cookware, manufacturers face relatively short compliance windows for state restrictions, as phaseout timelines approach in the next few years. Navigating the requirements of each state’s PFAS products law presents both technical and legal challenges that must be addressed carefully to avoid violations and liability. 

Please reach out to James Pollack, Zack Zahner, or any member of Marten’s Consumer Products practice with any questions regarding compliance with state PFAS products laws.

[1] James Pollack, Victor Y. Xu, and Emma Lautanen, New EPA PFAS Reporting Rule Covers Thousands of Products (Oct. 30, 2023), https://martenlaw.com/news/new-epa-pfas-reporting-rule-covers-thousands-of-products. 

[2] N.Y. Env’t Conserv. Law § 37-0121(4)(a).

[3] Cal. Health & Safety Code § 108970(g)(2).

[4] 2024 Me. Laws ch. 630 (S.P. 610-L.D. 1537) (to be codified at Me. Stat. tit. 38, § 1614).

[5] 38 Maine Rev. Stat. § 1614; Victor Y. Xu, Minnesota and Washington Blitz PFAS in Products; Maine Backpedals, Marten Law (June 15, 2023), https://martenlaw.com/news/minnesota-and-washington-blitz-pfas-in-products-maine-backpedals.  

[6] 2024 Me. Laws ch. 630 at 8.

[7] Id. at 8–9.

[8] Id. at 9–10.

[9] Me. Stat. tit. 38, § 1614(1)(B). 

[10] 2024 Me. Laws ch. 630 at 6–7.

[11] Id. at 5–6, 10.

[12] Colo. Rev. Stat. § 25-15-604(1).

[13] Colo. Rev. Stat. § 25-15-604(3-4).

[14] 2024 Colo. Sess. Laws 593, 596 (S.B. 24-081) (to be codified at Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 25-15-601–05).

[15] Id. at 597.

[16] Id. at 596–97.

[17] Id. at 596.

[18] 2024 Vt. Acts & Resolves No. 131 (S.25) (to be codified at Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 9, §§ 2494a–2494z).

[19] Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 18, §§ 1671–1695.

[20] 2024 Vt. Acts & Resolves No. 131 at 10–12 (S.25) (to be codified at Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 9, §§ 2494f–2494m).

[21] Id. at 9.

[22] 2024 Conn. Pub. Act No. 24-59 (S.B. 292).

[23] See Minn. Stat. § 116.943, Subd. 2 (2023).

[24] 2024 Conn. Pub. Act No. 24-59 at 6–7 (S.B. 292 § 1(b)(1)).

[25] Id.

[26] Id. at 8 (S.B. 292 § 1(c)).

[27] Id. at 9 (S.B. 292 § 1(d)).

[28] Id. (S.B. 292 § 1(f)).

[29] Mark Panziokas, Lamont Signs PFAS Ban — With a Suggested Improvement, CT Mirror, (June 6, 2024), https://ctmirror.org/2024/06/06/ct-pfas-ban-ned-lamont-bill/. 

[30] S.B. 903 § 2, 2024 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Cal. 2024). 

[31] 2024 Me. Laws ch. 630 at 9; Minn. Stat. § 116.943, Subd. 5(c).