Press Release | November 20, 2024
On New Year’s Day in California, outdoor apparel designed for severe wet conditions and containing PFAS must be accompanied by a disclosure statement.
This is a press release from the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC)…
(November 20, 2024) — On New Year’s Day in California, outdoor apparel designed for severe wet conditions and containing PFAS must be accompanied by a disclosure statement.
According to AB-1817, signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2022, “no person shall distribute, sell, or offer for sale in the state any new, not previously used, outdoor apparel for severe wet conditions that contain regulated perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS unless it is accompanied by a legible and easily discernable disclosure with the statement ‘Made with PFAS chemicals,’ including for online listings of products for sale.”
One of the powersports industry’s biggest markets is California and the state will soon be among the latest to roll out an expanding variety of PFAS chemical regulations and bans, differing from state to state and increasingly challenging for manufacturers and distributors.
AB-1817 reads: “Outdoor apparel for severe wet conditions means outdoor apparel that are extreme and extended use products designed for outdoor sports…. Examples of extreme and extended use products include outerwear for offshore fishing, offshore sailing, whitewater kayaking, and mountaineering.”
“Each company needs to determine whether its products being sold in California meet the definition of outdoor apparel for severe wet conditions,” said Scott Schloegel, MIC Senior Vice President of the Government Relations Office. “I think you could make the argument that some riding gear meets the state’s criteria, but you need to look at each product your company is selling in order to justify your designation and gauge your risk tolerance in case California officials disagree.”
California’s disclosure requirement is just the start. An outright state ban on this type of outdoor apparel, containing PFAS chemicals, begins on January 1, 2028.
However, AB-1817 will not affect powersports vehicles. It states, “‘Textile articles’ does not include…(vehicles) as defined in Section 670 of the Vehicle Code, including, but not limited to, an off-highway motor vehicle, as defined in Section 38012 of the Vehicle Code, or its component parts.” The MIC GRO worked with the sponsor of AB-1817 to amend the bill and specifically exclude OHVs. As introduced, the bill only excluded on-highway vehicles.
“The MIC GRO, Technical Programs, and the PFAS Working Group continue to examine PFAS legislation and proposals, work to limit burdensome regulations and bans, and delay their starting dates in order to give powersports manufacturers, distributors, and dealers sufficient time to adapt and adjust to new laws,” Schloegel said. “We also continue to urge powersports companies to look for ways to limit or eliminate the use of PFAS chemicals in their manufacturing and finished products. We’re only at the beginning of these regulatory challenges, and we will see increasing numbers of states enact their own versions of PFAS rules.”
