JACK PAINT AND CALIFORNIA
Posted by Richard Bogert on
We had a customer complain recently about the paint used on the Omega jacks we use with our SAFE JACK products. He complained that the label said that the paint contained lead. It was my understanding that the paint used did not contain lead but then why the label? The following is an explanation from SFA.
Mr Bogert,
I believe that your customer is asking you about the Proposition 65 warning that we put on all of our products. Proposition 65 is a requirement for products sold in California that may contain chemicals that the State of California has deemed dangerous. These chemicals are found in literally every product and include things like chrome plating, rubber, hydraulic fluids, lead, and even chemicals found naturally in many foods. While most products do not contain these chemicals the fines are so prohibitive that we like almost all other manufacturers will include the prop 65 warning on every single item to protect ourselves as a manufacturer and our distributors as well. As an example, Starbucks is currently involved in a proposition 65 case because there is no warning label on coffee cups and the act of roasting a coffee bean produces a chemical that the state of California says can cause cancer or reproductive harm. Because of that Starbucks is looking at fines of up to $2500 each for every single cup of coffee they have sold in the state of California since 2002. I am sure you can see how that type of fine could destroy a company. I have attached a copy of the warning as we are currently required to show it on our products. As you can see it is now a shortened warning that supplies a link to the California website with additional information. Your customer may have received an older product with an older version of the required warning which may have specifically mentioned lead based products as a danger. We use an environmentally friendly water based paint on all of our imported products and have for the past couple of years, the warnings are just a legal requirement to protect our company and distributors from some incredibly punitive fines. I hope that is an acceptable explanation as to why we need to label our products with the Proposition 65 warnings.
Best Regards,
Keith D. Tucker
Key Accounts Manager
SFA Companies, Inc.