New Jersey’s Attention Turns to PFAS in Consumer Products

During his last few days in office, outgoing New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed S1042, the Protecting Against Forever Chemicals Act. The far-reaching bill prohibits intentionally added PFAS in a wide range of consumer products beginning January 2028. The new requirements target a wide range of industries with meaningful implications for companies across the product supply chain.

With this new law, New Jersey joins a growing list of states that are enacting PFAS bans on a range of consumer products. As we have emphasized in previous LawFlashes, companies should continue to be mindful of their different obligations in this ever-growing patchwork of prohibitions and requirements as they continue to plan for and implement strategies to comply.

PROHIBITIONS

Two years after the effective date of the act (i.e., January 13, 2028), no person shall sell, offer for sale, or distribute for sale in New Jersey the following products that contain intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS):

• Cosmetic products
• Carpet
• Fabric treatment
• Food packaging

The law also prohibits the sale, offer for sale, or distribution for sale of cookware with intentionally added PFAS, unless the manufacturer complies with labeling requirements, which label must state, “This product contains PFAS.” Notably, cookware product labeling that complies with another state or federal labeling is also acceptable under the new law. Perhaps mindful of recent challenges to the inclusion of cookware in other state PFAS regulations, the New Jersey law narrowly defines “cookware” to include products that come into direct contact with food and that are in contact with a heat source, “including pots, pans, skillets, grills, baking sheets, baking molds, trays, bowls, and cooking utensils.” Cookware products that are solely for commercial use are also exempted from the new law.

These prohibitions impact “manufacturers,” which is defined as a person who “manufactures a product or whose brand name is affixed to the product.” This definition also includes importers or distributors of the product for products imported into the United States.

The new law defines “intentionally added” as PFAS that are added to a product or intentionally used during the development of a product or one of its product components to provide a specific characteristic, appearance, or quality or to perform a specific function. This definition also includes any degradation byproducts of PFAS but excludes “technically unavoidable trace quantities” of PFAS in the named products “which stems from impurities of natural or synthetic ingredients or the manufacturing process, storage, or migration from packaging of the product or product component.”[1] Intentionally added PFAS found in electronic components or internal components of the product are excluded from the prohibitions for cosmetic products and cookware.

Like many other recent state PFAS regulations, the New Jersey law exempts consumer products that are the subject of certain other state and federal regulations, such as drugs, dietary supplements, medical devices, or cosmetics; pesticides; medical equipment and products; and the packaging or packaging components thereof, which are used in healthcare settings. A late revision to the law also expressly excluded PFAS fluoropolymers from this provision.

The law also directs New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection to recommend to the New Jersey Legislature additional products that should be subject to a PFAS prohibition.

PFAS RESEARCH AND SOURCE REDUCTION

In addition to its consumer products-focused restrictions, the new law requires the state to implement source reduction programs to reduce PFAS within the state’s resources by encouraging the proper management of materials that contain PFAS and the use of safer alternatives. The new law also directs the state to conduct research, monitoring, and testing into the presence and impacts of PFAS on environmental media within the state, including air, soil and sediment, groundwater and surface water, biota, and the collection of biosolids.

ENFORCEMENT

Unlike some other state PFAS bans and restrictions, the New Jersey law does not contain a requirement for manufacturers to provide a certification of compliance with the law. However, the New Jersey law does contain various provisions concerning its enforcement, including administrative and civil enforcement and penalties for noncompliance (ranging from $1,000 per violation to up to $25,000 per day), and the issuance of noncompliance orders and public notifications of the names of parties violating the new law.

LOOKING AHEAD: CONSIDERATIONS FOR BUSINESSES

New Jersey joins a growing list of states that have fixed their attention on the presence of PFAS in consumer products. As these prohibitions are implemented, businesses should monitor the regulatory landscape to help ensure compliance and minimize potential enforcement and litigation risks. Manufacturers should assess the potential for PFAS in affected products and their components in order to implement a compliance strategy that comports with the applicable state law, including working with their suppliers and distributors up and down the supply chain. Distributors and retailers, in turn, need to work closely with manufacturers to ensure they are in compliance with the applicable restrictions and prohibitions.

As with other states’ prohibitions and regulations, businesses should pay particular attention to the law’s specific definitions and requirements and how they differ from those of other states. For example, while a handful of states offer a similar exemption for technically unavoidable trace quantities of PFAS, New Jersey’s flexible cookware labeling requirement is currently unique. Finally, businesses should monitor the addition of new product categories that may be recommended for PFAS prohibitions by New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection. Particular attention should be paid to product categories that are already regulated in other states, such as textiles and juvenile products.

For more information on state PFAS prohibitions, refer to our previous LawFlash on cosmetics, our previous LawFlash on textiles and apparel, and our previous LawFlash on upcoming 2026 PFAS prohibitions.

HOW WE CAN HELP

Our lawyers stand ready to advise businesses on these upcoming PFAS prohibitions and regulations, assisting them in ensuring their practices comply with these significant and novel requirements.