Global product compliance updates

Product compliance standards continue to demand more transparency, monitoring, and safety requirements from manufacturers. Stricter regulations on the design, labeling, certification, and sustainable lifecycle of products is accelerating across Europe, the United States, and Asia-Pacific regions.  

In this article, we cover some of the key regulatory developments in product compliance, including CPSC in the US, chemical legislation in the US and EU, and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in Australia — as detailed in the fourth and final webinar in our Global Outlook series by expert Stacey Bowers.

Chemical legislation in the US

Many US states have accelerated chemicals management efforts, even as federal progress stalls, with a huge number of substances under scrutiny across the region.

In 2025, PFAS remains the leading substance under scrutiny; New Jersey and New York are leading the states with the most chemical-related bills under consideration; and cosmetics is the category most mentioned across these chemical laws.

On 27 February 2025, California legislators initiated the state’s two-year legislative session by introducing various chemical regulations. Among the bills is a proposed law to implement a state-wide ban on PFAS across multiple product categories, mirroring Minnesota’s Amara Law.  

If approved, SB 682 would: 

• Ban PFAS in cleaning products, cookware, dental floss, juvenile products, food packaging, and ski wax from 1 January 2027 

• Prohibit products containing intentionally-added PFAS from 1 January 2033 

• Ban PFAS in refrigerants, solvents, propellants, and clean fire suppressants from 1 January 2040

Chemical legislation in the EU

Aligning with the global goal to tackle PFAS in products, countries in Europe continue to work on bills to restrict or ban this harmful substance.
 

European Commission’s proposal   

On 13 June 2024, the European Commission (EC) confessed it was unlikely they would be publishing their universal PFAS restriction in 2025, as initially forecasted.  

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is still assessing a record number of comments from the public consultation on the REACH restriction, with the risk assessment committee (RAC) adopting a sector-by-sector approach to reviewing. 

Following that, the socio-economic assessment committee (SEAC) will look at the proportionality of cases. And, lastly, another consultation based on the SEAC information will be completed. 

As it currently stands, there’s no set timeframe for the release of the PFAS restriction.
 

France 

Despite delayed PFAS action from the Commission, France’s parliament adopted new PFAS bans on 20 February 2025, which are currently awaiting enforcement. This bill will: 

• Ban the manufacture, import, export and placing on the market of wax products, cosmetics, consumer textiles, shoes, and waterproofing agents containing PFAS from 2026 

• Ban textiles containing PFAS from 2030
   

Denmark 

In December 2024, the Danish Environment Ministry proposed a national ban on PFAS in clothing, footwear, and impregnation agents.  

On 27 November 2025, Denmark notified the European Commission of their intent to only apply one limit value to all products, rather than aligning with the varying values specified in the planned EU ban. The country is suggesting a ban of 50mg of fluoride per kilogram. Further, Denmark also sent a list of exemptions, including: 

• PPE and safety clothing 

• Home textiles 

• Curtains 

• Textiles used in prams and accessories 

• Medical equipment 

The ban is set to enter into force on 1 July 2025, with the ban on import and sale of PFAS from 1 July 2026.

Consumer Product Safety Commission in the US

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has recently been involved in various litigation regarding the safety of distributed products. Additionally, the CPSC has reported on a number of toy-related injuries, mandating stricter requirements for safety and flammability labels.
 

Recall obligations 

In July 2024, the CPSC ordered a global distributor to recall more than 400,000 products that were considered defective, failed to meet federal consumer product safety standards, and posed a hazard under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA).  

Some of these products included faulty carbon monoxide detectors, hairdryers without electrocution protection, and children’s sleepwear that violated federal flammability standards. 

The CPSC Order, which took effect on 26 January 2025, required the distributor to: 

• Post recall releases to their online website 

• Notify consumers directly via email 

• Provide recall information on the purchaser’s account 

• Issue full refunds to consumers who submitted proof 

• Maintain recall releases for a minimum of five years 

• Submit monthly progress reports every five years
   

Settlement for burns 

On 27 January 2025, the US CPSC announced a proposed settlement agreement of USD 12 million with a smartwatch manufacturer, following reports of burns and overheating.  

From 2018 – 2020, the manufacturer was receiving reports from customers that their smartwatch was causing burns to their arms or wrists. Of these reports, at least 115 reported the battery overheating and 78 reported burn injuries — two of these were categorized as third-degree burns, and four were categorized as second-degree burns.  

Following the reports, the smartwatch company launched a firmware update to reduce the likelihood of the battery overheating, but complaints continued. The CPSC and manufacturer jointly announced a recall of the smartwatches in March 2022.
 

Toy-related deaths and injuries 

CPSC received 40 reports of toy-related deaths among children 14 years or younger occurring between 2021 – 2023. Some of these incidents involved choking hazards on bouncy balls and crayons, drowning while using flotation toys, asphyxia from a wooden toy chest, a motor vehicle collision with an unpowered scooter, and ingestion of small parts. 

1.8 million toy-related injuries were reported across US hospitals between 2016 – 2023, averaging out to 226,300 injuries annually. 231,700 toy-related injuries were treated in 2023, 72% of which were sustained by children. 

45% of 2023 injuries affected the head and face, and 23% were associated with non-motorized scooters. 

These reported figures express the need for stricter safety and labeling requirements on children’s toys.

EPR in Australia

Australia is currently consulting on a federal level on a potential packaging extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme. The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water closed a consultation on this reform in October 2024. The consultation left multiple options for consideration: 

• Option 1: Strengthening administration of the co-regulatory arrangements. At the moment, packaging EPR is regulated by province and territory, so this option could harmonize those approaches 

• Option 2: National mandatory requirements for packaging, including bans on problematic materials and chemicals of concern, mandatory minimum recyclable performance, and minimum recycled content thresholds. This would replace the province and territory regulations in favor of a national approach 

• Option 3: A national EPR scheme, including eco-modulated fees for recyclable design 

The proposed packaging obligations would improve packaging designs for more efficient recyclability, improve recycling labeling on products, establish recycled content thresholds, and mandate further obligations concerning the collection, recycling, and reuse of packaging. 

In December 2024, the Environment Ministers met with the Commonwealth to report on the consultation and discuss possible next steps. 

Currently, the Australian government is considering their preferred option, consulting on policy impact assessments, and discussing next steps. 

If agreed, new obligations would be enforced in 2026.

What else is under the regulatory microscope?

Mass regulatory change has been occurring in product compliance around the world. In our Global Outlook webinar, expert Stacey Bowers also covers:
 

America 

• EPR in New York 

• Tents Regulations in Canada 

• Overhaul of Prop 65 

• Digital labeling
   

Asia Pacific 

• RoHS2 standards in China 

• Chemical legislation in China, Japan, Thailand, and Singapore 

• Furniture in India 

• Certification and labeling in Indonesia 

• Waste management in South Korea
   

Europe, the Middle East and Africa 

• Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation in the EU 

• Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation in the EU 

• Deforestation Regulation in the EU 

• Product conformity in Oman and Egypt 

And much more!