In 1986, the State of California adopted Proposition 65, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, which applies not only to water but also extends to many other businesses as it covers heavy metals, chemicals, and other elements that are found in trace amounts in countless consumer products, including various foods, jewelry, fish, clothing and glassware (you will likely see the same notice posted in many building lobbies, grocery stores, parking lots and shopping malls located throughout California).
The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) oversees Proposition 65 issues. Proposition 65 requires the State of California to publish, maintain, and update a list of chemicals known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity. The most recent list and other Proposition 65 information are available on OEHHA’s website, oehha.ca.gov/prop65.html.
Substances on the list that are believed to cause cancer are called carcinogens; those that are believed to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm are called reproductive toxicants. Currently, there are over 1,000 substances on the list. There are four ways for a substance to be added to or removed from the list - the Labor Code, the State’s Qualified Experts, Authoritative Bodies, and those formally required to be labeled by a state or federal agency.
Many of the substances on the list, like the lead listed above, are naturally occurring in the environment and are exempt at those levels from Proposition 65. However, it is very difficult to prove that the substances are naturally occurring. Some of these substances may accumulate in varying amounts, at different times, in different plants or soils, throughout the supply chain. Products with naturally derived ingredients — including herbs, vitamins, minerals and other supplements, as well as many foods and cosmetics — are produced using ingredients and materials from the natural environment. Because of this, it is possible that some of the substances on the list may from time to time be present in these products with naturally derived ingredients.
Therefore, even though the substance levels would be far below federal safety regulations, Arbonne is including this warning to provide the notice required by the parameters of Proposition 65.
If you have any questions about this warning, please contact us at 1-800-ARBONNE.