NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A3620
SPONSOR: Simon TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general business law, in relation to the full
disclosure of ingredients in certain products
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill would prohibit the use of generic terms, such as fragrance,
care products.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Amends the general business law by adding a new section 399-
rr
Section 2: This act shall take effect immediately.
JUSTIFICATION:
The terms "fragrance," "dye," "colorant," "perfume, " and "preserva-
tives" act as loopholes within the FDA's (Federal Drug Administration)
labeling requirements for personal care products. The justification for
the loopholes within the labeling process stems from the notion of
"trade secrets" that many companies have to protect their assets, as
well as preventing the labeling package from listing the possible
hundreds of ingredients that went into the aforementioned buzz words.
However, it must be noted that this ruling comes from. the Fair Packag-
ing and Labeling Act of 1966. There have been many changes and advances
in chemicals since then. Now, as health consciousness is on the rise and
we are increasingly aware of the substances put on or in our bodies, the
general public has the right to a full disclosure of chemicals and
substances in products they are using.
This bill will prohibit companies from using generic terms such as
"fragrance," "dye," "colorant," "perfume", and "preservatives" instead
of disclosing the ingredients used. The above terms can only be utilized
in conjunction with the disclosure of ingredients used. The importance
of transparency cannot be understated. A woman can use over 16,000
personal care products in their lifetime. While this may lead to an
abundance of ingredients listed in the product description, it is better
to know exactly what we are putting into our body than to be in the
dark.
AMENDMENTS:
This legislation has been amended to remove feminine hygiene products.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24: A7868 Simon-referred to consumer affairs and protections
2022: A2156 Fernandez -referred to consumer affairs and protections
2020-21: A2156 Fernandez -referred to consumer affairs and protections
A8544 of 2019
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
none
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3620
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 29, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SIMON, SAYEGH -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection
AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to the full
disclosure of ingredients in certain products
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
2 399-rrr to read as follows:
3 § 399-rrr. Prohibition of generic terms in ingredients of certain
4 products. 1. For purposes of this section "personal care product" means
5 articles intended to be rubbed, poured, sprinkled, or sprayed on, intro-
6 duced into, or otherwise applied to the human body or any part thereof
7 for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the
8 appearance, and articles intended for use as a component of any such
9 articles; except that such term shall not include soap.
10 2. Manufacturers of personal care products distributed, sold or
11 offered for sale in this state, whether at retail or wholesale, for
12 personal, professional or commercial use, or distributed for promotional
13 purposes, shall not use the terms fragrance, colorant, dye, perfume or
14 preservative in lieu of listing a chemical used in such products. The
15 terms fragrance, colorant, dye, perfume or preservative may only be used
16 if the chemical constituting such ingredient is explicitly listed on the
17 label of such product. All chemicals present in personal care products
18 sold or offered for sale in this state shall be included in the ingredi-
19 ents list on the label of such products.
20 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06328-01-5
