Objective:
This webinar provides TIA members with updates about “Green Chemistry” initiatives that affect toy companies and retailers.
TIA staff will begin the session by providing updates on the federal reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and up-to-the-moment status reports on legislation under consideration in several other states.
Next, a former director of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) describes for toy industry stakeholders what they need to know about the state’s Green Chemistry Act and its implications for manufacturers.
BACKGROUND:
In 2008, California passed the landmark Green Chemistry Act creating a framework process to prioritize and regulate the use of “chemicals of concern” in consumer products. On October 1, 2013, the state began to roll out its Safer Consumer Products Regulations (SCPR) which allows the DTSC to regulate and/or ban any chemical or product sold in California. As a part of this rollout, in March 2014 the DTSC released its first list of “Priority Products” that contain one or more substances that have been identified by the agency as candidates for elimination from commerce. Though no toys were included on the initial list, the toy industry recognizes that the state of California pays close attention to children’s products and toys may be listed in the future.
Who should attend:
Open to all toy industry stakeholders: especially recommended for design and production teams, safety and compliance officers, government affairs representatives, toy retailers and testing laboratories.
Moderated by:
Al Kaufman, Senior Vice President, Technical Affairs, Toy Industry Association
Presented by:
TSCA Update
Rachel Hedge, Director, Federal Government Affairs, Toy Industry Association
States Update
Jennifer Gibbons, Director, State Government Affairs, Toy Industry Association
CA Green Chemistry Update
Maureen F. Gorsen
Partner at Alston & Baird and former director of California’s DTSC
Located in Sacramento, California, Ms. Gorsen focuses her practice on providing strategic public policy, litigation and regulatory advocacy and counsel to a wide range of product manufacturers, brand owners, industrial facilities and landowners. She represents clients in enforcement defense and regulatory compliance issues before administrative agencies in Sacramento and numerous state capitols, and provides international permit and compliance council on environmental, product and supply chain regulation issues. With laws governing corporate social responsibility on the rise, Ms. Gorsen assists clients in developing their corporate policies to meet sustainability, chemical supply chain transparency, anti-slavery and human trafficking, conflict minerals and related statutes. Ms. Gorsen is the former director of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, where she directed soil and water clean-ups under CERCLA, RCRA, water and brownfields laws, and the regulation of solid and hazardous waste, as well as spearheaded the California Green Chemistry Initiative and the new laws governing toxics in products sold in California.