Bill
S 3643
Requires menstrual product manufacturers sold in NJ to label all ingredients on packaging and on their website, with CBI exemptions and penalties for noncompliance.
Status & key dates
- Introduced: September 19, 2024 (Senate Commerce Committee)
- Committee amendments reported: December 12, 2024 (Senate Commerce)
- Reported out of Senate Budget & Appropriations Committee: February 3, 2025 (1st Reprint)
- Current status: Referred to Consumer Protection (as of Jan 29, 2025); reported in Senate, 2nd Reading (Feb 3, 2025).
- Companion: A2437.
Purpose
- To require manufacturers to disclose the full list of ingredients in menstrual products sold or offered for sale in New Jersey, improving consumer transparency and product information.
What the bill would do (major provisions)
- Mandatory ingredient labeling: No later than 18 months after the bill’s effective date, manufacturers of menstrual products sold or distributed in New Jersey must put on every retail package or box a label listing all ingredients in descending order of predominance. The label must be conspicuous and easily understandable to consumers.
- Website disclosure: The same ingredient label must be posted on the manufacturer’s website in an electronically readable format (manufacturers may use technologies such as digital links).
- Definition scope: “Menstrual product” includes products for catching menstruation or vaginal discharge — e.g., tampons, sanitary pads, discs, menstrual cups, and menstrual underwear — and covers both disposable and reusable products. “Package or box” means retail packaging (shipping-only packaging excluded).
- Confidential business information (CBI) exception: Manufacturers are not required to disclose substances that qualify as confidential business information. CBI is defined to include substances where protection is claimed under TSCA confidential inventory provisions, the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act, or New Jersey Trade Secrets Act. A manufacturer may list a common name for the substance to protect its identity.
- Label updates: When ingredients change (addition/removal/change), the manufacturer must update the label within 18 months of the change.
Enforcement & penalties
- Civil penalty for noncompliance: For each noncompliant package/box, a manufacturer is liable for a civil penalty equal to 1% of the manufacturer’s total annual in‑State sales of menstrual products — subject to a maximum of $1,000 per noncompliant package/box.
- Collection: Penalties are collected by the Division of Consumer Affairs in summary proceedings under New Jersey’s Penalty Enforcement Law.
- Transition rule: No penalty may be assessed for packages manufactured prior to 18 months after the bill’s effective date.
Fiscal impact
- Office of Legislative Services (OLS) estimate: Indeterminate annual State cost increase for enforcement (Division of Consumer Affairs) depending on staffing and operational choices. Potential but indeterminate annual State revenue from assessed civil penalties; OLS cannot predict compliance rates.
Who is affected
- Directly: Manufacturers of menstrual products sold or distributed in New Jersey (including those marketing both disposable and reusable products).
- Indirectly: Retailers and consumers (improved product information), and state enforcement agencies.
Notes
- The bill parallels ingredient-disclosure laws enacted earlier in other states (e.g., New York, California, Nevada).
- The statutory language treats the penalty as tied to each noncompliant package/box, with the unusual formulation of a 1% measure tied to annual in‑state sales — but capped at $1,000 per package/box.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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