Washington, DC (August 12, 2010) – The Consumer Right to Know Act (Senate Bill 928) introduced in California by Senator Joe Simitian will not become law this year as it was held in committee today, according to the Consumer Specialty Products Association (CSPA).

“Our association could not support this bill because it did not strike the appropriate balance between transparency about the ingredients in our products and the need to protect our intellectual property,” said CSPA President Chris Cathcart. “We are pleased to see that we will be able to continue our discussions with Senator Simitian and the other stakeholders on this important issue and hope to reach agreement in 2011.”

The bill would have required companies to disclose proprietary product information.

CSPA proposes that a legislative or regulatory approach to “right-to-know” could build upon a voluntary consumer product ingredient communication initiative that became effective the first of this year. In fact, the Association has for the past year been working with major non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to expand the program in an effort to reach agreement on and support such reasonable legislation in California and at the federal level. Despite that CSPA member companies compromised on many issues through its work with the NGOs and Senator Simitian, the stakeholders were unable to reach agreement on the bill.

“What our industry put on the table through our work with Senator Simitian and the NGOs would have been the most far-reaching right-to-know mandate required of any industry in the world. We need to work together so that we do not miss another opportunity in 2011,” Cathcart concluded.

At no other time in my life have I lived in a more uncertain economic environment. Every day, the headlines and the airwaves reflect the frustrated mood of the American people as the unemployment numbers continue to rise due to the eroding business climate that is making it difficult, if not impossible, for companies to keep their doors open and Americans employed.

Last week in the California Assembly, the Consumer Right to Know Act (Senate Bill 928), was held in the Appropriations Committee, effectively killing it for the year. The bill would have resulted in an even worse business climate as it would have required companies to disclose intellectual property, such as product formulations. While our organization supports sharing more information about the ingredients in our products, sharing information is very different than disclosing a company’s intellectual property.

The bill in California would have been a virtual guarantee that intellectual property would be available to foreign and domestic competitors. Out the window would go a company’s incentive to invest the millions they do in research and development to help bring safe and innovative products to the marketplace.  And, innovation is the cornerstone for jobs creation and retention in the United States.

The California bill is effectively dead for the year. So, why am I writing about it? Well, sharing with consumers more information about the ingredients in our products is something we support and is an issue that is not going away. In fact, two related bills were introduced in Congress this year. Neither bill is likely to move this year, but like the California bill the federal proposals fail to strike the appropriate balance between transparency and the critical need to protect proprietary product information.

We propose that a legislative or regulatory approach to “right-to-know” could build upon our industry’s voluntary consumer product ingredient communication initiative that became effective the first of this year. In fact, in 2009 we had been working with large non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to expand the program in an effort to reach agreement on and support such reasonable legislation in California and at the federal level. Despite that our member companies compromised on many issues through our work with the NGOs in California, the stakeholders were unable to reach agreement on a  bill.

What our industry put on the table, however, would have been one of the most far-reaching right-to-know mandates required of any industry in the world. We are committed to sharing more information about the ingredients in our products and reaching agreement on this issue, but we will continue to draw the line if our proprietary information is at risk. We also think that the American people would agree with us that companies need the incentive to innovate and retain and help create jobs in the United States. Our ultimate goal is finding that balance of protecting intellectual property and being transparent.

We look forward to our ongoing work on this important issue and hope we do not miss another opportunity in 2011.

Chris Cathcart, CSPA President