§ 2494b. Prohibited chemicals in cosmetic and menstrual products [Effective January 1, 2026]
(a) A manufacturer shall not manufacture, sell, offer for sale, distribute for sale, or
distribute for use in this State any cosmetic or menstrual product to which the following
chemicals or chemical classes have been intentionally added in any amount:
(1) ortho-phthalates;
(2) PFAS;
(3) formaldehyde (CAS 50-00-0);
(4) methylene glycol (CAS 463-57-0);
(5) mercury and mercury compounds (CAS 7439-97-6);
(6) 1, 4-dioxane (CAS 123-91-1);
(7) isopropylparaben (CAS 4191-73-5);
(8) isobutylparaben (CAS 4247-02-3);
(9) lead and lead compounds (CAS 7439-92-1);
(10) asbestos;
(11) triclosan (CAS 3380-34-5);
(12) m-phenylenediamine and its salts (CAS 108-42-5);
[Subdivisions (a)(13) and (a)(14) effective until July 1, 2027; see also subdivisions
(a)(13) and (a)(14) effective July 1, 2027 set out below.]
(13) o-phenylenediamine and its salts (CAS 95-54-5); and
(14) quaternium-15 (CAS 51229-78-8).
[Subdivisions (a)(13) through (a)(17) effective July 1, 2027; see also subdivisions
(a)(13) and (a)(14) effective until July 1, 2027 set out above.]
(13) o-phenylenediamine and its salts (CAS 95-54-5);
(14) quaternium-15 (CAS 51229-78-8).
(15) styrene (CAS 100-42-5);
(16) octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (CAS 556-67-2); and
(17) toluene (CAS 108-88-3).
(b) A cosmetic or menstrual product made through manufacturing processes intended to comply
with this subchapter and containing a technically unavoidable trace quantity of a
chemical or chemical class listed in subsection (a) of this section shall not be in
violation of this subchapter on account of the trace quantity where it is caused by
impurities of:
(1) natural or synthetic ingredients;
(2) the manufacturing process;
(3) storage; or
(4) migration from packaging.
(c) A manufacturer shall not knowingly manufacture, sell, offer for sale, distribute for
sale, or distribute for use in this State any cosmetic or menstrual product that contains
1,4, dioxane at or exceeding 10 parts per million.
(d)(1) Pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 25, the Department of Health may adopt rules prohibiting a manufacturer from selling,
offering for sale, distributing for sale, or distributing for use a cosmetic or menstrual
product to which formaldehyde releasing agents have been intentionally added and are
present in any amount.
(2) The Department may only prohibit a manufacturer from selling, offering for sale, distributing
for sale, or distributing for use a cosmetic or menstrual product in accordance with
this subsection if the Department or at least one other state has determined that
a safer alternative is readily available in sufficient quantity and at comparable
cost and that the safer alternative performs as well as or better than formaldehyde
releasing agents in a specific application of formaldehyde releasing agents to a cosmetic
or menstrual product.
(3) Any rule adopted by the Department pursuant to this subsection may restrict formaldehyde
releasing agents as individual chemicals or as a class of chemicals. (Added 2023, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. January 1, 2026; amended 2023, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. July 1, 2027.)