The Household & Commercial Products Association (HCPA) released the following statement today in response to recent inaccuracies in the media about air fresheners that could cause unnecessary concern among consumers. Air fresheners are a safe and effective way to counteract unpleasant odors and add an appealing scent to indoor environments. There have been claims that the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that come from air fresheners are harmful; however, these VOCs are safe for human health and the environment at everyday concentrations. In fact, most of what you smell is caused by VOCs. Cooking scrambled eggs, freshly cut grass, and burnt popcorn all emit VOCs, and less than 0.2 percent of VOCs are from air fresheners. Air fresheners and their ingredients undergo rigorous safety testing and must comply with stringent federal and state air quality regulations, including those set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Additionally, the Research Institute for Fragrance Materials (RIFM) performs extensive safety assessments on fragrance ingredients. Contrary to claims made by the media, the California Cleaning Product Right to Know Act, which passed with bipartisan support and was signed into law in 2017 by then-Governor Jerry Brown (D-CA), requires manufacturers to disclose certain ingredients in their products, including fragrances. Because of California’s economic importance, this law serves as the de facto national standard and is followed by makers of air fresheners across the U.S. Ultimately, consumers can be confident that air fresheners are safe and effective when used according to the directions on the label.

The Household & Commercial Products Association (HCPA) recently announced the winners of the 2022 Innovation Awards, which honor companies within the household and commercial products industry for innovative accomplishments in five product categories: Carbon Footprint, Circular Economy, End-User Communication, Ingredients, and Technology. This year’s program specifically focused on innovations that help the industry transition to an environmentally and socially sustainable economy. The Innovation Awards are held in conjunction with HCPA’s Annual Meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. New this year, Annual Meeting attendees were able to vote for an innovation to win the Association Award during a poster session. “The Innovation Awards provide member companies with the opportunity to showcase the progress they are making to meet consumer demand and advance the sustainability of the industry,” said Steve Caldeira, President & CEO. “Increasingly, consumers are calling for more sustainable products, and companies have invested significant time and resources providing them. These include innovative formulations, processes, and packaging that address human health and environmental challenges. This year’s innovations protect people and the planet, create overall efficiencies in the manufacturing, processing, sale, and use of products, and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. HCPA members are committed to developing a circular economy and educating and empowering consumers, and we are extremely proud to recognize and celebrate these companies.” HCPA would like to congratulate the following companies for their accomplishments in developing the next generation of products and their leadership in moving the industry forward on sustainability. Association AwardCroda Carbon FootprintEcolab Circular EconomyEastman Chemical Company End-User CommunicationProcter & Gamble, North America Fabric Care IngredientsLocus Performance Ingredients TechnologyPlastipak Packaging Nominations for the Innovation Awards were open to formulators, manufacturers, and distributors of household and commercial products. A panel of expert judges from HCPA’s Sustainability & Product Stewardship Council (SPSC) ranked the nominated products in each product category to determine the winner. The Association Award winner was determined by votes from Annual Meeting attendees based on a poster session.

Steve Caldeira, President & CEO, Household & Commercial Products Association (HCPA) and Mike Gruber, Senior Vice President, Government Relations & Public Policy, were named to The Hill’s Top Lobbyists 2022. This is the first time that Gruber has received this recognition and the fifth consecutive year that Caldeira has topped the list. Caldeira serves as a passionate advocate for the household and commercial products industry among legislators and regulators, most recently calling on Congress to fund the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the organization responsible for regulating member companies’ products. He is also a respected voice in the media, having published multiple op-eds and Letters to the Editor in consumer and inside-the-Beltway publications on the Association’s priority policy issues. During his first year at HCPA, Gruber has been helping to further raise the profile of the household and commercial products industry. This work includes helping to lead the reauthorization of the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA) as part of a coalition, which is the program that funds part of the EPA’s pesticide registration program, and key state issues, such as producer responsibility, labeling, and sustainability. Caldeira and Gruber are listed on The Hill’s Top Lobbyists under the Associations category.

Steve Caldeira, President & CEO, authored an op-ed for RealClearPolicy about how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) needs more funding to improve its chemical-approval system. While the EPA deserves a lot of credit for trying to make do with what it has, only Congress can provide the additional resources that the Agency requires. Lawmakers in Washington believed they had produced a major benefit for American consumers when they passed the Toxic Substances Control Act six years ago. The legislation was supposed to bolster the federal government’s ability to identify and regulate the risks that chemicals posed to vulnerable populations, especially children. It did not turn out that way. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) got the expanded authority but not the resources to carry it out. Congress passed the law knowing that EPA’s administrative costs should increase by 25 percent a year to accommodate the workload, but it failed to increase appropriations for the agency. As a result, the department designated to review new chemicals, which requires dozens of human-health assessors, has only two of them. Also, hundreds of promising products for use at home and work have been kept off the market, depriving consumers, and businesses of useful innovations. The delays have prevented safer and more sustainable chemicals from replacing older, riskier chemicals. According to the EPA, the office that reviews new and existing chemicals needs an increase of $64 million a year and 201 employees to do its job well. The program that reviews pesticides has lost hundreds of employees, which has created a backlog of more than 11,000 pesticide-related decisions. That office also needs additional funds and staff to get back on track. These are small amounts of money in the multi-trillion-dollar federal budget. But lawmakers have been unable to muster enough votes to appropriate them. The Trump administration froze EPA spending. The Biden administration supports added funding, but Congress has failed to act. The EPA spending bill in the House was voted out of committee but had no Republican support and did not make it to the House floor. The Senate staff published draft legislation, but lawmakers never even considered it in subcommittee. The situation is so dire that a growing number of household and commercial product makers and their representatives in Washington are publicly calling for extra funding for EPA, an agency that is not considered an ally of chemical companies. From industry’s point of view, the EPA has lots of improvements to make. Its Office of Inspector General recently released 53 recommendations to upgrade the agency. But congressional neglect has forced the EPA to triage one problem after another. For example, the EPA has told outsiders that it needs nearly $20 million a year for three years to complete software replacements for barely functional, Clinton-era technology. The EPA deserves a lot of credit for trying to make do with what it has. The staff is working hard to update the systems that countless companies rely on to bring their products to market. But even the most dedicated public servants cannot make much progress without the additional resources that only Congress can provide. Rising inflation, labor shortages, and supply-chain challenges make it more imperative than ever for the EPA to streamline its approval of new and more sustainable chemicals. We are all better off when safe and effective products can quickly get reviewed and to market. Regulated industries long for the day that government agencies can operate, as has been said, “at the speed of business.” That might happen someday. In the meantime, members of Congress should listen to the odd-bedfellows-combination of chemical manufacturers and public health and environmental advocates who have voiced alarm at the current state of the EPA’s chemical-approval system. Ill-equipped and short-staffed agencies are a problem for everyone – consumers, workers, and the environment. The EPA needs more funding now.

The Household & Commercial Products Association (HCPA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Michael Gruber as Senior Vice President of Government Relations & Public Policy. As part of the executive leadership team, Mike will further strengthen and help drive HCPA’s presence, influence, and effectiveness across the federal and state legislative and regulatory landscapes. In this position, Mike will leverage his bi-partisan Capitol Hill and state experience to lead the Association’s advocacy efforts. Prior to joining HCPA, Mike served as Vice President, Public Policy, Consumer Brands Association (CBA), where he provided strategic guidance on state and federal legislative and regulatory matters for Fortune 500 consumer packaged goods companies. “Mike is a highly skilled government affairs leader with a demonstrated history of creating and executing political strategy, building stakeholder coalitions, managing issue advocacy campaigns, and shaping complex regulations for the consumer packaged goods industry,” said Steve Caldeira, President & CEO, HCPA. “I’m very excited to join the HCPA team, and work with so many respected companies on similar issues in a new capacity,” said Gruber. “HCPA has an excellent reputation of collaborating with diverse stakeholders to find workable solutions to complex problems on behalf of consumers, workers, and member companies and I look forward to engaging in that process.” “Mike has been involved with several issues that impact the household and commercial products industry, including supply chain challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, developing sustainability policies for the consumer-packaged goods industry, and collaborating with retailers to further ingredient communication standards,” said Caldeira. “This experience will be invaluable for advancing our priority public policy issues at a critical time for our industry.” Earlier in his career, Mike held numerous roles on Capitol Hill, including Senior Policy Advisor on the House Committee on Energy & Commerce; Appropriations Associate, House Appropriations Committee; Chief of Staff to U.S. Representative Thomas P. Latham (R-IA); and District Director, U.S. Representative George R. Nethercutt, Jr. (R-WA). Mike holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Washington State University. HCPA contracted Odgers Berndtson to lead the search for the Senior Vice President, Government Relations & Public Policy. Led by Tonya Muse, a Partner in the U.S. Association, Corporate Affairs and Non-Profit Practices, the search was national in scope and focused on identifying and contacting senior government affairs leaders in trade associations, various corporations, and consulting firms relevant to HCPA’s mission.

The Household & Commercial Products Association (HCPA) recently announced the winners of the 2021 Innovation Awards, which honor companies within the household and commercial products industry for accomplishments in innovation and sustainability in four product categories: Ingredients, Sustainability, Technology, and Game Changer. “The household and commercial products industry is always working to develop products that keep Americans safe and healthy,” said Steve Caldeira, President & CEO, HCPA. “This innovation leads to new product formulations that are safer and more effective or new packaging that is more sustainable. Consumer demand is constantly changing, but companies are committed to meeting – and exceeding – these expectations. I’m honored to recognize the companies that take such great care in the products they bring to market.” HCPA would like to congratulate the following companies for their accomplishments in developing the next generation of products that encourages innovation and moves the industry forward. IngredientsLocus Performance IngredientsAmphi™ M Sophorolipids SustainabilitySelig GroupCircumvent™ and AirFoil™ Container Venting Solutions  TechnologyLocus Performance IngredientsNovel Biosurfactant Production Technology Game ChangerSelig GroupCircumvent™ and AirFoil™ Container Venting Solutions Nominations for the Innovation Awards were open to formulators, manufacturers, and distributors of household and commercial products. A panel of expert judges ranked the nominated products in each product category to determine the winner. Innovation Award winners were recognized on December 5 at a ceremony during XPAND2021, HCPA’s Annual Meeting, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The Household & Commercial Products Association (HCPA) released the following statement today regarding the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) announcement of a final rule to phasedown the use of Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The final rule establishes an allowance allocation and trading program for HFCs as required by the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act. “The AIM Act directs the EPA to phasedown the production and importation of HFCs in favor of alternatives that are safer for the environment,” said Dr. Steve Bennett, Executive Vice President, Scientific & Regulatory Affairs. “Many household and commercial products utilize the aerosol delivery form, some of which use HFCs as the propellant. HCPA actively participated in the rulemaking process to ensure member companies’ interests were represented in the final rule.” The EPA’s program applies to bulk HFC production and importation, but HCPA has concerns about how the rule will be applied to imported products and materials that contain HFCs. If this element of the program is not properly managed, it could undermine the potential benefits the AIM Act is expected to have on both the environment and the economy. In order to help facilitate a successful implementation, the Biden Administration created an Interagency Task Force on Illegal HFC Trade. HCPA looks forward to working with both the EPA and the Interagency Task Force on making sure imported products and materials that contain HFCs are properly accounted for. “HCPA recognizes the importance of the AIM Act, and is committed to working with member companies to phasedown the use of HFCs, while still providing consumers and workers with the trusted and familiar products that they rely on to live clean and healthy lives.”

The rise of the Delta variant is prolonging the pandemic. Many more Americans will receive booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines starting this fall. Face coverings are making a comeback in schools and businesses. Experts recommend one other safeguard against the virus: The careful disinfecting of surfaces. Fortunately, supplies of disinfectant products remain available thanks to government directives and private initiatives. We’ve all grown accustomed over the last year and half to thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting our homes, workstations, and dining areas as a precaution. Those activities should not wane. The reason: Certain disinfectant products can protect us from the disease. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has publicly delineated the products that can kill or are effective against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The agency’s List N, which names these products, has become a must-read as a result for consumers, employers, and workers. These safe and effective cleansers and disinfectants are vital to protecting our homes and businesses. That impact is not new. Disinfectants played similar roles against Ebola, the swine flu, and SARS. Without them, the positive outcome of those diseases might have been very different. Cleanliness was always a common practice. Many companies and individuals were already cleaning and disinfecting high-touch areas before the pandemic. But COVID-19 persuaded them to do so more often and with greater care. The result was increased demand for these effective products that continues to this day. Manufacturers put their factories into 24/7 operations to keep pace. The federal government helped make sure that happened despite the pandemic. The Department of Homeland Security declared disinfectant and cleanser manufacturers and their workers to be essential. That was vital to keeping products rolling and store shelves filled – then and now. Cleaning and disinfecting activities have become a basic protocol. Deep cleaning is routine not just for health reasons but also to reassure Americans. The government should continue to designate cleanser and disinfectant manufacturers and their employees as essential. We cannot let down our guard until COVID-19 is under better control. The manufacturers have also pledged to do their best to keep up with demand and to work with federal authorities to update List N. The Household & Commercial Products Association continues to work with the EPA on behalf of member companies to ensure that disinfectants are available to combat COVID-19. Thanks in part to this cooperation, the EPA has been able to approve disinfectants in as little as two weeks compared to the three months the process used to take. This has put effective cleaning and disinfecting products in stores quickly and consistently. The EPA’s steadfast work in both approval and labeling has helped slow the spread of this virus and American families and companies have benefited. The appearance of the Delta variant has been shocking, but it has strengthened the resolve of the manufacturers of cleaning and disinfecting products. They are more determined than ever to provide their customers with the products they need to keep their homes and workplaces safe. They will be able to do so if they have the continued help of federal regulators. Steve Caldeira is president and CEO of the Household & Commercial Products Association.  

The Household & Commercial Products Association (HCPA) played a lead role in organizing a coalition of stakeholders from almost 60 diverse organizations, including cleaning product and chemical manufacturers, trade associations, and NGOs, that recently called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to restore the Safer Choice Program. Safer Choice is the EPA’s certification and labeling program that identifies products with safer chemical ingredients without sacrificing quality or performance. Safer Choice products undergo careful evaluation against a stringent set of health and environmental criteria, and a product is only allowed to carry the Safer Choice label if each ingredient is among the safest in its class. “Safer Choice has been, and continues to be, an invaluable resource by working with companies, including many HCPA members, to develop innovative products that meet the rising demand for products that possess an exemplary environmental, health, and safety profile,” said Steve Caldeira, President & CEO, HCPA. “As a strong and long-time advocate for Safer Choice, we were proud to sign our name to this letter.” As part of a reorganization in the EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP), Safer Choice staff were reassigned to different divisions with new responsibilities. HCPA and other stakeholders are concerned that this reorganization could impact the Safer Choice Program and the EPA’s efforts to identify products that both perform and contain safe ingredients. “This is a unique program with world-class staff that receives widespread support from a vast array of stakeholders,” said Caldeira. “HCPA has a long history of supporting Safer Choice, including advocating for the program and facilitating dialogue between the household and commercial products industry and the EPA. These efforts, among others, have earned us a Safer Choice Partner of the Year Award five times – as recently as 2020. We hope this show of support for Safer Choice will secure its long-term viability.”

Following last week’s congressional override of President Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the Household & Commercial Products Association applauds Congress for passing the measure into law. An annual defense policy bill, this year’s NDAA includes the Sustainable Chemistry Research and Development (R&D) Act, which directs the Office of Science and Technology Policy to organize an interagency entity that is responsible for coordinating federal programs and activities in support of sustainable chemistry. “HCPA has been a long-time advocate of the Sustainable Chemistry R&D Act, and we are proud that Congress decided to pursue this important piece of legislation,” said Steve Caldeira, President & CEO, HCPA. “Sustainable chemistry is focused on conserving resources and minimizing the use of hazardous substances in chemical processes – a change consumer and commercial customers have been increasingly seeking from manufacturers. HCPA would like to thank Representative John Moolenaar (R-MI), former Representative Dan Lipinski (D-IL), and Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Chris Coons (D-DE) for their support of this bipartisan bill, which culminated in an important law that will help spur innovation in chemical technologies and be beneficial for consumers, workers, the household and commercial products industry, and the U.S. economy.”