In this article; click the topic to be taken to that section:
- About Proposition 65
- Impacts of Violating Proposition 65
- How To Display a Proposition 65 Warning
- Proposition 65 quick links
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About Proposition 65
California’s Proposition 65 (i.e., The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986) is a law that requires warnings be provided to California consumers when they might be exposed to chemicals identified by California as causing cancer or reproductive toxicity. It stemmed from a ballot initiative passed by California voters in 1986, and is a toxic chemicals right-to-know law requiring a company doing business in California to place warnings on products and, if the product is sold on the internet, on web pages featuring the product. The law requires the warning when certain chemicals in the products are present in levels that could cause certain levels of exposure to the consumer.
The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) administers the Proposition 65 program and publishes the listed chemicals, which includes more than 950 chemicals. The law allows private enforcers to bring notices of violation of any of 950+ chemicals it regulates, which in turn requires Wish merchants, as one option, to add warnings that the product at issue contains specific chemicals that can cause cancer or reproductive harm. Another option is to withdraw the product from California sale. Neither option exempts Wish merchants from liability for the period of time the product was sold to California consumers without a warning. The warning must be both on the product packaging and on the wish.com/Wish app product listing page where the product is featured.
Proposition 65 requires warnings for products that contain chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. Merchants must display the following warnings on both the product/product packaging labeling itself and online in their product listing, IF the products they sell contain chemicals that appear in the Proposition 65 chemical list.
Please Note: A California Proposition 65 violation can constitute a violation of Wish’s Merchant Terms of Service and Wish Merchant policies.
Impacts of Violating Proposition 65
Wish merchants, and their product listings published on wish.com or the Wish app, found to be in violation of the Proposition 65 policy are subject to various actions by Wish including, but not limited to, decreased impressions, payment withholding, removal of product listings without prior notice, or other actions as may be permitted under applicable law or Wish policy.
Wish may also seek indemnification from merchants, impose partial or full merchant account suspension, withhold funds otherwise payable to merchants, or require the merchant to assist Wish in defending against Proposition 65 notices of violations alleged against Wish by third parties.
If a merchant is found to violate this policy multiple times, the merchant may be subject to other actions by Wish including, but not limited to, account suspension or account termination.
How To Display a Proposition 65 Warning
It is a merchant's responsibility to proactively display any required Proposition 65 warning notice on their products and in their product listings. Note that the requirement to display applicable Proposition 65 warnings only applies to products sold in or into the state of California in the United States. (To see an example of a Proposition 65 warning notice, scroll down to “Add a Warning Notice to a Product Listing Page.”)
If a merchant chooses not to comply with Proposition 65, then the merchant must go into the Merchant Dashboard to exclude California as a ship-to state for particular products. (See how to disable a region in a destination country.)
What follows are resources to help merchants comply with these requirements. Specific formatting and display guidelines apply to warning notices and can be found on the Proposition 65 website (see links below).
Product Package Warnings to Comply With Proposition 65
As noted earlier in this article, the Proposition 65 website provides a warning symbol and sample text to label a product/product package for compliance. What follows is how to access both.
Warning Symbol
Download the warning symbol (see example below) in various sizes and colors from the Proposition 65 website. Also, be sure to read and follow the format and display guidelines for compliance.
Warning text
Warning text and translations are also available on the Proposition 65 website. Locate the warning type that best represents the product, click on the link provided, and choose the language to copy.
Add a Warning Notice to a Product Listing Page
Adding a Proposition 65 warning to a product listing online does NOT eliminate the need for a similar warning to be physically added to the actual physical product or its packaging (which Wish cannot currently assist with).
If a new or existing product requires a warning notice (see Proposition 65 Fact Sheets), merchants can add a Proposition 65 warning to a Wish product listing or listings via the Merchant Dashboard Compliance feature. In doing so, the Merchant Dashboard generates a warning notice on the product detail page that complies with Proposition 65 guidelines.
Merchants are responsible for applying Compliance attributes when a product they sell on the Wish app/Wish.com contains at least one chemical listed in the Proposition 65 chemical list (with risk of exposure) and ships to/is sold in the state of California, United States. Merchants certify that the warning type(s) and chemical name(s) selected satisfies legal requirements for the product.
There are three ways to add a warning notice to product listing pages: manually add to a product listing page, add with a CSV file, or add via API.
Manually add a warning notice to a product listing page:
When adding a new product that requires a warning notice, the Merchant Dashboard steps (Products > Add new product) prompt you similarly to the steps below for adding to an existing product.
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Log in to the Merchant Dashboard.
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Go to Products > View all products.
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Choose the product and on the right under “Action,” choose Edit Listing.
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Scroll to Compliance at the bottom of the page.
5. Select the “California Proposition 65 Warning Type” that best fits the product
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- Note that some warning types require that a chemical name also be indicated, while others do not.
- The Warning Type (and Chemical Name) chosen will determine the warning notice that displays. This notice, once the Compliance feature is populated and saved, is viewable on the product listing page. Scroll down for an example screenshot.
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The following table provides guidance on the Warning Type to choose. Please refer to California's Proposition 65 Fact Sheets for more information about Warning Type:
Warning Type | API & CSV | Description | Warning Message |
Food |
"FOOD" |
The product is food; merchants must indicate a chemical(s) name. |
Warning Consuming this product can expose you to chemicals including [name of one or more chemicals], which is [are] known to the State of California to cause cancer and [name of one or more chemicals], which is [are] known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/food. |
Furniture |
"FURNITURE" |
The product is furniture; merchants must indicate a chemical(s) name. |
Warning This product can expose you to chemicals including [name of one or more chemicals known to cause cancer, name of one or more chemicals known to cause reproductive toxicity, or name of one or more chemicals known to cause both cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm], which is [are] known to the State of California to cause cancer or birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/furniture. |
Chemical | "CHEMICAL" |
Products that may expose consumers to chemicals that cause cancer; merchants must indicate a chemical(s) name. |
Warning This product can expose you to chemicals including [name of one or more chemicals], which is [are] known to the State of California to cause cancer. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/. |
Products that may expose consumers to chemicals that cause reproductive toxicity; merchants must indicate a chemical(s) name. |
Warning This product can expose you to chemicals including [name of one or more chemicals], which is [are] known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/. |
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Products that may expose consumers to different chemicals that cause cancer and reproductive toxicity; merchants must indicate a chemical(s) name. |
Warning This product can expose you to chemicals including [name of one or more chemicals], which is [are] known to the State of California to cause cancer, and [name of one or more chemicals], which is [are] known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/. |
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Products that may expose consumers to chemicals that cause both cancer and reproductive toxicity; merchants must indicate a chemical(s) name. |
Warning This product can expose you to chemicals including [name of one or more chemicals], which is [are] known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/. |
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Raw wood |
"RAW_WOOD" |
Products that may expose consumers to wood dust; selecting a chemical name is optional. |
Warning: Drilling, sawing, sanding or machining wood products can expose you to wood dust, a substance known to the State of California to cause cancer. Avoid inhaling wood dust or use a dust mask or other safeguards for personal protection. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/wood. |
Note: “On-product” refers to when the product itself, or its packaging, is already labeled with California Proposition 65 compliant warning notice(s). |
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On-product cancer |
"ON_PRODUCT_ CANCER" |
The product has the on-product warning of “on-product cancer” printed on or affixed to the product or its container or wrapper; selecting a chemical name is optional. |
Warning: Cancer – www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/ |
On-product reproductive |
"ON_PRODUCT_ REPRODUCTIVE" |
The product has the on-product warnings of “on-product reproductive” printed on or affixed to the product or its container or wrapper; selecting a chemical name is optional. |
Warning: Reproductive Harm – www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/ |
On-product combined cancer reproductive |
"ON_PRODUCT_ COMBINED_ CANCER_ REPRODUCTIVE" |
The product has the on-product warnings of “on-product combined cancer and reproductive” printed on or affixed to the product or its container or wrapper; selecting a chemical name is optional. |
Warning: Cancer and Reproductive Harm – www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/ |
Diesel engines |
"DIESEL_ENGINE" |
The product may expose consumers to diesel engine exhaust; selecting a chemical name is optional. |
Warning: Breathing diesel engine exhaust exposes you to chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. * Always start and operate the engine in a well-ventilated area. * If in an enclosed area, vent the exhaust to the outside. * Do not modify or tamper with the exhaust system. * Do not idle the engine except as necessary. For more information, go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/diesel |
6. Select a chemical from the “California Proposition 65 Chemical Names” drop-down list.
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- This field is searchable, with over 850 chemical names to choose from.
- As noted earlier -- and in the table above -- the Chemical Name field is optional with the exception of Food, Furniture, Chemical: If any of those three Warning Types are chosen (see step 4), then Chemical Name is required and must be chosen to continue editing/creating a product listing.
- If Chemical Name is selected, the chemical(s) is inserted in the notice.
- If a product contains multiple chemicals on the Proposition 65 chemical list, merchants can select up to five maximum chemical names that apply.
7. Go to Product contents and check the appropriate box if your product contains powder, liquid, battery, or metal (click the tooltip information button in the Merchant Dashboard for more information on each content).
8. Scroll down to Compliance documentation and drop any compliance documents (e.g., lab results, testing, certificates) that may apply.
8. Save the changes.
The below screenshots show an example of a warning notice on a Wish.com product listing page and once it is expanded for “More info.”
Note: Product listing page warning notices only display to California residents and/or those shipping to California.
Add a warning notice to product listing pages via a CSV file:
- Log in to the Merchant Dashboard.
- Go to Products > Add/edit products with CSV and follow steps.
- Add column attributes for:
- California Proposition 65 Warning Type
- California Proposition 65 Chemical Names
For further instruction on editing a product using a CSV file, refer to the Help Center article, “Required and optional attributes for adding products.”
Add a warning notice to product listing pages via API:
Follow the v3 API instructions on how to update a product(s). Use the following API endpoints:
- california_prop65_chemical_names
- california_prop65_warning_type
Proposition 65 Quick Links
Read Wish's Merchant Policy
Find out how merchants must comply with their independent obligations under California’s Proposition 65.
Watch Wish's Proposition 65 Webinar (YouTube video; English only)
Watch this tutorial specifically created for merchants.
Visit the California Proposition 65 Website
- Learn more about Proposition 65
- Read about Proposition 65 law and regulations
- Review the Proposition 65 list of chemicals
- Learn about each chemical that requires a warning
- Read about Proposition 65 for Businesses
- Learn about Internet and Catalog warnings for businesses
- Learn about New Proposition 65 Warnings
- Download Proposition 65 compliant warning symbols and sample warning text
- Non-English warnings are also available
- Find frequently asked questions and answers
- Contact the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) with questions, comments, or concerns
- Sign up for email updates to stay current on Proposition 65
Find Product Testing
If in need of product testing to identify chemicals and/or their exposure or volume concentration levels (w/w %), here are resources for accredited test labs:
- China-based merchants: Please see the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS) or query to research accredited test labs.
- All merchants: Please see this reference guide to Proposition 65 test labs.
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