Polis signs bill strengthening Colorado’s ‘forever chemical’ product bans

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) signed into law Wednesday a bill that will result in sweeping bans of “forever chemicals” across a wide range of consumer products.

The law, SB-81, expands upon existing state legislation that prohibited the sale or distribution of certain products containing PFAS compounds, while laying out a specific timeline for the implementation of each ban.

PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are notorious for their ability to persist in the human body and the environment and have been linked to many cancers and other serious illnesses.

The compounds, of which there are thousands, are staple ingredients in industrial discharge, certain types of firefighting foam and many household items: waterproof apparel, cosmetics, dental floss, menstrual necessities, cleaning products and nonstick cookware.   

Existing legislation, passed in 2022, prohibited the sale or distribution of PFAS-laden carpets, fabric treatments, food packaging, items marketed for children’s use and oil and gas products in Colorado as of Jan. 1. It restricted the use of certain firefighting foams on the same date.

The 2022 bill also stipulated that cosmetics, indoor textile furnishings and upholstery containing the compounds could no longer be sold on Jan. 1, 2025, while the same applied to outdoor textiles and upholstery on Jan. 1, 2027.

Wednesday’s law takes these product prohibitions a giant leap forward, albeit with some compromises on the timeline for implementing the bans. 

The new law determines that on Jan. 1, 2025, outdoor apparel used for severe wet weather — and that contains intentionally added PFAS — can be sold in Colorado only if the products have labels indicating they are made with the compounds.

The following year — on Jan. 1, 2026 — the state will outlaw the sale or distribution of cookware, dental floss, menstrual products, and ski wax that contain intentionally added PFAS. Also included in this clause, revised from an initial version that set for 2025, is a prohibition on PFAS-containing cleaning products, aside from those used for floor maintenance in hospital or medical settings.

Also by Jan. 1, 2026 — revised from an initially proposed July 1, 2024 — the installation of artificial turf containing PFAS will no longer be allowed “on any portion of property in the state,” per the law.

On Jan. 1, 2028, Colorado will no longer allow the sale or distribution of several other categories of items with added PFAS: all textile articles, food equipment used in commercial settings and outdoor apparel for severe weather — thereby nullifying the 2025 labeling requirement. The January 2028 ban also extends to floor maintenance products used in hospitals and medical settings.

State legislators declared in the bill’s text that creating such a regulatory timeline “is imperative for the health and safety of the state’s residents,” as well as “for the immediate preservation of the public peace.”

When the bill passed the State Legislature at the end of March, its co-sponsor, state Sen. Lisa Cutter (D), celebrated its advancement as “a HUGE lift” — capitalizing her enthusiasm in a Facebook post that day.

“We had around 70 stakeholders and several corporations even flew executives in to tell me why PFAS are fine,” Cutter wrote at the time. “That argument did not persuade me!”

Cutter acknowledged that in the lead-up to the bill’s passage, she and her colleagues did address “some very real concerns” by clarifying language and extending dates to prevent supply-chain issues and enable unavoidable uses.

“We made lots of concessions — some more reasonable than others,” she added.