Held Settles With Philips Re: DEHP in Headphones

Dr. Anthony Held has reached a settlement with Philips Holding and Philips North America in regard to alleged violations of Proposition 65.  Held alleged that Philips sold headphones with earhooks that contained the phthalate chemical DEHP, which is known to the State of California to cause birth defects and/or other reproductive harm. 

Under Proposition 65, companies offering products for sale that contain DEHP must provide consumers with a “clear and reasonable” warning of the risk of exposure, which Held alleges that Philips failed to do for its headphones.

In addition to paying civil penalties, Philips has agreed to sell in California only headphones with earhooks that have been reformulated to be virtually free of DEHP.  Held has agreed to waive part of the civil penalty, as incentive for Philips to accelerate reformulation, should Philips provide Held with certification that all headphones with earhooks sold in California are DEHP-free by January 30, 2016.

For more details and to read the settlement itself, please see the case summary on our website: Held v. Philips Holding USA Inc., et al.

The Chanler Group represents citizen enforcers who, acting in the public interest, commence actions against businesses offering products for sale in California that contain chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive harm without first providing the health hazard warning required by Proposition 65. Citizen enforcers bringing Proposition 65 actions in the public interest may obtain a Court Judgment imposing civil penalties, an injunction requiring reformulation of products, and/or provision of health hazard warnings