Held et al. v. American Apparel, Inc.; American Apparel USA, LLC

The Honorable Roy O. Chernus of the Marin County Superior Court granted the parties’ motion to approve the Consent Judgment in the case Held et al. v. Alticor, Inc., et al., on March 7, 2012.  This enforcement action resolved citizen enforcers John Moore and Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E.’s allegations that eighteen defendants sold products containing phthalate chemicals, including defendants American Apparel, Inc. and American Apparel USA, LLC and its releasee American Apparel Retail, Inc. (collectively “American Apparel”), which allegedly sold bags and other carrying cases containing the phthalate chemicals di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (“DEHP”), di-n-butyl phthalate (“DBP”) and butyl benzyl phthalate (“BBP”) in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings. 

As part of the settlement, American Apparel agreed not to sell any bags or other carrying cases in California after December 15, 2011, unless the bags contain no more than 1,000 parts per million (0.1%) of DEHP, DBP, and BBP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Additionally, American Apparel agreed to provide the reformulation standards to its vendors by January 15, 2012, and instruct them to provide bags that comply with the reformulation standards expeditiously.  As American Apparel agreed to reformulate its bags to eliminate the need for Proposition 65 warnings, Moore and Held agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.  Because American Apparel was the subject of an existing complaint regarding violations of Proposition 65, it was responsible for paying an additional charge.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $91,500, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, the waived civil fine, and compensation to whistleblowers Moore and Held and their counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.