Held v. Conscious Corporation

On June 28, 2012, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E. and settling defendant Conscious Corporation ("Conscious") entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement, which resolved Held's allegations that Conscious sold footwear containing the phthalate chemical di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate ("DEHP") in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, Conscious agreed not to sell any footwear in California after July 1, 2012, unless such footwear contained less than 0.1 percent (1,000 parts per million) of DEHP when analyzed using state and federally approved testing methodologies. Due to Conscious's commitment to comply with these heightened standards and cooperation during the settlement process, Held agreed to credit a portion of the civil penalties that would otherwise be applied.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $35,000, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to whistleblower Held and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.