Held v. Elegant Knitted Headwear, Co., Inc., et al.

On September 21, 2009, the San Francisco County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment in Held v. Elegant Knitted Headwear, Co. Inc., et al., which resolved citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E.'s allegations that the defendant Elegant Knitted Headwear, Co. Inc. ("Elegant") sold children's vinyl bags and children's raincoats 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, except during a brief interim warning period, Elegant agreed not to sell any children's vinyl bags or vinyl raincoats in California after August 30, 2009, unless the bags and raincoats contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies. Upon receipt of Held's Notice, Elegant discontinued the manufacture and sale of the 7 Piece Baby Beach Tote (UPC Code #0 14269 00309 2/0 14269 00308 5) and recalled all existing children's vinyl bags and raincoats from retail stores in California.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $32,000, to be 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.