Held v. Stretch-O-Rama, Inc. and Silver Goose, Inc.

On March 6, 2009, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E., and settling defendants Stretch-O-Rama, Inc. ("Stretch-O-Rama") and Silver Goose, Inc. ("Silver Goose") entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement, which resolved Held's allegations that Stretch-O-Rama and Silver Goose sold baby bibs, vinyl zipper pulls, and other children's products 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, Stretch-O-Rama and Silver Goose agreed not to sell any baby bibs, children's vinyl zipper pulls, or other children's products in California after March 9, 2009, unless the baby bibs, zipper pulls, and other products contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or have Proposition 65 health hazard warnings provided. 100% of the baby bibs, vinyl zipper pulls, and other children's products offered for sale in California by Stretch-O-Rama and Silver Goose after April 30, 2009, shall qualify as reformulated.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $28,879, 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.