Held v. Trends International, LLC

Whistleblower Anthony E. Held, Ph.D, P.E. and settling party Trends International, LLC (“Trends”) entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement on January 12, 2015, which resolved Held’s allegations that Trends sold planners with vinyl/PVC covers 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, Trends agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC planner covers in California after January 15, 2015, unless the planner covers contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies, or have Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Should Trends provide written certification by June 15, 2015, that all vinyl/PVC planner covers qualify as reformulated, Held agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $31,750, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to citizen enforcer Held and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.