A pandemic didn’t deter the Household and Commercial Products Association (HCPA) from taking ownership on a range of issues on the state and federal levels that are critical to the industry in 2021. Covid-19 wreaked havoc on people’s lives, the global economy and industry events like the HCPA annual meeting. The event was held virtually last year. But as businesses and consumers grapple with the “new normal,” things seem a bit more normal. With more than 200 attendees present and over 100 watching online, the Xpand2021, HCPA’s annual meeting, took place in Fort Lauderdale, FL last month. During the event, the HCPA recognized outstanding volunteers and winners of the HCPA Innovation Awards.

HCPA President and CEO Steve Caldeira noted the important role that the household and commercial products industry played, and continues to play, in navigating the pandemic.

“Despite significant supply chain challenges, cleaning and disinfectant products remained in the hands of consumers and workers,” noted Caldeira.

He credited the HCPA’s work with various federal agencies, especially the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), led by Dr. Steve Bennett and Jim Jones. This work was so successful that HCPA won an American Society of Association Executives' Power of A Gold Award for its COVID advocacy work. ASAE is the highly respected trade association that represents 7,400 trade associations and professional societies over 48,000 individual members. The Power of A awards are the association community’s highest honor, and recognize the extraordinary programs undertaken by associations to solve problems and strengthen lives, the workforce, the economy and the world.

“This prestigious award was well-deserved for our staff and the entire household and commercial products industry that we are honored to represent,” said Caldeira. “Your efforts have been critical in helping mitigate the impacts of covid.”


State Issues

Covid continues to dominate agendas, but HCPA continues to advocate for industry at the state levels on a variety of issues including packaging, ingredient communication and 1,4-dioxane. For example, in New York, HCPA is working with the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) on ingredient communication and 1,4-dioxane.

“New York is still trying to create its own ingredient communication standard. But, as we all know, conflicting state requirements just won’t work,” Caldeira noted. “Consumers want to know what ingredients make up their food, personal care and cleaning products. But they also expect product labels to look the same from state to state.”

Most manufacturers and retailers use the standard established by the California Cleaning Product Right to Know Act. But New York’s regulations could result in two competing standards, which will be confusing for consumers. To avoid a patchwork of disclosure requirements between states, HCPA is working for a national ingredient communication standard based on California’s statute.

“This will be a key focus for the Association in 2022, and we’re hopeful our efforts will establish consistency across state lines and help consumers make informed decisions and feel confident about the products they use,” he added.

Also in New York, HCPA continues to lobby about the implementation of a recent law that bans specified levels of 1,4-dioxane in consumer products. After several conversations with HCPA and allied trade associations, the New York State DEC agreed to introduce a waiver process for companies seeking short-term exclusions from these regulations.


Problems with Packaging

Consumer packaging recycling and sustainability continues to impact industry. Caldeira noted some governments have considered policy options that require manufacturers and brand owners to assume responsibility for end-of-life management for their products. Known as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), it could help eliminate waste through consistent and organized collection, sorting, and recycling of packaging, he said.

In July 2021, Maine became the first state to pass an EPR law, which requires producers of packaged goods to pay into a stewardship fund for municipal waste and recycling management. Oregon quickly followed Maine’s lead and passed its own EPR law in August.

“Simply put, EPR is not going away,” he said. “In fact, the government relations and public policy team, consisting of Kevin Serafino, Michelle Lopez Kopa, and Christopher Finarelli, has been doing a very good job and already started coordinating with stakeholders and lawmakers in California, Colorado, Connecticut, New York, and Washington where we expect EPR activity to pick up.”

Also on the recycling front, HCPA’s Nicholas Georges continues to advocate for aerosol cans to be included in universal waste programs across the country. To date, 26 states have added aerosol cans to their universal waste programs, which is up from 13 states at this same time last year.

“This proves that states are ready and willing to adopt sensible regulations that solve a problem and alleviate unnecessary burdens on industry,” he said.

According to Caldeira, these moves at the state level strengthens the foundation for the joint aerosol recycling project between HCPA, the Can Manufacturers Institute and the Pet Food Institute.

“States are beginning to recognize the value that steel and aluminum have in the recycling stream, and we are working toward increasing the recycling rate of these materials, specifically by focusing on aerosol cans,” he insisted.

In other packaging efforts, HCPA is working with EPA to phasedown the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) as required by the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act. Nicholas Georges, VP-scientific and international affairs, HCPA, actively participated in the rulemaking process with the EPA to ensure the aerosol delivery form was fairly represented in the final rule, according to Caldeira.


Advocating for Industry

In another successful lobbying effort focused on EPA, HCPA played a lead role in organizing a coalition of stakeholders from 60 diverse organizations, including cleaning product and chemical manufacturers, state and local governments, and NGOs, that called on the EPA to restore the Safer Choice program. 

“The EPA will not only restore the Safer Choice program, but also add new product categories, identify additional safer chemicals for use in products, and update and strengthen its standards,” explained Caldeira.

HCPA’s strong support for Safer Choice is one of the reasons why the Association was recognized as a Safer Choice Partner of the Year—the sixth time in seven years that HCPA received the honor.

Finally, in June 2021, despite the pandemic, HCPA hosted its largest Advocacy Day event to date, both in the number of participants and the number of offices reached.  A group of 40 members attended virtual meetings with 45 legislative offices to discuss ingredient communication, EPA appropriations, pesticide registration, and recycling infrastructure.

“These opportunities help us build and maintain strong working relationships with legislators,” noted Caldeira.

All of these efforts attracted the attention of suppliers and marketers within the household and commercial products industry. In 2021, HCPA welcomed 22 new members. 

Never Give Up, Never Quit The pandemic turned many consumers’ lives upside down. But if anyone at the HCPA annual meeting was complaining about their lot in life before Keynote Speaker Travis Mills climbed the podium, they certainly weren’t when he left the stage. US Army Staff Sergeant (retired) Travis Mills Mills served as a US Army staff sergeant of the 82nd Airborne during the war in Afghanistan. On April 10, 2012, while serving his third tour of duty, he was critically injured by an improvised explosive device. Mills lost portions of both legs and both arms. He is one of only five quadruple amputees from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to survive his injuries. And his sense of humor is certainly intact. “When I got out here, I was pretty nervous. I hope I don’t bomb this—you know, because last time what happened,” joked Mills in his opening remarks. “C’mon, that joke is a real knee-slapper…if I had knees!” The self-deprecating jokes continued throughout Mills’ presentation as he recalled getting wounded, the flight back to Kandahar, 14 hours on the operating table and receiving 400 units of blood. On April 12, 2012, Mills was lying in his hospital bed asking “why does God hate me? Why didn’t I just die?” Later, when his wife Kelsey came to visit at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD, Mills said to her, “Kelsey, you don’t have to do this. Take the house, take the car, take whatever money we have saved up and go. This is not the life I would choose for you.” She thought about it and replied “you know, I was thinking that.” But then she came around and said, “you know what? Handicapped parking sounds enticing. I’m gonna stay.” At the time, Mills was 25; his wife, 23 and their daughter, six months. “I’m at Walter Reed and I had to find motivation, and I found it in my wife and my daughter.” While recovering at Walter Reed, Mills met Todd Nicely, another quadruple amputee, who showed him that, with hard work and determination, he could walk and drive again. Nicely was the second quadruple amputee and Mills, the fourth. “Two things went off (in my mind). One, this guy’s showing me the way that I can get better—I can still be there for my family,” recalled Mills. “And No. 2, he’s a Marine. And if a Marine can do it, ya know, with how dumb they are…” First, Mills wanted to feed himself again. After five weeks, he accomplished that. Then, tired of being in a wheelchair, he was determined to walk again. Seven weeks and four days into his recovery, Mills took his first painful steps. Later, he learned to drive a custom pickup. “The technology gave me my independence back,” noted Mills. In September 2013, Mills and his wife Kelsey founded the Travis Mills Foundation, a nonprofit that benefits and assists post-9/11 veterans injured on active duty or as a result of their service to the US. The veteran and their families receive an all-inclusive, all-expenses paid, barrier-free vacation to Maine where they participate in adaptive activities, bond with other veteran families and get much-needed R&R in rustic Maine. “We bring families out and show them they can get outside, canoe and show them that life goes on,” said Mills. “We try to instill confidence in them and independence. This is what I got taught at Walter Reed.” Mills captured those lessons in his New York Times’ best-selling book, “Tough As They Come.” The two life lessons Mills learned that he urged HCPA attendees to pass along to everyone they meet: Don’t dwell on the past. It doesn’t change anything. You can’t always control your situation, but you can always control your attitude.

Yost Receives Allderdice Jr. Memorial Award Joe Yost, VP-strategic alliances and industry relations, HCPA, retired in June after 26 years with the association, especially within the Air Quality Council. “(Joe) left us with a parting gift that I know we’re very grateful for,” noted Caldeira. “The California Air Resources Board (also known as CARB) voted unanimously in March to approve amendments to the Consumer Products Regulation.” The amendments, regarding product categories, volatile organic compound limits, and the two-percent fragrance exemption, were in line with consensus positions developed by the Air Quality Council under Yost’s leadership. For more than a quarter century, Yost delivered these kinds of results for the Association and industry. For all of his efforts, he was awarded the Charles E. Allderdice Jr. Memorial Award. It is the highest honor bestowed by HCPA. The award is presented annually to an individual who has made exceptional contributions to HCPA and the industry.