Laws going into effect in 2026
In 2026, state leadership on toxic chemicals and plastics will become tangible for many Americans living in states with new laws protecting them from harm. Laws adopted in prior legislative sessions will be taking effect, changing what ends up in food, drinking water, schools, workplaces, and homes across the country.
This implementation wave reflects sustained state leadership that took action in response to an urgent need to protect the health of families and communities. The result is clearer expectations for businesses, stronger protections for communities, and growing ripple effects across national markets.
The laws taking effect in 2026 build on work that has happened in other states, including California, Minnesota, Maine, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington, and will provide protections for at least 62 million Americans living in states with these new laws. The long-term impacts will extend well beyond state lines as more retailers and manufacturers change their chemical policies nationally in response to these state policies.
Transparency: Making the invisible visible
Several policies taking effect in 2026 strengthen one of the most important pillars of prevention-based policy: transparency, the right to know which chemicals are used to make products, which chemicals are in those products, and where exposures persist.
Minnesota’s requirement for manufacturers to report their use of PFAS in products sold into the state begins in July of 2026. This requirement is the broadest forever chemicals disclosure in the world and should yield information on uses of these chemicals that were previously unknown.
Oregon’s Toxic-Free Kids Act, building on earlier reporting required in Washington and Vermont, expands disclosure of toxic chemicals in children’s products to include more specific requirements to report on the brand and model of product containing chemicals of concern. At the same time, Connecticut and Washington are requiring companies to report the use of forever chemicals across broad use categories, giving regulators and communities a clearer picture of where these chemicals remain in use.
Rhode Island’s biosolids testing law also takes effect in 2026, closing a loophole that allowed forever chemicals from homes and industry to be unknowingly spread back onto farmland. Requiring testing before land application interrupts a contamination cycle that moves toxic chemicals from products to wastewater, into soil, and ultimately into food and drinking water.
Ban the bad: Drawing clear lines about what doesn’t belong
States are stopping toxic chemicals before they become widespread problems. Rather than waiting for chemicals or plastics to contaminate drinking water or farmland, states are setting clear limits on what is acceptable in commerce. This reflects a simple truth: once toxic chemicals are widespread, cleanup is costly, incomplete, and often impossible. Prevention is both less costly and the best way to protect public health.
States are moving away from regulating one chemical at a time and instead restricting entire classes of toxic chemicals, including PFAS, bisphenols, toxic flame retardants, and phthalates. Science and community experience have long shown these chemicals do not belong in food, drinking water, or the products people touch, wear, cook with, or bring into their homes.
Washington’s Safer Products for Washington law (2019) and Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act (2023) continue to set national precedents through rulemaking that are actively reshaping the market and require the state to identify safer alternatives before enacting restrictions. New rules include first-in-the-nation policies that eliminate formaldehyde-releasing chemicals from cosmetics and bisphenols from receipt paper.
In Maine, a broad ban on unnecessary uses of PFAS is taking effect across products such as clothing, cleaning products, cookware, dental floss, children’s products, food packaging, menstrual products, personal care products, ski wax, and textiles. This follows Minnesota’s similar law and aligns with both states’ plans to ban all unnecessary PFAS uses by 2032.
Other states are implementing comparable protections in 2026. Specifically:
- Vermont restricted PFAS in artificial turf, clothing, children’s products, menstrual and incontinence products, personal care products, and textiles.
- Colorado restricted PFAS in artificial turf, cookware, carpeting, cleaning products, menstrual products, dental floss, and ski wax.
- New York banned PFAS and other toxic chemicals in menstrual products.
States are also drawing firmer lines beyond PFAS. California’s ban on all bisphenols in children’s feeding products is taking effect and Oregon continues to implement its ban on polystyrene in food packaging.
Anticipated implementation is already reshaping the marketplace:
- More and more products are available with safer options, including stainless steel and cast iron pans.
- The toxic-free cosmetic market continues to grow with projected 8% annual growth.
- Nationwide, 19 major retailers have restricted bisphenols in receipts.
Promoting safer solutions
Some of the most noticeable changes taking effect in 2026 appear in everyday places.
Michigan’s requirement for filtered water refill stations in schools and New Jersey’s law requiring reusable utensils for dine-in service, with disposable utensils only upon request, shift norms around plastic waste and promote safer, non-toxic reuse. Washington’s rules on bisphenols in receipt paper and PFAS forever chemicals in furniture came after its Department of Ecology evaluated and identified safer solutions.
These policies succeed because they don’t rely on individual behavior. Instead they embed safer options into daily life. When healthier choices are the default, protection becomes routine
