The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a Request for Information (RFI) on state laws and regulations that may unduly burden interstate commerce, raise costs, or harm markets. ISPA submitted public comments that focus on state-by-state packaging labeling laws. In recent years, states have enacted legislation, both under consumer protection and recycling acts, that would mandate state-specific labeling for consumer as well as commercial packaging.  

ISPA believes that a state-by-state patchwork of packaging labeling laws would create undue burdens on businesses and economic harm to both businesses and the consumers who use these products daily. Instead, ISPA supports a uniform federal structure for recyclable, compostable, and reusable packaging claims, preempting individual and inconsistent state laws.  

ISPA anticipates that the Packaging and Claims Knowledge Act (PACK Act) will be introduced later this year in the U.S. Congress. The PACK Act would create a uniform federal structure for when recyclable, compostable, and reusable claims can be made for packaging and would preempt state laws that attempt to inconsistently regulate these types of claims. 

Click here to read ISPA’s public comments.