Tell California Lawmakers to Overturn Gov Newsom's Veto of SB682

California Gov Newsom Vetoes PFAS Ban in Cookware, Children’s Products, Food Packaging, Cleaning Products and More

In a celebrated move last week, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB1264 phasing out ultraprocessed foods from California schools. The governor described it as a measure that should “unite all of us, regardless of political stripes.” It’s a move that will also surely influence other states.

Yet on Monday, October 13, Gov Newsom vetoed SB682, legislation that passed California’s legislature and would have banned toxic PFAS Forever Chemicals in cookware, children’s products, food packaging, cleaning products, dental floss, and ski wax. Polls have shown that a majority of all Americans, regardless of political stripes, want action taken to remove PFAS chemicals from consumer products and regulatory measures to prevent further PFAS pollution by corporate manufacturers.

State Senator Benjamin Allen (D-Santa Monica), who introduced SB682, said the veto allowed manufacturers to "escape accountability" and kept the burden of cleaning the environment on the public.

California has already banned PFAS in items like apparel and textiles, carpets, firefighting foam, and cosmetics in recent years. So why did Newsom veto a ban on cookware and children’s products?

Newsom wrote in his veto statement, “I appreciate the efforts to protect the health and safety of consumers, and while this bill is well-intentioned, I am deeply concerned about the impact this bill would have on the availability of affordable options in cooking products.”

Newsom’s quote is a talking point of the corporate lobbying groups Chemical Industry Council of California and the Cookware Sustainability Alliance, made up of most of the major PFAS-cookware manufacturers such as Meyer Corporation, Rachael Ray, All-Clad and Hestan. But that talking point is nothing more than gaslighting. There are plenty of affordable cookware options made of safe materials already on the market.

And some celebrity chefs did their own lobbying. Rachael Ray, David Chang, Einat Admony, Thomas Keller, Marcus Samuelsson, Michael Cimarusti, and Mark Dommen all sent letters to lawmakers lobbying against SB682. Some of these chefs have lines of cookware made with PFAS. It’s no wonder they want to keep putting Californians, and all Americans, in harm's way… for their poison profits.

Five other states had the courage to stand against chemical and cookware corporations in the interest of human and environmental health. In January 2025, Minnesota became the first state to ban PFAS in cookware. Colorado and Maine followed by passing legislation to ban PFAS in cookware beginning in January 2026. Connecticut and Vermont passed legislation to do the same starting in January 2028.

In August, a Minnesota judge threw out a lawsuit filed by the Cookware Sustainability Alliance earlier this year in an effort to overturn Minnesota’s PFAS ban in cookware.

There is no reason for Gov Newsom to veto SB682 except to protect the profits of chemical and PFAS cookware corporations.

Californians: Send an email today to your state lawmakers urging them to overturn Gov Newsom’s veto of SB682.

For everyone outside of California: It’s time to boycott.

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