Held v. Alexanders Textile Products, Inc.

The parties negotiated an out-of-court settlement on February 16, 2013, which resolved citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E.’s allegations that the defendant Alexanders Textile Products, Inc. (“Alexanders”) sold Halloween costume accessories 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, Alexanders agreed not to sell any Halloween costume accessories in California after January 15, 2013, unless the accessories contain no more than 1,000 parts per million (0.1%) of DEHP in any accessible component that may be touched or handled during reasonably foreseeable use when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should Alexanders comply with these heightened standards and provide written certification that all costume accessories sold in California are reformulated by December 31, 2012, Held agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.    

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $15,000, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to whistleblower Held and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.