New Mexico appeals preliminary injunction on PFAS labeling rule

New Mexico appealed a preliminary injunction against the state’s PFAS labeling requirement Oct. 16.

The preliminary injunction was issued by U.S. District Judge Margaret Strickland Sept. 21, temporarily halting the state’s PFAS labeling rule following a lawsuit filed in July challenging the regulation.

If the preliminary injunction is lifted, the rule will take effect Jan. 1, 2027, requiring manufacturers to display a universal symbol on any product containing intentionally added PFAS.

The business organizations that filed the lawsuit argue that the regulation is “unconstitutional” and violates “First Amendment rights of companies by compelling them to spread the State’s unsupported message that PFAS-containing products are dangerous,” according to the complaint.

Strickland argued that New Mexico failed to demonstrate how the label “is a rational vehicle to achieve the goals of protecting consumer and environmental health,” and added that “the state proclaims the regulation exists to raise consumer awareness, but underneath intends the label to operate as a warning in disguise.”

While the PFAS labeling rule has been halted, the other regulations in the state’s PFAS Protection Act, including product bans, remain effective.

For more information about PFAS regulations in the U.S., visit Advanced Textiles Association’s PFAS Resource Center at textiles.org/education/pfas-resource-center.