The four levers

The named products

On this page10

The wording Which leaves a lot outside The body lotion case is the commercially obvious one Bath soap includes a bar Do not over-read it either Other states name different products And the guest does not know the list Which is the useful thing to tell a customer Keep the list where the sales conversation can reach it References

"Shall include only" is the most quotable phrase in the statute.

The wording

A personal care product for this purpose "shall include only shampoo, hair conditioner, and bath soap". A closed list of three.

Which leaves a lot outside

Body lotion, body wash as distinct from bath soap, facial cleanser, mouthwash, shower cap, shaving kit, vanity kit. None of those is a personal care product under this definition.

The body lotion case is the commercially obvious one

A small plastic bottle of lotion is not within the ban as written. Hotels that moved everything to dispensers often did so for consistency rather than because every item was required to go.

Bath soap includes a bar

Which is the oldest amenity format and was never in a plastic bottle. A wrapped bar is unaffected and remains the simplest compliant soap.

Do not over-read it either

The list is for this definition. It does not say body lotion is unregulated generally, only that it is not the thing this statute prohibits.

Other states name different products

Which is the second place their statutes diverge. A product range built on California's three-item list may be differently placed elsewhere.

And the guest does not know the list

A property with dispensers for shampoo and a small plastic lotion bottle looks inconsistent to a guest even where it is lawful. That is a brand decision sitting on top of a compliance one.

Which is the useful thing to tell a customer

Here is what the law requires, here is what it does not, and here is what your guests will read into the difference. A supplier who can say all three is worth more than one quoting a product list.

Keep the list where the sales conversation can reach it

Shampoo, hair conditioner, bath soap. Three words, quoted from the statute, settle most of the argument about what has to change and what does not.

References

California Public Resources Code 42372 and following, added by AB 1162. A "small plastic bottle" is "a plastic bottle or container with less than a 6-ounce capacity that is intended to be nonreusable by the end user". A "lodging establishment" is "an establishment that contains one or more sleeping room accommodations that are rented or otherwise provided to the public, including, but not limited to, a hotel, motel, resort, bed and breakfast inn, or vacation rental". A "personal care product" for this purpose "shall include only shampoo, hair conditioner, and bath soap". In force from 1 January 2023 above 50 rooms and 1 January 2024 at 50 rooms or fewer, with a written warning for a first violation and up to $500 a day thereafter. codes.findlaw.com

New York, Illinois and Washington have enacted comparable measures on their own timetables and with their own definitions. This property quotes California because that text would serve to us. Read the statute that applies to the state you are supplying rather than assuming the definitions match; the capacity threshold, the named products and the room-count tiers are all places they can differ.

Written from California Public Resources Code 42372 and following, and from the catalog as it stood on 18 October 2026. Other states have enacted comparable measures with their own definitions and dates, which this property names rather than quotes; read the one that applies to you. Amenity products are also cosmetics, which the grooming property covers.