Getting started

From formula to product

On this page9

One: choose the carrier Two: calculate the VOC content by weight Three: check the figure against the current table Four: decide whether you are making a pesticide Five: build the disclosure Six: plan how the date gets onto the unit Seven: then choose the container and the sprayer Why carrier before everything References

What the fragrance is dissolved in decides whether the product is compliant.

One: choose the carrier

Alcohol carries fragrance well, dries fast and leaves no residue. It is also a volatile organic compound, which is the whole difficulty. Water with a solubiliser is the compliant route and it behaves differently.

Two: calculate the VOC content by weight

Not by volume, and not by how it feels. The limit is a weight-percent of the finished product, and fragrance materials themselves contribute to it.

Three: check the figure against the current table

Because this property could not read it. The reported limit for a pump spray air freshener is 18 weight-percent, and that number is worth verifying from the regulation before it constrains a formula you have spent money on.

Four: decide whether you are making a pesticide

If the label says it kills odour-causing bacteria, sanitises fabric or disinfects, it is a pesticide and needs registration before sale. If it masks or neutralises odour, it is not.

Five: build the disclosure

An air care product is a designated product in California, so the ingredient list on the label and the fuller one on a website both apply. That means running a website as part of the product.

Six: plan how the date gets onto the unit

Inkjet on the container, a printed lot sticker, or a date code in a cleared space on the label applied at fill. Choose it now, because it changes the label layout and the line.

Seven: then choose the container and the sprayer

The sprayer first, because it is the product experience and the shorter list. Then the neck it needs, then the bottles that carry that neck.

Why carrier before everything

It sets the VOC number, which sets compliance; it sets the drying behaviour, which sets whether the product marks fabric; and it sets the material compatibility, which sets the bottle. Three answers from one decision.

References

40 CFR 59.203, national volatile organic compound emission standards for consumer products. The manufacturer or importer "shall ensure that the VOC content levels in table 1 of this subpart... are not exceeded for any consumer product manufactured or imported on or after December 10, 1998". Air freshener is a named category in that table and the limits are expressed as weight-percent. law.cornell.edu

Reported air freshener VOC limits, from search results rather than from Table 1 itself: single-phase aerosol 70 weight-percent, double-phase aerosol 30, liquid and pump spray 18, solid and gel 3. Table 1 would not serve to us from law.cornell.edu, ecfr.gov or the govinfo PDF, so these four figures are unconfirmed against the current text and are flagged wherever they are used.

40 CFR 59.205, Labeling: "The container or package of each consumer product that is subject to this subpart shall clearly display the day, month, and year on which the product was manufactured, or a code indicating such date." Products distributed to consumers at no charge for sampling purposes are excluded. law.cornell.edu

Written from 40 CFR 59.203 and 59.205, and from the catalog as it stood on 18 October 2026. The VOC limits quoted for air fresheners come from search results rather than from Table 1 itself, which would not serve to us, and every page that uses them says so. Confirm them against the current table before setting a formula.