September 5, 2025
NAILD Blasts DLC in Open Letter. Calls for 2030 Industry Exit.
Lighting distributor association accuses DLC of financial overreach and ignoring stakeholder input
In a sharply critical open letter released Friday, the National Association of Innovative Lighting Distributors (NAILD) called on the DesignLights Consortium (DLC) to impose an immediate five-year freeze on all lighting certification changes and to exit the industry entirely by 2030.
The letter, addressed to DLC Executive Director Tina Halfpenny and co-signed by NAILD President Matt Honson and Devin Wall of Louvers International, claims DLC has repeatedly ignored stakeholder input and created a certification ecosystem that imposes unnecessary cost, complexity, and harm.
“We find DLC issuing ‘deadlines’ to our industry—the nightmare circus starting up all over again—requiring us to submit feedback within narrowly defined timeframes and through processes you orchestrate,” the letter reads. “Regardless of the feedback provided, we are ultimately expected to accept new certification standards that you impose.”
In response to a request for comment from Inside Lighting, Halfpenny issued a brief statement:
“We have received hundreds of comments, so we have our work ahead of us to process, clarify and assess appropriate changes to the final copy of our TR. Appreciate you keeping this open comment opportunity in front of your readers.”
- Tina Halfpenny, CEO, DesignLights Consortium
The open letter follows a period of heightened scrutiny of DLC’s draft Version 6.0 requirements, which several manufacturers say could significantly increase product development costs. One manufacturer told Inside Lighting earlier this week that bringing just one product family into compliance could exceed $1 million, factoring in redesign, retesting and other related actions necessary to satisfy the proposed 6.0 standards.
But NAILD’s critique goes beyond cost. The letter frames DLC as a central force behind multiple industry-wide problems — ranging from light pollution to e-waste to the erosion of repairability.
“Flickering LED TLEDs and flat panels? All DLC certified,” the letter states. “And now, most of the products bearing your seal are on track to become a catastrophic tidal wave of DLC-certified e-waste garbage.”
NAILD also claims that its prior attempts at engagement were dismissed or ignored. The letter references a 2023 Accreditation Agency Advisory Committee Report and multiple earlier letters that received no formal response. It accuses the DLC of removing NAILD from a stakeholder committee after raising concerns, and of consistently declining invitations to appear on NAILD-affiliated industry podcasts.
The group questions the legitimacy of DLC’s nonprofit status and utility-aligned funding model, stating:
“Why are American taxpayers subsidizing product labeling for electrical utility lighting rebate programs? Americans are already paying for these programs through increases in the price of electricity. What charitable service could you possibly be providing?”
In its conclusion, the letter lays out three direct demands:
- “Put a 5 year moratorium on all revisions or changes to current DLC Product Labelling certifications for lighting products, including LUNA, and guarantee that they will stay in place until 2030.”
- “Plan for the sunsetting of all DLC Product Labels and Certifications in the lighting industry by the year 2030.”
- “In 2030, leave the lighting industry permanently.”
The group argues that the negative effects of DLC’s certification system now outweigh its benefits, claiming that DLC-approved products have contributed to “the unchecked rise in light pollution and the loss of the night sky,” as well as “the collapse of the right to repair.”
NAILD also published the letter online and made reference to a previously private report now available at www.NAILD.org/DLCreport
While some of the issues raised have surfaced in other forums—such as interviews and commentary on Get a Grip on Lighting, which NAILD produces—this letter marks the first time the group has made such a sweeping call for the DLC’s departure from the lighting industry.
Whether the letter will gain support from other stakeholders remains to be seen. But it adds another layer of pressure as the DLC continues reviewing public comments on its Version 6.0 draft. The final version is expected later this fall.
