Published
October 10, 2025
Murphy’s Naturals is a veteran-founded small business that offers effective mosquito and tick repellent products formulated with essential oils.
In order to sell most of its products, the company needs its labels to be approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. During a government shutdown, the EPA cannot approve new product labels.
The longer the shutdown, which began October 1, the more the risk grows for the business, said Philip Freeman, Founder and CEO of Murphy's Naturals based in Raleigh, North Carolina, and member of the U.S. Chamber Small Business Council.
“We may not feel it right away, but the backlog that is generated by the shutdown will last long beyond when everything is cleared up and there’s no longer a shutdown,” Freeman said. “That means that the existing backlog of labels submitted to the U.S. EPA for approval will be more extensive and take even longer to clear.”
'You can't make up for lost sales'
Freeman says the shutdown introduces two key problems for his company: General uncertainty and the potential for lost sales.
- “When we commit to deliver products to our retailer customers by a certain date, but we don't really know if we're going to actually be able to do that, it’s a big concern because there can be penalties imposed on our company for late delivery, or worse, the potential cancellation of purchase orders,” Freeman said.
- “It also means lost sales because if your product’s supposed be on the shelves in March, but it’s delayed a month to April, that’s an entire month of sales that are lost during a really important time of year that you can’t get back. As a seasonal business, you can’t make up for lost sales.”
A plea to end the shutdown
Freeman said it’s essential that our government and its various agencies are operating so small businesses can “be confident we're not held up and restricted in any way.”
Freeman hopes Congress will make it a top priority to find a way out of the current budget impasse. The sooner, the better.
- “Do your very best to put the rhetoric aside. If it’s not a helpful conversation, set it aside and get things done,” said Freeman. “Solve for the problem that exists, get it done so that America can move forward and operate, because we’re depending on our policymakers to get things done.”
Small Business Impact
The big picture on shutdown impact
When the government partially shut down in 2018, it reduced economic output by $11 billion in the following two quarters, including $3 billion the U.S. economy never regained, analysts estimate.
The Chamber’s Senior Vice President of Small Business Policy Tom Sullivan breaks down the potential impacts to small business contractors, Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, business travel, and more.
More on the Shutdown
Is the Shutdown Affecting You?
Is your small business impacted by the shutdown of the federal government? If so, we want to hear from you.
About the author
Thaddeus Swanek
Thaddeus is a senior writer and editor with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's strategic communications team.
