CPSC Clarifies Requirements of New Children’s Product Safety Laws Taking Effect in FebruaryGuidance Intended for Resellers of Children’s Products, Thrift and Consignment Stores
WASHINGTON, D.C. - In February 2009, new requirements of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) take effect. Manufacturers, importers and retailers are expected to comply with the new Congressionally-mandated laws. Beginning February 10, 2009, children’s products cannot be sold if they contain more than 600 parts per million (ppm) total lead. Certain children’s products manufactured on or after February 10, 2009 cannot be sold if they contain more than 0.1% of certain specific phthalates or if they fail to meet new mandatory standards for toys.
Under the new law, children’s products with more than 600 ppm total lead cannot lawfully be sold in the United States on or after February 10, 2009, even if they were manufactured before that date. The total lead limit drops to 300 ppm on August 14, 2009.
The new law requires that domestic manufacturers and importers certify that children’s products made after February 10 meet all the new safety standards and the lead ban. Sellers of used children’s products, such as thrift stores and consignment stores, are not required to certify that those products meet the new lead limits, phthalates standard or new toy standards.
The new safety law does not require resellers to test children’s products in inventory for compliance with the lead limit before they are sold. However, resellers cannot sell children’s products that exceed the lead limit and therefore should avoid products that are likely to have lead content, unless they have testing or other information to indicate the products being sold have less than the new limit. Those resellers that do sell products in violation of the new limits could face civil and/or criminal penalties.
When the CPSIA was signed into law on August 14, 2008, it became unlawful to sell recalled products. All resellers should check the CPSC Web site (www.cpsc.gov) for information on recalled products before taking into inventory or selling a product. The selling of recalled products also could carry civil and/or criminal penalties.
While CPSC expects every company to comply fully with the new laws resellers should pay special attention to certain product categories. Among these are recalled children’s products, particularly cribs and play yards; children’s products that may contain lead, such as children’s jewelry and painted wooden or metal toys; flimsily made toys that are easily breakable into small parts; toys that lack the required age warnings; and dolls and stuffed toys that have buttons, eyes, noses or other small parts that are not securely fastened and could present a choking hazard for young children.
The agency has underway a number of rulemaking proposals intended to provide guidance on the new lead limit requirements. Please visit the CPSC website at www.cpsc.gov for more information.
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I did it! For the first time ever I investigated an issue and wrote my Senators and Representative.
A law was recently passed that requires all items that are intended to be sold to children under the age of 12 to be tested and certified that they do not contain excessive amounts of lead or other dangerous chemicals. While we all want safe products for our children, this law was written so badly that I think it causes more problems than it solves.
Rather than re-hashing the issue, I pasted the text of the letter I sent below. Would you do me a huge favor and contact your Congressmen too? You can copy and paste the text of my letter or write your own, but please do it!
If you want more information, check out these websites:
She Does Hair - I know it’s a hair blog, but there was a good post on this subject.
I-Petitions.com - You can sign this petition without making a donation. It will automatically prompt you to donate, but it sends your signature before it asks for money.
Consumer Product Safety Commission Overview – This is a 13 slide PowerPoint – It’s a whole lot easier to follow than the 63 page rule!
Here are links to find your Senators and Representative. Thanks! You’re all great!
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Dear (Insert Senator or Representative Name)
I am writing regarding the recently enacted Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) (PL 110-787). I am sure you have received many form letters related to this issue; I considered sending a form letter too, but I wanted to capture my own thoughts.
Based on my understanding, this regulation will have significant unintended consequences that will harm small manufacturers, including small home-based businesses of normal people trying to support their families without relying on the government for help. And although this legislation was designed to protect consumers, I believe its negative effects greatly outweigh its intended benefits.
In many cases, the new testing is unnecessary as many products have already undergone extensive testing. Many products are inherently lead-free, so the requirement that every product intended for use by a child be tested and certified is … well, ridiculous!
This legislation unintentionally harms millions of honest, hard-working “micro-entrepreneurs” in this country. What about the person who knits baby blankets and sells them for a small profit? Or people who make and sell homemade birthday cards for children? Will they have to certify that their yarn, paper, and rubber stamps are lead free? These items have been safe for years, and they will be safe in the future. How can we justify spending hundreds of billions of dollars to stimulate the economy, then pass this type of regulation that undermines an entire segment of small business?
The outcome of this new regulation that I find most galling is the impact that this will have on thrift shops and the Americans who rely on them. Charitable organizations such as Deseret Industries, the Goodwill, and others that provide low-cost clothing to those in need will no longer be able to sell those goods unless each item of clothing has been tested. These organizations will have no alternative but to throw these needed and useful items away. At a time when unemployment is reaching record highs and it seems there is no end to the economic catastrophe all around us, eliminating a safe, effective, low-cost source of clothing for those in need seems…worse than ridiculous! It’s wasteful and wrong.
Rather than just complaining, I want to be a force for good. Here is a solution I came up with that I think meets the objectives of this legislation while minimizing the adverse effects I have discussed. Instead of banning all items that have not undergone this testing, simply require businesses to disclose whether or not their products have had additional testing.
I am so totally frustrated by this experience that I am turning to my Congressmen for help. I cannot require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to bring some sanity to these rules, but you can. Thank you for your time. I know you are very busy, but I would appreciate receiving a reply to my letter.
