Tomorrow is February 10th and it is the day that the CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act) goes into effect. Those 5 letters seem so innocent, but they have not been far from the forefront of my existence since I became aware of them in November. I am writing this post as a brain dump of what I have read or heard, what I question, what I am thankful about it for and what I have yet to understand. Anything written from here out is my opinion or interpretation and by no means is the absolute truth of the matter. Because, as will probably become apparent, no one knows what the truth about it is. That’s the problem.
First, it amazes me how many people have never even heard of CPSIA. Especially those that are directly impacted by it. I commend those that have tirelessly fought to bring the issue to the public eye. Just trying to figure out how it affects Lucky Ducky Designs and what I should be doing has tired me enough. So what am I doing? Here is a breakdown by topic:
- LEAD CONTENT: My first concern when I looked at my products were the snaps on my bibs. Many know how adamant I am about not having velcro on them. But I had to be honest - were they safe? Until August ‘09 I can say they meet the current lead requirements under CPSIA. Why only Aug 09? Because by then I am required to have the testing done on the finished product and can’t use the certification that I received from my snap supplier. All of my other materials are fabric - mostly cotton. I have received certs from several suppliers, but not all. Even the CPSC says it is not going after textiles, but that is still not good enough come August when finished products need testing.
- PHTHALATES - This one really gets my blood pressure rising. They are chemicals that are in vinyls and plastics. What needs to be tested for them? Products that are for feeding and sleeping - including bibs and blankets. But my bibs and blankets do not have plastic or vinyl parts. Do I still need to test? I don’t know. Also, the only testing that can be done is destructive, so I would need to send my cotton bibs and burp cloths and blankets to a testing lab to get destroyed and pay thousands to have it done. I am pulling a wait and see on this one, but by August, I think I will need to have the testing done to continue selling them. Which I probably won’t do, unless I suddenly can triple or quadruple my sales to justify the expense.
- CERTIFICATION - I should be getting GCC’s available for my products, but I haven’t sent my products to get the XRF testing done and since I haven’t had a request for one yet, I am still delaying to see what it is I actually am required to do. Will my supplier certs be enough to base my own cert on? What about the phthalate issue for the bibs, if I offer a gcc without testing for the phthalate on the end product, am I more liable? (although I know that they are safe.)
- LABELING - Come August we need to have batch labeling and other info permanently labeled on our products (not on a hang tag). My batches are never more than 5 of a given fabric at a time. What kind of labeling will be needed for OOAK?
- STAY - many following CPSIA have heard that the CPSC has applied a 1 year stay that allows manufacturers to transition and allows a lot of questionable things about the CPSIA law to be figured out. However there are special interest groups that are fighting the stay, so any day it can be overturned. Also, the stay is for testing and certification, you may still be liable if an item doesn’t meet the required levels. How do you know it doesn’t reach those levels? You test. Or you do as I am hoping to do and get the certs from all of your suppliers and pray that at some point in time they say that those certs are enough.
- SAG- State Attorney Generals - What do they have to do with it all? Well, although the CPSC has processed the stay, SAG’s can legally enforce the law and charge those not complying. Several have already reported that they will enforce it.
So that is my quick rundown of my confusion that is the CPSIA. I do not know what it all means for the future of my small business. I want safe products available and I would not knowingly break the law. I believe in the safety of my products.It is the testing and documenting thatwill end up being cost prohibitive. Also, it seems to be changing everyday, so if I XRF test today(which my latest estimate was $350 - much more reasonable), who’s to say that I won’t need to do additional testing anyway when something else changes. The phthalate testing still hasn’t been resolved, except to say that it is required for all productsretroactively, not just those produced in the future (thanks to a special interest law suit).
So those are my ramblings on CPSIA and Lucky Ducky Designs. I haven’t even mentioned how it affect ALL products for children 12 and under - bicycles, school supplies, books (post-1985 have been OK’ed by CPSC, most before that have lead in the ink-have you heard of children getting sick from old books?). Also resale shops are in the same boat as the retailers - you may sell without testing, but you are liable if the product has been found to have any lead above the required levels.
I want children safe. I want to obey the law. I don’t want to go bankrupt to do it. I don’t want to fill landfill with products that are safe but illegal to sell or give away because they aren’t properly tested or documented. I want someone with some power to understand the ramifications of this instead of placating us by saying it doesn’t apply to us because it does.
I guess I have rambled enough. Although I was hoping that if I did a brain dump I would feel about it. I don’t. But I need to get back to work on some orders and focus on my family as well.
Oh yeah, what am I thankful for? I am thankful that this law has made people aware that just because something is for sale, it doesn’t mean that it is good for you. Of course the other 99% of products are suffering the consquences.
Well I finally did it! I went ahead and added a Medium size headband to 
