The CPSIA is a security improvement Act signed into law by President Bush on August 14, 2008. The law is the most stringent consumer protection legislation since the creation of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in 1972. In addition to stricter requirements for lead content in children's products, the new law also makes new regulations on the content of harmful substances in toys and child care products, phthalates. In addition, the bill requires the creation of a public consumer product safety database.
On August 14, 2008, President Bush signed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA/HR4040) into law.
CPSIA affects all industries that manufacture, import, and distribute toys, clothing, and other children's products and care products in the United States. All manufacturers should ensure that their products comply with all requirements, prohibitions, standards or regulations of the Act. In the phthalate content, DEHP, DBP and BBP have been permanently banned, except for DINP, DIDP and DNOP, which are temporarily banned until the CHAP study report is available to decide whether to lift the ban or list it as a permanent ban. It must be tested by a CPSC-approved testing agency, otherwise it will face heavy fines and lead to export disruption. The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) was passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Bush on August 14, 2008. CPSIA is designed to allow the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to better regulate and sell the safety of imported products in the U.S. CPSIA also contains regulations designed to make products safer for children under the age of 12, requiring manufacturers and importers of products to show that these products do not have harmful levels of lead and phthalates. Almost every product marketed in the United States for children under the age of 12 will affect CPSIA's. This can include use and vintage products. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) will allow thrift stores that do not sell products that may contain high levels of lead and still maintain sales of those products are not per CPSIA law.
Test items:
* Testing of lead content in toys/children's products and paints/paints
* Testing of small parts that can cause suffocation
* Rubber/pacifier
* Children's beds with rails
* Metal jewelry for children
* Inflatable baby jump bed, baby walker, jump rope
Us CPSIA/HR4040 test for lead/phthalates
Article 101. Children's products containing lead; Lead paint regulations
Article 102: Mandatory third-party testing of certain children's products
Article 103 Traceability labels for children's products
Article 104 Standards and consumer registration for durable infant products
Article 105 Labelling requirements for advertisements of toys and games
Article 106 Mandatory toy safety standards
Section 107 Study of preventable minority child injuries and deaths associated with consumer products
Article 108 prohibits the sale of certain products containing phthalates
CPSIA has a number of other safety regulations affecting baby and toddler products. The bill states that "durable infant and toddler products," such as cribs, strollers and stationary entertainers, can be used with a product registration card in the event of a recall. The CPSC's requirements take a look at voluntary safety standards in these products and potentially make them stronger with federal regulations. CPSIA's strong focus is on crib safety, not only illegally manufacturing or selling cribs that do not meet federal safety standards, but also illegally providing them for use, such as in hotels or day care.
The CPSIA also has some requirements on how manufacturers, distributors and retailers advertise products that may contain small parts that may pose a choking hazard. The law provides for a searchable online database of recalls, safety information and accident reports of product-caused injuries.
Section 103 (a) of the new Act requires manufacturers to carry a tracking label or other distinctive permanent identifying mark on consumer products intended for use by children 12 years of age or younger. The tracking mark must contain some basic information, including the origin of the product, the date the product was manufactured, and more details about the manufacturing process (such as batch or serial number). The scope of this clause is quite broad, covering all children's products, including, but not limited to, such as clothing, shoes, and not just toys and other regulated products. Congress amended the requirements for tracking labels to use language that says "to the extent practicable," acknowledging that requiring small toys and other small products that are not individually packaged at the time of manufacture and shipment to bear a distinct, permanent identifying mark is not necessarily feasible.
The CPSC is authorized to publish rules that explain in detail the requirements that should be printed on tracking labels. Moreover, the Commission could in the future require that more information printed on tracking labels for children's products be extended to tracking labels for other consumer products.
Section 103 (c) of the new Act also deals with various types of declarations by manufacturers claiming compliance with mandatory or voluntary safety rules. As of October 12, 2008, no product packaging, advertising or labeling may contain a safety standard unless the product actually meets that standard.
Effective Date: The requirement for tracking standards came into effect one year after the Act's implementation on August 14, 2009. The requirement to prohibit self-proclaimed declarations for advertising purposes came into effect 60 days after the Act came into force, or on October 13, 2008.
Section 104 of the Act requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission to study and develop safety standards for infant and toddler products. Congress specified that the products that the Commission must study include: full-size and non-full-size cribs; Infant bed; High chair, baby booster seat, hook type seat; A bath bench; Protective doors or fences to protect children; Children's pen bed; Fixed activity facilities for children; Baby carrier; A child's cart; Baby walker; A swing; Baby basket and bassinet. The commission must either change the current voluntary standards to mandatory standards or come up with more stringent safety standards. The Commission may decide which categories of products to prioritize, but it must issue two regulations by August 14, 2009 at the latest, and publish two regulations every six months until all products have mandatory standards. Once the Commission publishes these safety standards, it is illegal to manufacture, sell or import violations of the new safety standards and will be subject to civil or criminal liability.
Congress specifies that the mandatory standards for cribs apply not only to cribs, portable cribs, and playpen beds sold on the market or wholesale through other commercial means, but also to hotels, child care centers, home care for children, or other locations where cribs are used or rented.
This section of the bill also requires the Commission to publish a final rule on August 14, 2009, requiring manufacturers of such infant and toddler products to provide consumers with a postage paid registration card so that manufacturers and retailers can contact customers if the product is recalled or other safety information is required.
Finally, this section of the Act also requires the CPSC, two years after the enactment of the mandatory product registry rule, to periodically review methods for issuing product recall notices and confirm that these methods are effective in promoting product recalls. Within three years of the Act's entry into force (August 14, 2011), the Commission is to submit a report to Congress on its assessment of product recall methods. If the Commission determines by regulation that a method is as effective or more effective in promoting product recalls than the registries required by the regulation, the Commission shall report to Congress and permit manufacturers to use the method in place of the registries required by the regulation.
The new law clarifies the CPSC's authority to inspect private laboratories that test products to support the certification of children's products made by manufacturers. The new law expands the scope of inspections and record-keeping for importers, retailers and wholesalers of consumer goods, requiring them to confirm the name and address of the manufacturer of the product. The Act requires manufacturers to keep records of every retailer or wholesaler dealing in a consumer product and every contractor involved in the manufacturing process of the product.
Commencement Date: This clause will come into force on the commencement date of the new Act, i.e. 14 August 2008
This document is an informal description of the provisions of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. The document does not replace or substitute for the requirements set forth in the new Act. The dates listed depend on the enactment date of the bill. Certain elements are subject to change, subject to the final decision of the Committee.
Technical requirements and trends of CPSIA products
Requirements for children's products containing lead or lead paint:
A phased limit on lead content in all components of children's products, requiring that the limit for total lead content in any accessible part of the product be eventually reduced from 600ppm (0.06%) by weight to no excess within a three-year period
Over 100ppm (0.01%) by weight.
Lead content limit
In children's products, non-touchable ingredients are excluded
Not exceeding 600ppm (0.06%), 180 days after the date of promulgation of the regulation (February 10, 2009)
Not exceeding 300ppm (0.03%), 1 year after the date of promulgation of the regulation (August 14, 2009)
Not exceeding 100ppm (0.01%), 3 years after the date of promulgation of the regulation (August 14, 2011)
Lead paint on children's products and toys
Not exceeding 90ppm (0.009%), 1 year after the date of enactment of the regulation (August 14, 2009)
90 days after the regulation takes effect (November 12, 2008), manufacturers and private label brands of children's products must
-- Send the product to a qualified independent third-party testing organization for relevant testing
-- Issue a certificate certifying that the product complies with applicable standards or regulations
-- For specific mandatory product information, test organization requirements and time requirements, please pay attention to EBO related technical document updates
