U.S. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY IMPROVEMENT ACT

TO: OUR PRESENT & FUTURE U.S. CUSTOMERS
FROM: CHRIS GANN - OWNER & PRESIDENT OF GANN MEMORIALS, LLC

First of all, I want to thank you for doing the research about this very important new law. To the best of my knowledge, none of our competitors have posted any of this information, so I have published this page and invite them to do the same. After all, this law is affecting all of us. My aim is not just to provide valuable links and information, but to also provide my own personal interpretation.

January 2012 Update!

Our company has qualified for the new "Small Batch Manufacturer Registry", which was just launched by the Consumer Product Safety Commission!

What does this mean for us, and what does it mean for you as our client?

  • For orders of 7500pcs or less, expensive third party safety testing is no longer required, which means we will not need to pass along the expense to you. However, your order will still be tested at our factory to meet all general U.S. and European safety standards.
  • Our corporate competitors, who do not qualify for the small batch manufacturer's registry, may still bill separately for the new third party safety testing charges.
  • Under our exemption, according to CPSC posted statements, big box retailers (Wal-Mart, Target, etc) may no longer require you to provide them with third party testing conformity certificates, which they have been known to previously request. This could also potentially save you money.
  • This ruling is also applicable to all "reorders" (under 7500pcs) as well.

I am still providing information below that could prove valuable to you, should you choose not to do business us, or should your project involve accessible metals or painted plastic.

 

The following CPSC documentation LINK illustrates that most plush toys are exempt from testing, but yet due to one of the many attributes of the new testing law, they must all still be tested by a third party lab and accompanied by a certificate of conformity.

Here are the actual published statements:

Must all children’s products be tested and certified for lead content?

Another common question is whether all children’s products need to be tested and certified for compliance with the new 300 ppm lead content limits. The law limits our ability to exempt products from the lead content limit. However, we have found that certain products, by their nature, will never exceed the lead content limit so those products do not need to be tested and do not need certifications to show that they comply with the law. These products include:

Textiles (excluding after-treatment applications, such as screen prints, transfers, decals, or other prints) consisting of:


a. Natural fibers (dyed or undyed) including, but not limited to, cotton,
kapok, flax, linen, jute, ramie, hemp, kenaf, bamboo, coir, sisal, silk, wool
(sheep), alpaca, llama, goat (mohair, cashmere), rabbit (angora), camel,
horse, yak, vicuna, qiviut, guanaco


b. Manufactured fibers (dyed or undyed) including, but not limited to, rayon, azlon, lyocell, acetate, triacetate, rubber, polyester, olefin, nylon, acrylic, modacrylic, aramid, spandex

The products on this list are all things the Commission has determined do not contain lead over 100 ppm, which is within the allowable 300 ppm limit. Thus, they will comply with the law (and must always comply) and, therefore, do not need testing and certification. They do not need to be tested by a third party laboratory to prove they are, in fact, made of something on the list, and they do not need to be tested to prove that they meet the lead content limits.

MY FINAL INTERPRETATION:

  • If your custom plush uses dyed synthetic or natural fibers (polyester, cotton, embroidery, etc) and has no accessible painted plastic (fabric over plastic will prevent easy access) or metal alloy parts (electronic device inside will prevent easy access) it should never be required to undergo testing.
  • Molded plastic eye & nose pieces should not be required to undergo testing, but eyes/noses receiving any additional paint (i.e. plastic cartoon eyes and/or noses) could be subject to it. As previously stated, our factory would be responsible for confirming that cartoon eyes/noses contain no lead, thus complying with the CPSC's manufacturer determination statement above.
  • If your custom plush contains any accessible small parts, which could present a choking hazard, we would work with you to make sure the toy conforms to child safety testing standards prior to completed production. However, third party testing may still be required.

Gann Memorials Plush Bear

 

I hope that you have found this page helpful and I invite you to CONTACT ME with any additional questions and/or concerns. I also welcome your own interpretations of this law and may publish them (with your permission) in a special column above.

All the best,

Chris Gann - Owner/President
Gann Memorials, LLC