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U.S. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY IMPROVEMENT ACT
TO: OUR PRESENT & FUTURE U.S. CUSTOMERS
FROM: CHRIS GANN - FOUNDER & 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 will affect all of us. My aim is not just to provide valuable links and information, but to provide my own personal interpretation.
Due to the size of the actual CPSC toy law documentation, I've published what I feel are pertinent links below.
Effective January 30, 2009, the CPSC has granted a 1 year stay on the testing and certification requirements for certain products. The official announcement can be viewed at the following LINK.
In my interpretation, this 1 year stay would apply to any custom plush toys produced through GANN Memorials, LLC, providing that they do not contain small parts/jewelry (due to small part choking hazard or lead for the jewelry's metal alloy parts) and do not have painted/coated plastic surfaces.
Plastic eye and nose pieces (commonly used on custom plush toys) would not be included in the painted/coated category, due to the fact that they are not painted surfaces.
If your custom plush design utilizes any concealed or covered plastic, it is my interpretation that it would never need to be tested. Please see the following LINK for the CPSC's view on "inaccessible" electronics or potentially lead coated materials.
Regardless of the 1 year stay, Senator Jim DeMint (SC) has fashioned a bill to further relax some of the guidelines, for small business owners, who could be negatively impacted by this law. You can read about his bill HERE.
I discovered the following question and response statement issued by the CPSC concerning stuffed animals (toys):
Does the CPSIA envision stuffed animals falling within the scope of the CPSIA's lead limits or phthalate limits?
Most stuffed animals would be considered to be children's products and presumably toys. A manufacturer would need to determine whether the design of the stuffed animals is such that it is subject to the lead paint limits, the lead content limits or the phthalate limits.
My interpretation of this statement is that the government is leaving it up to the manufacturer to decide whether or not a customer's product should be tested (via third party facility) for compliance. Simply put, as long as the plush does not utilize any piece(s) containing lead or phthalates (i.e. plastic parts) it will not need to undergo testing. This question and answer can be found at the following LINK on the CPSC web site.
Here is a CPSC documentation LINK which illustrates that most plush toys are exempt from testing.
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.
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 - President
Gann Memorials, LLC