CPS What??? Confused About CPSA, CPSC, and CPSIA?

Having a hard time understanding the differences between the CPSA, CPSC and CPSIA?  Don’t feel alone, as most of us have a hard time keeping them straight.  So let’s see if we can shed some light on the matter:

• The Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) was put into law in 1972, to help protect and safeguard consumers from dangerous products. 

• The CPSA established the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), defined its basic authority, and provided that the CPSC should act when it finds an unreasonable risk of injury associated with a consumer product.  

• The CPSC, in turn, has enacted several Consumer Product Safety Improvement Acts (CPSIA’s) to reduce or eliminate said risks.

So where does that leave us?  Well, the latest CPSIA of 2008 is now in effect.  Its focus is on lead and phthalates in children’s toys and child care items.  The CPSC has established guidelines for its implementation that have created some confusion and concern.  Here is the bottom line:   As of January 1, 2012, all screen printers and/or manufacturers who add “extra value” to a textile that could be considered a children’s product and/or a child care article will be responsible for certifying that their products comply with the CPSIA of 2008.   Children’s products are intended for use by children 12 and under.  Child care articles are intended for specific uses for children 3 and under.   (Click here for more on the certification rule). Click on the above hyperlinks for more detail. Mark Brouillard, Product Manager for International Coatings International Coatings manufactures a complete line of phthalate-compliant screen printing inks, including a wide variety of whites, specialty inks, special effects inks, color matching systems, additives and reducers.  For more information on our products, please visit our website at www.iccink.com.       International Coatings:     The Intelligent Choice