CPSC Stay of Enforcement Ends Dec. 31, 2011

Just a reminder, the stay of enforcement enacted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), will expire December 31, 2011.   At that time, all children’s products* must be tested and certified by a CPSC accredited third party laboratory, for lead content and phthalate content, where applicable. What does all this mean?  Here is an excerpt of  Marci Kinter's update from the  SGIA website, with more details (Marci Kinter is SGIA's Vice President for Government & Business Information): “First, it means that all children’s products* must be tested prior to release to the marketplace.  Prior to this, all products must meet both the lead and phthalate content limits, as applicable; however, testing was not a requirement.  Now, before you can send your product to market, you will need to both test and certify that all limits are met.  And, how does one do that? Thankfully, the CPSC has issued a final regulation that does allow manufacturers to use component testing to confirm compliance with both the lead content as well as phthalate content issue.  Caveat – the use of component testing is voluntary.  What does this mean for our community – especially those producing decorated apparel? Since the textile garment itself is exempt by the CPSC, meaning that it does not need to be tested; only the ink, zippers, buttons, etc., that may be used on the garment need to be tested to meet the limit.  Now, this testing can be done by the manufacturer of the component, such as the ink, or by the final product manufacturer, such as the screen printing operation.  And, this is the information that must be included on the general conformity certificate showing that the product meets all CPSC required testing and safety standards. The General Conformity Certificate – yes, there are required elements that must be included, but no there is not a required form that must be used. And, yes, it can be transmitted electronically. And, for all products manufactured after December 31^st.” * = Children’s products are broken down into two categories.  12 and under for lead (100 ppm) and 3 and under for lead and the six banned phthalates. For more information regarding International Coatings' lead and phthalate compliance, please visit our Phthalate's Fact Sheet on www.iccink.com/phthalates.htm. International Coatings manufactures a complete line of 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