This act requires additional testing and regulation of all products intended for babies and kids and paved the way for mandatory federal safety standards for cribs, strollers, swings, baby carriers, sleep products, bath seats, play yards, and more. However, the act has not prevented unsafe products from reaching the market. For example, if manufacturers call a product a “napper” or “sleeper,” it does not have to pass the same safety standards for sleep as those labeled a crib, bassinet, or play yard. One such product, the Fisher-Price Rock ’n Play sleeper, was recalled in 2019 after it was linked to over 30 infant deaths.
What Is CPSIA?
CPSI was passed by U.S. Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush on August 14, 2008. CPSIA is designed to allow the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) to better regulate the safety of products made and imported for sale in the U.S. CPSIA also contains regulations that are intended to make products for children under age 12 safer by requiring manufacturers and importers to show that these products do not have harmful levels of lead and phthalates. The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) allowed thrift stores to dodge lead testing on their current inventories, but still highly recommends they not sell products likely to contain high levels of lead, and still maintains that selling those products is not legal per CPSIA.
Testing for Harmful Chemicals
The testing required by CPSIA must be done by third-party laboratories, and as of now, is required to be unit testing. This means that one product of each model or style must be tested in its entirety. For small companies, unit testing may present some problems. Not only does the testing destroy one item from a potentially small inventory, the testing is also expensive if the business doesn’t have the sales to offset the cost. Some small businesses petitioned CPSC to allow component testing, which would allow them to test their input materials once before using them in several products, therefore saving some money and time on testing. Natural wool cotton, wood, and other untreated, completely natural substances do not require lead testing as long as they are untreated. CPSIA requires that children’s products not contain more than 300 ppm of lead. Some exceptions are possible if it can be proved that the lead in the product is not accessible to the child, and can’t be accessed even if the product is abused. The act also reduces the allowable amount of lead in surface paints and coatings to 90 ppm from the former level of 600 ppm. Six different types of phthalates are currently banned by CPSIA. Toys, child care products, and items that can reasonably be expected to go in a child’s mouth cannot contain more than 0.1 percent of BBP, DEHP, DBP, DIDP, DINP or DNOP.
Other CPSIA Requirements
CPSIA has a number of other safety regulations that affect baby and toddler products. The act requires that “durable nursery products” such as cribs, strollers, bassinets , and stationary entertainers to have product registration cards that can be used in case of recalls. CPSC was required through CPSIA to create stronger federal safety standards for nearly all baby products to replace the previous voluntary standards. CPSIA emphasized crib safety, making it illegal not only to manufacture or sell cribs that don’t meet federal safety standards but also illegal to provide them for use, such as at a hotel or day care. CPSIA also has some requirements on how manufacturers, distributors, and retailers advertise products that may contain small parts that could be a choking hazard. The act provides a searchable online database of recalls, safety information, and reports of product incidents that caused injury.
CPSIA Requires Certificates Of Safety
Importers and manufacturers must make certificates of conformity available to their distributors and retailers under CPSIA. These certificates show that the products have been appropriately tested and meet the requirements. Without these certificates, shipments of products are refused when they reach stores, so there is some built-in compliance checking in CPSIA.
CPSIA Makes Selling Recalled Products Illegal
One portion of CPSIA affects consumers just as much as manufacturers. If you intend to sell your used baby gear, make sure it’s not under recall before tagging a stroller for the garage sale or listing that crib on Craigslist. CPSIA includes a section that makes it illegal to sell recalled products. One of the main ideas of CPSIA is to help keep dangerous products from reaching our children, and checking for recalls is another way to do just that.
