Button ?!? What to do with them?

[Former_Member]

sorry if it has been questioned in the past - couldn't find it... but about buttons...
In the past I used vintage buttons for some of my dresses... Evere since the CPSIA law I stoped using them and in fact concerned about using them at all...
I thought to buy some wooden buttons - but how can I be sure that the varnish or paint on them is safe? Same with shell buttons...
Anyone can help me with it?
Thanks,
Inbar

[TwilightStarOracle]

I was reading over the CPSIA thing, a rule which I havn't heard before I joined Etsy ((today)) and basically from what I understand items intended for children 12 and younger must meet specific requirements.

1) Non Toxic
2) Isn't going to break when the child places said item in their mouth.
3) Too big to swallow, you don't want the child to choke
4) Stay away from metal parts in making children's toys as so many things can go wrong.

I mean correct me if I'm wrong on what I've stated above but in the case of your buttons you must consider:

1) Is the button going to break easily? Sure the button may be gorgeous but if it's flimsy or not meant to last why use it?

2) If you are unsure of the type of finish, such as varnish, used on the button then don't use it for childs toys/clothes/items. In fact I wouldn't use it at all.

3) Really old vintage items can contain a lot of lead in them; my advice is to not use them and instead go to JO Anns and check out their vintage buttons made in safe plastic or little metal.

4) If all else you can use the buttons for eyes in handmade dolls, then add more for the doll's clothes. And have it as something you can put behind a display case.

5) You can go to a Jo Anns or Michaels store and search for their paint section for crafts. A safe varnish, which drys as a plastic sealer, I use is DecoArt DuraClear Varnish Gloss/Brilliant. This is non toxic. I also use non toxic paints in doing my clay figurines. Perhaps you can just find a good button and paint it over for yourself?

[Former_Member]

Wood buttons with NO varnish, wax, coatings of any kind would be exempt from testing. They would have to basically be in their raw, natural state, as well as shell buttons.

If you don't know for sure (ei, they are vintage), it would be best to not use them for children's products. You could still use them for items for adults.

[Former_Member]

Here are some thread topics in this forum discussing buttons that I found within the first 8 pages of this section:

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6376075

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6006004

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6331682

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6346460

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6333089

This particular post considers everything you would need to know about the Safety Act and it is very informative:

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6235864

[Former_Member]

The CPSIA law that is under discussion limits the amount of lead and certain additives to plastics allowed in products for Children under age 13 and requires testing, cerficates, and labeling.

There are other consumer protection laws that cover the choking hazzards and other things that unokitsune mentions.

[Former_Member]

Unfortunately you have sevral points wrong unokitsune. Not only do items meant for children under 13 need to meet certain requirement but the designer or crafter must have the actual approved 3rd party lab test results on either the competed items or on all non-exempt components in the final product as well as an accounting system to track which test certificates go to which final product. Packaging that states a component or paint or finishing meets a ASTM regulation or a simple statement on the component stating that it is lead or phthalate free is not sufficient, crafter and micro bussinesses need to have the test results stating what the lead content is in PPM & for certain finished product catergories what the 6 banned phthalates are in PPM. With paints and varnishes there are even more additional concerns to be look at beyond just the CPSIA, the regular CPSC also requires now testing, I think, for 12 other heavy metals in addition to lead for ANY product with painted or varnished surfaces & if the final product is for a child then the test results must be in PPM & for other general use products a GCC stating the paint/vanish is lower than these levels is acceptable. So just looking for packages of non-toxic supplies at Jo*Anns, Michaels, AC Moores, or Hobby Lobby is not enough if a crafter is producing a child's product they must also contact the supply manufacturer for copies of the test results that prove the claim on the packaging and the test results will only be acceptable to the the CPSIA commission if those results came from a pre-approved CPSC certified lab.

This is on top of the CPSIA required permanant product tracking label and any other product specific regulation that the CPSC imposes. Plus any other government regulatory body's labels such as care & content labels required by the FTC for fabric & fiber items.

There is an extensive list of items that are exempt from the lead testing found at
http://www.cpsc.gov/businfo/frnotices/fr09/leaddeterminationsfinalrule-draft.pdf . These items can be used in combination with each other to create a new product and still remain exempt from lead testing - example a wood button sealed with beeswax would still be exempt but a wood button sealed with non-toxic clear varnish would require test certificates.

Here's some reading to get you started on understanding the CPSIA.
The main CPSC website
http://www.cpsc.gov/

The CPSIA main website
http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/cpsia.html

CPSIA guidance for small businesses/crafters includes a quick look guide Table : B exempt raw material list
http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/smbus/cpsiasbguide.pdf

An update on the stay of 3rd party testing
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10083.html

Webcasts for the 2 day public workshops in Dec 2009
http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/cpsiatesting.html

Tracking labels
http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/sect103policy.pdf

CPSIA's FAQ page
http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/sect103.html#103q8

The CPSC's age determination guideline http://www.cpsc.gov/BUSINFO/adg.pdf

A timeline from the CPSIA http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/rulemaking.pdf

Information on how this law is retro-active http://www.cpsc.gov/library/foia/advisory/317.pdf

Standard Operating Procedure for Determining Total Lead (Pb) in
Children’s Metal Products (Including Children’s Metal Jewelry) found at http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/CPSC-CH-E1001-08.pdf

Even non-metal components must be tested using destructive digestive testing read more here http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/CPSC-CH-E1002-08.pdf

Small Parts Regulations Summary http://www.cpsc.gov/BUSINFO/regsumsmallparts.pdf
Small Parts labeling
http://www.cpsc.gov/BUSINFO/label.pdf
Maybe some one else has a link to a plain english version of the small parts regulations, but these 2 links are the best I have.

For fabric and fiber items
FTC Labeling requirements
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/textile/bus21.shtm#covered
Examples of FTC labels (about 3/4 of the way down the page)
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/textile/bus21.shtm
Here's info about small parts warnings
http://www.cpsc.gov/LIBRARY/FOIA/FOIA08/brief/toygameads.pdf
page 19 of the PDF has the abbreviations & page 20 of the PDF has the examples in black-n-white but I believe they need to be in certain colors on the actual label.

[Former_Member]

marking

[Former_Member]

oh man... regulations.

[TwilightStarOracle]

Thank you jewlery, your post is very helpful. Unfortunatly I never understood big-worded stuff like that so I tend to stay away from it because I don't understand it.

[WooldeBeast]

Good to know (or sort of know--yikes that's a lot of reading up there) but looks like I've got to limit my button-eyes to new ones. So sad.

[Former_Member]

That means that I need to make some new designs... For dolls I don't use any buttons, but I use them for my children clothing from time to time... Now I'll be have to find a different way to make the dresses easy to wear...It's a bit of an absurd I must say, to not use buttons for a blouse or a jacket... and not always you can use a giant buttons...

[Former_Member]

marking