Completely Confused.

[Former_Member]

I am considering making children and infant clothes (shirts, skirts, shorts, shoes, hair bows, ties, bow ties, aprons, bucket hats, bibs, and blankets). All fabric will be cotton made in the USA. The only other thing used would be elastic- no buttons or clasps. I know I will need product labels, fill labels, tracking labels, batch numbers, and records. But I am really confused about testing. It is my understanding that small batch manufactures can be exempt from 3rd party testing, and items in class B can be exempt from testing. But they say I still need testing, but would be from 1st party. I am very confused at testing. If someone could guide me and show me how to do all this legality work it would be greatly appreciated. I want to pursue making 'Made in America' clothes, but am getting discouraged by the amount of legalities.
Thank you for your time
-Brooker

[FayeMaloneDesigns]

Who is the they in "they say I still need testing"? While you may be exempt from testing if you are a small batch manufacturer, your products would still need to be able to pass testing. Meaning, you need to know what the regulations are, source your supplies responsibly, make your products in a safe manner, and label, and keep records according to the law.

For example, flammability regs, you don't have to test, but your fabric must be able to pass the tests. So, no flimsy cheese cloth for costumes or dresses, no flannel for sleepwear (another whole set of sleepwear regulations), no metal buttons without having a written statement from the manufacturer of the buttons that they are lead and heavy metal safe. and so on. Exempt doesn't mean anything goes.

[Former_Member]

Thank you for the quick response. 'They' was in regards to the information posted on the CPSIA website in regards to the paragraph containing the 'category B' testing.
When 'they' said small businesses are still subject to first party testing, I was very unclear of intentions of testing. I did not know if I needed to test my materials or still have them tested.
You have cleared a lot of issues for me. I am responsible to obtain resources (fabric, elastic, etc) from credible sources and keep track. But the items do not need to be sent off for testing. I also need to make sizing labels, country of origin labels, and care labels.
I do have a question in regards to blankets. To my understanding, blankets are considered bedding according the the laws mentioned in link bellow (p.21-22). Does that mean they must have the label found on most blankets or mattresses that state "UNDER PENALTY OF LAW THIS TAG CANNOT BE REMOVED EXCEPT BY THE COSTUMER" followed by the long label? Or is a small tag with contents, care, sizing, and fill supplied.

http://gsi.nist.gov/global/docs/apparel_guide.pdf

Thank you so much for your time, you have made my idea or creating children's clothes a bit more of a reality.
Thank you
-Brooker

[FayeMaloneDesigns]

Uniform Law Label
Filled bedding, apparel and textiles, sleeping bags and toys sold in the United States require a
special label.

Key word is FILLED. So quilts, jackets with stuffing for warmth, and stuffed toys would need different labeling. So just blankets are simple fiber content/origin and some care instructions are sufficient. Along with your tracking labels.

[Former_Member]

Thank you for your reply.
I have been doing more research and I believe the last question I have is in regards to printed fabrics. I am aware that any use of licensed fabrics such as Disney or John Deer is prohibited for any use besides home use or for family. What about printed fabrics, such as striped fabric, generic animals, or basic toy car fabric? Is this material allowed to be used for reselling purposes?
Thank you for all the answers you have provided.
-Brooker

[FayeMaloneDesigns]

Your statement about licensed fabric is up for question. Lawsuits have been settled out of court when brought against sellers using licensed fabrics. and damages were not charged against the sellers. And I'm not aware of any that were outright won by the companies bringing suit. You can read the lawsuits and the findings. The general consensus on Etsy is that licensed fabric should not be used, regardless of what the court outcomes have been. So I am in the camp of there is no prohibition, but Etsy public opinion prohibits it and the forums will say don't do it. Where the problem exists is when one uses the trademarked name to advertise the item. That implies falsely that Disney or John Deere, etc has authorized the product. so the violation is trademark infringement rather that copyright infringement of the fabric.

As for other fabric. if it can't be used, then there would be nothing much to sell that uses fabric. Most fabric designs would be copyright by the manufacture of the fabric. That means you can't copy the artistic design on the fabric and have it manufactured under your own name. Just as you can't copy artwork, photography and written word and pawn it off as your original work.

[MinkyandSweet]

Brooker, on the bottom of the fabric it has a copyright text. Some fabrics say "for home use only" or something along those lines. If it doesn't say that, you should be good! Be careful because the most random fabric can have that! I thought it was just characters and such but I bought floral fabric online, washed it, ironed it, went to cut and saw the bottom.. :(

[FayeMaloneDesigns]

Shannon, see my answer above about licensed fabrics. Since you bought the fabric online, how could you agree to the home use only terms? You can't be held to a contract if you are not aware of it before you purchase.