I'm not seeing this mentioned in shop home pages. How do I know if they've tested? I want to buy some things over the next few months for gifts but am worried.
I've had the same questions, when proofreading our catalogs here where I work. I crossed out the stuff that said "FDA approved" because the FDA is not in the business of approving the type of products we sell. We can say that it's "food-safe" or "food-grade", because the material passes the testing requirements outlined in the Code of Federal Regulations. But it's illegal to imply in your advertising that the FDA (for example) has approved a product its not even aware exists!
I noticed that some of our descriptions said "phthalate free" and others didn't. Would that give buyers the impression that the ones that don't say otherwise DO contain phthalates? ...Do we really want to list that for every children's item we sell? Some things have to pass 16 different tests!
Instead of listing every single thing for every product, we're leaning toward a more generic statement in our brand introductions that's similar to Lego's: "One of the LEGO Group's declared aims is to be the best in all areas of business in which the company participates. At a very minimum, play material from the LEGO Group must satisfy all national and international toy standards…"
and we're organizing all the GCCs from the testing labs & adding a section to our website where people can download them as pdfs if there's something they want all the details about. (...but it's not done yet. so far, I think 2 of our customers have asked for one. out of maybe 20,000 accounts. but that's not my dept. so maybe I just don't hear about it.)
Also- it really should never be necessary for a company (including Etsy shops) to state that their product is complaint with all applicable laws. Just by offering the product for sale, they ARE claiming that! But I think it's fine to convo shops and ask them specifics, in theory they should have a GCC for every item & should give you that information.
Besides the fact that we aren't supposed to "advertise" that we are CPSIA compliant, if testing is required, it is required by item/lot. So a shop can't say they are CPSIA compliant. Do you see any big manufacturers stating they are CPSIA compliant? No.
For example, if I were to make 100 of Widget A, and Widget A had a part that was painted and a part that was plastic, I would to one of the 100 tested for lead (paint) and phthalates (plastic). Assuming they both passed, great for the 99 left. But when I make Widget B, I have to have it tested as well. And if amke another 100 of Widget A, one from that lot has to be tested too.
Personally, we only use materials that are exempt. And we make our stuffed toys with no small parts, or parts that could pulled off by a child.
Use common sense, and follow the suggestions knitwit4ever has made when shopping for baby and children's gifts, whether on this site or at a retail store.
Another thing you can do as a buyer of children's items is check to see if the item has been labeled. That is one requirement that applies to everything, exempt and tested materials. This ensures that a buyer (or enforcer I guess) can track the label back to the maker if need be. If a crafter is informed, he or she is most probably labeling their items with tracking labels. Very few items are exempt from labeling requirements.
But as far as informing sellers I think it is ok to let them know you use only exempt materials, or have GCCs. But I think you can't claim that you have any communication from the CPSIA. But I think you can tell them what you as a craftsperson use or don't use, do or don't do.
Depends on the product. For hair bows and the like I'd hole punch and slide the back thru the holes and clip. Some things you could take a couple of largish stitches thru the tag, that could easily be cut.
On my garments I attach a hang tag on the left underarm at the seam with a small gold safety pin. I have a hole punch in the top of the tag, thread floss thru the hole, and then use the safety pin. That is in addition to the size label, the CPSIA label, and the FTC label inside the neck or at the waistband.
