I make diapers...

[Former_Member]

I had no idea my products had to be tested until, 30 mins ago. I have been open since April. So what now? How much trouble and I going to get into? How much is this going to cost me? And what is it that I need to do?

[Former_Member]

HI again Knits,
For the most part fabric and yarns are exempt from lead testing unless it has undergone a treatment such as screen printing, lamination, wrinkle resistancy, or waterproofing or contains metalic looking threads. Hook-n-loop tape, aka velcro, is also exempt from lead testing. The 3 big things that most children's fabric and fiber item crafters here at ETSY need to worry about are:
1) getting GCCs or COCs from their other type of fasteners and non exempt embellishments proving compliancy in lieu of independant destructive testing of entire finished products
2) keeping records that show the exempt or compliant status of the raw materials used on each finished product
3) putting permanent tracking labels on their finish items in the proper format

Getting the GCCs, COCs, or copies of non-exempt supplies testing reports is going to cost you time in research and communication with the actual manufactuer of the supply component. Then more time in clerical work organizing, cross referencing, and developing a filing method for those reports to your finished products.

It's the actual tracking labels that you will have to have an actual monetary outlay for - either to order ones to be professionally printed or to buy printer ready fabric sheets. From what I've read here on the team's forum the preference is for the print your own fabric sheets cut down into label sizes as needed. That way there is no need to get a letter stating the professional printer used 100% exempt materials or if they used non-exempt that they can provide the compliancy paperwork. The printable fabric and ink jet printer CMYK inks are also exempt, where as say Avery fabric iron-on transfer mediums are not, but do require to be heat set to prevent ink bleed and slow down fade so a little more physical work is required than just printing the label and sewing it to the product. Also products like fray check and chemical ink sets require test report to show compliancy. With Black Friday coming-up you might want to scope out the coupons and deals for your local craft stores to see who has the best offer and stock up on the printable fabric.

As for the trouble you could get into we are talking about the Federal Government, so in part it depends on how organized they finally get about this law and how much they need to supplement their budget with fines for 2012 by enforcing it. Don't be fooled by others that say since you're a small home based business you're immune, the CPSC has required recalls and forced micro-businesses including other ETSYian to close up over product violations in the past. I don't know if fines were involved with these prior violations, but the new fine schedule is much higher than it was previously and also could include jail time for knowing violating the CPSIA law.

[Former_Member]

so I have to buy a printer, beg big companies like joann's for their certs, and file paper work with the government? That's all?

The way other sites are making it sounds, as though I have to send an example of each product to be tested.

[Former_Member]

Yeah a lot of the other sites do make it sound heavyhanded, though if the government actually spelled out in each bulletin what each CFR subsection pertained instead of just reffering to them like everyone knows what that string of letters and numbers means it could be a lot less confusing.

As for contacting company's it's not JoAnn's, who is only the retailer, you need to get a hold of but companies like XYZ zippers and KAM snaps whom are the manufacturer of non-exempt clothing components that JoAnn's is selling to get testing reports to show compliancy .

For your a ink jet printer check out the Black Friday specials at Staples, Ofice Max, and Best Buys they have several good brand names selling for as little as $39 that day. While your there also check out the prices on postal scales, need not be digital, then you can use the printer to not only print product tracking labels but to print your own shipping& postage labels using PayPal shipping thus being able to take advantage of the commercial rates of addressing a package with a PO readable bar code and the discounted or free Delivery Comfirmation for your out going orders.

The Government is still working out the registration process so filing your smal batch company with the government will be a process of checking the CPSC website for updates (also signup for them to mail you updates) as to when the process will start. But once you do register with them there is currently nothing further you need to file with them regarding individual products you make. You will need to keep records on file personally though on products that you make so if a consumer complaint is ever leveled you have proof that you followed what was to the best of your knowledge what needed to be done to prove your items where safe.

From what I have heard the Small Business Ombudsman's office is willing to help with specific questions and is somewhat pleasant to deal with.
The Small Business Ombudsman is Neal S. Cohen and can be contacted toll-free at (888) 531-9070 or by messaging him through the CPSC site at http://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/sbo.aspx

[Former_Member]

Oh, well I will be in touch with him. Joann's told me they will not be providing any certs to customers. They refuse to tell me who their supplier is. So I guess I will be going there with a pen and paper. Do it my dang self.

I have a printer and am already printing labels. But figure you need a special printer for fabrics, no? I have a HP officejet 6000.

[Former_Member]

http://www.whatisthecpsia.com/cpsia-basics/are-cloth-diapers-affected-by-cpsia

I am guessing from this I need no certs for fabric. Just snaps and elastic.

[FayeMaloneDesigns]

You shouldn't need it for elastic either.

The name of the company that makes the snaps is on the label. Just don't buy Joann's house products. They've already told you they won't help you. By Dritz or one of the name brands. You should be able to find them online.

[Former_Member]

knitsNknickers from knitsNknickers says
.....
I have a printer and am already printing labels. But figure you need a special printer for fabrics, no? I have a HP officejet 6000.
____________________________________________________________

I don't think you'll need a special printer, because I had the older HP 4400 officejet and that one was fine for the CPSIA compliancy. The last time I looked (online) at the printable fabric is the same size as 8 1/2"x11" cardstock printer paper, so as long as your printer has a "thick paper" or "cardstock" as a paper type option you should be fine.

[Former_Member]

I am just not going to worry about it anymore. I can at least be in business until Dec. 31st. After that I am closing up shop. I can't stay open when huge retail suppliers don't have to do what I have to do.

[Former_Member]

If you use Kam Snaps, you can get the cert of their website. When using PUL, I order wholesale and get the cert directly from them. If you order through a WAHM company or elsewhere on the internet, if you request a cert they should be giving it to you. They should have them on file as well for their records for the materials that they sell.

[FayeMaloneDesigns]

You still need to have tracking labels on your products NOW. And you may also need to have FTC labels also. FTC laws have been around for years, and the tracking label requirement is at least a year old.

[Former_Member]

Kam snaps are certified by OEKO-TEX and I read somewhere that they are not recognized by the government.

[Former_Member]

Beverly from FayeMaloneDesigns says
You still need to have tracking labels on your products NOW. And you may also need to have FTC labels also. FTC laws have been around for years, and the tracking label requirement is at least a year old.
---------------

Labels are not required actually :

http://www.cpsc.gov/library/foia/ballot/ballot09/tracklabelpolicy.pdf

[Former_Member]

Knits actually labels are required what you linked is the vote and personal opinions of committee members not the final "official" outcome.
See
http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/sect103.html
http://www.cpsc.gov/businfo/frnotices/fr09/sect103enforcepolicy.pdf
"FAQs For Section 103: Tracking Labels for Children’s Products
Are tracking labels required on domestically made products or are they only required for imported products?
Tracking labels are required for all children’s products manufactured one year after enactment of the CPSIA (August 14, 2009) regardless of whether they are domestic or imported products." ...

"I make hand-crafted goods in my home. What do I need to do to be in compliance on August 14, 2009?
The Commission has received a great deal of comment and input from hand-crafters regarding the implementation of Section 103(a). As noted in the Statement of Policy, the Commission anticipates that there will be a period of education after the new requirements go into effect and expects that each manufacturer, large and small, will consider how to apply these requirements to their business.

Hand-crafters should consider the following:


What kind of tracking system do you currently use? You do not necessarily have to create a new system of lot, batch or run numbers to identify when you made your products, however your products and their packaging should identify your company in sufficient detail to enable a consumer to reach you so that the required information may be ascertained.


What information can be ascertained about your product? If someone handed you one of your products sold last year, what would you be able to tell them about the materials used? Keeping your receipts and purchase orders will help you to better know the source of your product and its components and when you began using them. Ask your fellow hand crafters if they have any tips or ideas that can help.


How is your product marked? If someone had one of your products sold last year, would they know who to call if there was a problem? Absent any unusual circumstances, your business name should be on your product with sufficient detail to enable a consumer to reach you. Congress recognized that there could be instances where marking a product might not be practicable, such as where the product is very small. Consider the examples outlined in the Statement of Policy where it might not be practicable to mark a product.


How is your packaging marked? Can a retailer of your product see from the packaging (or from the product if the product marking is still fully visible) information that they could use to take just your products from the shelf in the event of a recall?


Compliance with the new requirements will call on a number of small hand crafters to rethink the way they maintain their records and mark their products."
direct quotes from http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/faq/103faq.html#domestic



Ultimately neither the CPSC or the FTC cares how big or small your business or sideline is, if you're going to sell across state lines then you need to comply with the federal laws.

For a crafter the CPSIA tracking label must include at minimum :
* Your company's or shop name, or RN# (not required to repeat if able to find it elsewhere permanantly on the product like on a FTC care and content label)
* The city, state/territory, & country where the item was completed
* A contact address or website, unless the customer can easily find a mailing or e-mail address from the above information, so you can be contacted if there is a problem (do not include a phone number unless you want anyone that sees your label to call you)
* At least the season with year of manufacture or date of completion of the product, but the government prefers you to be as specific as possible
* If you make repeats of the designs then you may also need a batch number, but only if the pieces are mostly identical looking and made of the same looking raw materials as each other.
Interpeted from
www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/sect103policy.pdf


Check directly with the CPSC's Small Business Ombudsman at www.cpsc.gov/businfo/smbus.html with your questions. That office should be able to inform you about matters directly related to the CPSC and CPSIA concerning your products specifically plus direct you to any other USA federal agencies that may have laws or regulations you need to satisfy.


The FTC care and content label needs at the very least:
- Your company, shop name, or RN#
- Fiber content by %
- Fiber country of origin
- Washing and care instructions
Other info may be required depending on the exact fabrics use like registered trademark info for fabrics that are followed by a ® or the international symbols for care instructions.
Interpeted from www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/textile/bus21.shtm#covered & www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/textile/bus50.shtm#Complying

[Former_Member]

Well... that's it then. I am done. I can't track down where all my supplies has come from. This keeps me from artistic freedom. I don't produce things in bulk. I don't mass producing things. This ruins upcycling, buying fabric at flea markets, and buying fabric just because.

Why do I have to tell people where my things come from when Joann's and Wal Mart doesn't? Why is it always the little person.

Sorry, but this upsets me. I just wanted to do something great and now I can't. I am frustrated.

What legal bs do I have to go through to close shop?

[Former_Member]

And this is for everything? Not just childrens clothing? So I can't sell anything?

[Former_Member]

First off the FTC labels are yesrequired for all clothing and wearables that are to be sold in the USA and have been since the early 1970s. But the the CPSIA is only for items that the government classifies as primarily for the use on, for, or by a child under 13. So that includes (but not limited to) children's: toys, games, books, posters, clothing, furniture, jewelry, educational supplies, mobiles, room decor, bottles, child sized plates and flatware, linens, playground equipment, musical instruments, child sized bikes and ATVs, children's electronics. See http://www.cpsc.gov/businfo/frnotices/fr11/childprod.html for more examples.

Secondly Jo*Anns and WalMart do have to have make sure tracking labels are on finished items that they sell that are primarily for children under 13, but they are only the retailer not the manufacturer so it's not their responsibility to maintain or provide copies of the paperwork that link the tracking label to the testing paperwork. Even when a product they carry bears their company name they are not the actual manufacturer they just paid the maker of the item to have that particular label on that product to cut down on competitive pricing when advertising. It's the companies that actual make the finished children's product or the importer of the finished products for labels like Melissa & Doug, Crayola, Klutz books, Perler Beads, Old Glory, Wrangler, Schwinn, etc. that need to do the testing, place the tracking label, and provide the paperwork.

A button, zipper, or snap on it's own is NOT a primarily for children product until it is incorporated into a finished product such as a little girl's jumper or if it's part of a crafting kit specifically marketed to children, until then it is only a sewing supply. As a supply for an activity that is done by more adults than children these days those items under the CPSIA do not need to be tested before being sold to the general public. But as others have mentioned there are supply manufacturers that do realize that a decent portion of the customer base that is buying their supplies is doing so to make children's items, and will upon request in the proper format give the proper paper work to be able to continue to use those products without the need to seek out a lab for finished product testing.

Though upcycling and recycling is great, children's and baby's products is not the place for it to happen with, unless you can track back what the supply is made of originally and the enviroment that the base supplies have been through. Simply because young children and babies are not desensitized in the way that adults are to allergens and enviromental irritants. Imagine this, you find an absolutely lovely throw at the flea market that you feel would be perfect for a pair of winter longies, jacket, and cap, it just lacks a care and content label that's readable. There's no smells and you're fairly sure it's not one of the obvious fabrics that cause a skin reaction so you buy it. You go home thoroughly wash and rinse the fabric, make the items, list it, sell it, then get a convo a month later that says the product caused a allergic reaction in the child it was bought for. The reason being is the fabric turned out to be shaved angora that for years had been washed in a phosphorus based detergent. I know it's an extreme example but upcycling and recycling, IMHO, is better left for use on new products where the origins and previous enviroments of the raw materials will not have any chance of a health impact on the new user or can be thoroughly classified and sterilized before being put to it's new use.

As for the legalities of closing your shop that varies from state to state just as they did for the opening of your shop. It may just be a simple matter of making a formal declaration on company letter head to the states department of taxation that you are dissolving the business or there may be much more red tape government style paperwork to fillout.

[Former_Member]

I'm sorry you feel as if you need to close down completely but you do have other products in your shop that are not covered by the CPSIA or the FTC, why don't you concentrate on those products? That will give time and hopefully income while you assess your ability to comply with the CPSIA &/or FTC regulations.

Once you get of the the emotional shock and mental anguish that this law instills in most artisans when they first find out about it you may realize that there are other options. (A few of us tend to forget how upset we were back in 2008 when we found out about how the law would impact micro-designers as well as the mega manufacturers that caused the need for the law in the first place.) You may find that it's easier to redirect your business goals into product lines or designs that have less stringent laws & regulations or that by changing up your children's designs to include only exempt new supply materials with care and content info avaiable may be the direction you need to take your business in.

[Former_Member]

Well, that's kinda hard to do when I now only have two items I am allowed to sell. I can't sell the scarves either? They have to have labels too? Nursing pads have to have labels?

Maybe I will get over it, but when you have spent months a lots of money making your products its hard to see the silver lining. I don't have money for these labels and I probably never will.

Thank you for your help and kind words though.

[Former_Member]

I think, but not 100% positive, that nursing pads are exempt from FTC care and content labeling like cloth diapers liners are. Yes the scarves do need a care and content label but as long as they are for adults I think a hang tag could be permissable. I've heard that the FTC is much more approachable than the CPSC and willing to answer questions over the phone so you may want to try to call them and ask about what products of yours need what type of labels and what needs to be on a label of an upcycled item, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).

[monkeyandfriends]

Search "clothing label tutorial" on google or other search engine. There are some that use old 100% cotton bed sheets. I buy the printable sheets from joanns. They seem expensive but you get a lot of labels from a sheet. If you need a template for your labels, I'd be happy to email mine. I did mine in Microsoft Word. I used the label templates and just customized it. It sounds overwhelming but once you get into a routine, it's not as hard as it seemed.
You can email me for the template: sewmonkeymb@gmail.com

[Former_Member]

What inks and printers are exempt from testing, or have been tested?

I refuse to buy anything from Joann's as they will not tell me if their products have been tested or not.

[Former_Member]

And this says you have to treat it: http://duhbe.com/blog/2009/05/diy-clothing-labels-part-2-how-to-make-them/

Doesn't that go against CPSIA rules? It can't be treated?

Also the freezer paper. Wouldn't that be against the CPSIA rules.

[Former_Member]

Never mind, she explains it all on her blog! This is awesome! Finally I am all set. I am going to make my own!

[Former_Member]

Diapers are actually exempt from content of fibers in the label. So I can buy labels in a smaller quantity for all my diapers because they require the same care. Either way I am set and don't have to close, yay!