Just getting started would love clarification with some specific questions

[Former_Member]

Firstly, thank you for such a wealth of information. It has been great to read because otherwise, I would have never known about this new law.

a) If I decide to decorate Onesies (yes, I know that's Gerber brand) and say I do stick with Gerber but obviously buy them from say walmart or some other store- I still need to contact Gerber to see if they can provide me with a GCC, correct?

b) If so, can anyone share what the tend to send to a company in request of a GCC?

c) Same goes if I used D-rings... I have to constantly verify that the lot has not changed (after contacting the company) and if I purchase more D-rings that are a different lot, I have to request a new GCC from the company for that lot? (Assuming they will provide them).

d) I was reading on dharma that Swarovski crystals would actually be okay to use now? Not sure if I read this right... http://images.dharmatrading.com/images/public/pdf/cpsia/cpsia_Swarovskis-Crystals.pdf I was thinking in regards to using them as hair accessory accents... but not if it's a huge deal.

Thanks again for all of your help and future help!
Whitney

[FayeMaloneDesigns]

It's late so I will address D) for tonight This is from the draft of the Lead Determinations final rule page 28 of 65.


Lead determinations final rule Page 28

11. Glass, crystals, and rhinestones.
Several commenters listed glass, glass beads, rhinestones, leaded glass crystals, and porcelain enamel as items that should be exempted from compliance with the CPSIA requirements for lead content or testing.
While not all glass or glass products, crystals, or rhinestones contain lead at levels that exceed the CPSIA lead limits, in the absence of tests or other data on these products, we cannot verify that such products meet the CPSIA's lead content limits. Further, many leaded glass crystals and other glass-based products contain lead at levels exceeding the statutory limits and, therefore, cannot be included in a determination that they do not and would not contain lead. We also note that, on July 17, 2009, the Commission voted 2-1 to deny a request to exclude crystal and glass beads, including rhinestones and cubic zirconium, from the lead content limits. The Commissioners' statements accompanying that decision can be found at:
http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/sectl01.html#statements.

page 28

Nothing in Dharma's letter refers to the CPSIA by name, nor lists the CPSC certified labs that did the testing. They refer to an old law that has been replaced by a much harsher law in calif Prop 65.

[FayeMaloneDesigns]

That link may not be working, so I'll look in the morning for copies in my files of what the commission head said regardings crystals.'

[Former_Member]

a) Yes correct you need to contact Gerber. Additionaly you will need a new GCC or testing results in the proper format, due to the metal snaps, for every different batch number of Onesies that you embellish.

b) Call, email, or snail mail the companies you need testing reports from. Keep trying all different methods until you get a firm answer. Don't be surprised if the company asks for a copy of your business/sales license, EIN, samples of finished products, proof of purchase for resale/manufacturing, lot numbers purchased, and/or purchasing directly from them before releasing any hard copies to your business.

c) Exactly, you will need to contact every manufacturer of any non-exempt supplies used in the production of your finished product and continue to request new sets of test results based on lot #s. Then you need to cross reference the testing paperwork with a file about your finished product and keep the file for a yet undefined amount of time. You will need the file to be tracable back from the CPSIA tracking label you placed on the finished product.

d) That particular statement was issued by Swarovski North America HQ office in response to California's lead in jewelry law which came about the end of 2006. As originally interpreted (read as before thay decided on a specific testing method) that state law would have banned the sale of any jewelry making supplies and finished jewelry with Swarovski crystals for adult or children alike within the state. The suit basically asked the State's Attorney General to reassess the interpretation and to define a testing method, which was decided to be the EPA's bodily absorption of lead through skin contact and normal digestion. A test that BTW is greatly differrent than the CPSIA's approved test for their allowable limit's which is based strictly on total weight of lead present in the product. In the case of the CA law Swaorski crystals would pass the testing because the lead is molecularly bonded to the glass in the crystal and does not leach out under normal digestion conditions or absorbed through the skin with normal wear. While under the CPSIA, being based on total weight, Swarovski could never meet the requirement since to pass Swarovski's quality control a crystal needs to be at least 24% lead (240,000PPM lead) and the CPSIA only allows 0.03% of lead (300PPM lead) to be present by weight.



The Federal law, the CSPIA, went into effect starting Nov 2008 in staggered stages, and is currently still being interpreted. Since it is, currently, more stringent in regards to allowable lead and how it's tested for in ALL children's products supercedes any state law that had any less rigid requirements. Though I do believe a few states, like Minnesota and Illinois, have an even more stringent laws for lead levels in children's products, you can choose not the sell to customers requesting you send your product to addresses in those states.

Also keep in mind that this law is still open to interpretation and micro/small business is still waiting on new procedures in regards to using "grand-fathered" testing information from suppliers and possible registration with the CPSC to before being allowed to sell finished products made with supplies purchased at the retail level without having an independant lab test samples of each batch of finished products. So all of these answers may change on very short notice.