Did you know you must meet minimum federal safety requirements before selling your children’s products? It’s true and the law applies to every business – big, small, and even working out of your garage – that sells products in the U.S.
We’re here to help you figure out which parts of the law apply to you and your business. I work for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the federal safety agency, and my job is to reach out and explain these requirements. We’re here to help you make safe and compliant products. Our services are free.
For makers of children’s products, you almost always must have mandatory testing done & certify your product as compliant. For non-children’s products, you also need to test & certify certain products, for example, adult apparel must comply with flammability requirements.
Where to begin?
You can start at www.cpsc.gov/gettingstarted or, even better, start with our Regulatory Robot at
https://business.cpsc.gov. (This was posted in January 2016 and will be updated with new regulations as they are issued.)
You can also find a helpful overview of resources at www.cpsc.gov/desktopguide (pdf). For manufacturers of children’s products, always keep in mind that your goal is to issue a Children’s Product Certificate (CPC) (www.cpsc.gov/cpc) based on passing test results from a CPSC-accepted laboratory. (www.cpsc.gov/labsearch) (You use the model provided above to draft the CPC yourself. You then provide the CPC to your retailers, distributors, and, only upon request, to the government.)
Regulatory requirements vary for each product, the materials used and the product specifications used so there is no "one size fits all" checklist. You have to use the links provided above to figure out which regulations apply to your product. Some testing exceptions are discussed below.
You also must ensure that tracking information (www.cpsc.gov/trackinglabel) is permanently affixed to all children’s products and packaging, if practicable. (For children’s jewelry and other small products, it is probably not practicable due to the size but the info should at least be on the packaging.) Also, you can add the tracking information to existing labels, such as a care and content label you may have for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC.) Tracking labels must comply with the lead limits, but no additional third party testing is required for the labels themselves.
For manufacturers of non-children’s products for which there are consumer product safety rules in place, your goal is to issue a General Certificate of Conformity (GCC) (www.cpsc.gov/gcc) based on actual testing or a reasonable testing program.
Children’s Products: Testing Exceptions Can Save You Money
While children’s products generally require that you test your product at a government-accepted lab (www/cpsc.gov/labsearch) for chemicals and mechanical hazards, there are some helpful testing exceptions available.
For example, testing for lead content in materials such as pure wood, nearly all textiles, certain precious metals and gemstones, and pure (100%) animal and vegetable derived materials is not required. If you design your product using these materials, you can significantly reduce or eliminate costly testing. (The complete list is at 16 CFR 1500.91, link at bottom of message.) You may still need to test for other requirements, like small parts or the toy safety requirement, but this exception may save you some testing costs.
Also, small batch manufacturers – who make fewer than 7,500 units a year and under $1m in revenue and who register with the CPSC, may not need to use a government laboratory to test in certain situations. Your products must always comply and you must still certify their compliance to the federal government. See www.cpsc.gov/smallbatch for the full details.
More Help
If you would like to reach me for particular guidance about your product, please start with the information above. If you need further assistance, please contact me using the “Contact Us” link at www.cpsc.gov/smallbiz and we'll do our best to get back to you soon. (I am not permitted to provide individualized answers on Etsy.com so you’ll need to use the link I provided.) Also, on thewww.cpsc.gov/smallbiz webpage, there are archived presentations (videos) on manufacturing items like doll clothing and cloth diapers for children that are helpful.
Yes, you need to do this.
CPSC does have investigators who monitor internet sales. We think everyone should play by the same rules. Information about non-compliant or potentially dangerous items can be provided to CPSC’s investigators at websafety@cpsc.gov.
I hope this information is helpful. Remember to contact me directly at: www.cpsc.gov/smallbiz/contact with your questions.
While I won't be able to keep up with all of the conversations in this team and on Etsy, I hope that the resources I provide, coupled with the knowledge of your fellow crafters, will make it a little easier to comply and build safe products for your customers.
Best,
Your CPSC Small Business Ombudsman
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Here is the link for common testing exceptions for lead content, 16 CFR 1500.91:
www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&SID=fe793e5c557c5389ff11646309...
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Disclaimer:
This communication has been prepared for general informational purposes only and is based upon the facts and information presented. This communication does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice and has not been reviewed or approved by the Commission, and does not necessarily represent their views. Any views expressed in this communication may be changed or superseded by the Commission.