Swarovski Crystals???

[#1]

I know they are leaded and I have stated the california's warning on my listing for them.

I make rings out of them intended for adults, but if that adult purchases one and gives it to the child, am I liable?

My state as far as I know does not have the same lawy as California, but is the CPSIA for all states?

Kind of stupid on this and just thought it was for paint and fabrics, I did not know it was for jewelry too.

SO have lurked around and not seen what I need to know.

Can anyone help?

[aosLeather]

if someone buys a car and lets a toddler drive it then they are liable for any wrecks that follow, not the car company :-)

[Former_Member]

aosLeather, perhaps not the best analogy how would a toddler reach both the steering wheel & the gas petal or even the brake & the button to release the gear shift? Most cars are not built to allow persons under a certain height (4'8" I think) without significant modification which can only be done in many states with DMV & a Drs approval.
Maybe it would better be said about an 8 year old, I know my son was that tall by then.

[Former_Member]

wow great info thanks

[Former_Member]

This is good info to know. I don't market to kids, but I do use swarovski crystals in many of my pieces. I'm in Illinois, (which is the Land of Corruption anyways, think Blagojevich) and now I may have to post warnings in my listings?? To adults?? Government is getting a little crazy and control happy here, it really boggles the mind.

[SweetPeonyBaby]

Marking

[saburkitty]

Omg</3

Do I need to place a warning on my items too? I seal then under lacquers.

Thank you for the post.

[MoniqueLula]

oh well, I'll take note of this just in case.

[Former_Member]

Yes, I had Swarvoski crystals sprinkled on my ice cream sundae last night. Will I be okay?

[Former_Member]

saburkitty,
To be safe from the requirements of the CPSIA you may want to remove all tags and wording or available sizes that might lead an adult to think your products are appropriate for a child under 13. At your discretion you can choose to further clarify that your products are intended for adults by adding a disclaimer along the lines of not intended for the use by or on children under 13.

As for including lead warnings above and beyond the CPSIA there are laws that govern products being sold or shipped into certain states. At least 2 stated have now inacted laws concerning lead content of ALL TYPES of consumer products including products used primarily by an adult, not just lead in children's product. Most of these laws concern just having a warning label on a product if the lead content is over a specific amount, as shown by testing, set by the particular state & determined by whatever test protocal that state deems as most scientific.

The 1st law that concerns lead levels in any type of product in effect in California is Prop 65,
http://ag.ca.gov/prop65/regs.php & http://www.oehha.ca.gov/prop65.html

Another lead labeling law is the Illinois Lead Poisoning Prevention Act that went into effect Jan 1, 2010.
http://www.leadsafeillinois.org/cmsfiles/benchbook-3-illinois-laws-with-summary.pdf

Both of these laws also use different testing methods to determine what the the lead levels is and have allowable lead limits that differ from the CPSIA & each other.
Currently unders these 2 laws you can legally refuse to ship items to customer's address in those 2 states if you are unable to come up with the proper lead testing certificates or warning labels that meet CA or IL standards. Of course if you reside or ship from either of those states you're still required to have on file all that information even if all of your sales are being shipped outside of the affested state. Additionally other states such as New York, Minnesota, and Massachusetts are all looking to enact similar laws to Prop 65 and the Illinois lead labeling laws.

[Former_Member]

marking

[saburkitty]

jewelrydesignsbyME says:
saburkitty,
To be safe from the requirements of the CPSIA you may want to remove all tags and wording or available sizes that might lead an adult to think your products are appropriate for a child under 13. At your discretion you can choose to further clarify that your products are intended for adults by adding a disclaimer along the lines of not intended for the use by or on children under 13.

As for including lead warnings above and beyond the CPSIA there are laws that govern products being sold or shipped into certain states. At least 2 stated have now inacted laws concerning lead content of ALL TYPES of consumer products including products used primarily by an adult, not just lead in children's product. Most of these laws concern just having a warning label on a product if the lead content is over a specific amount, as shown by testing, set by the particular state & determined by whatever test protocal that state deems as most scientific.

The 1st law that concerns lead levels in any type of product in effect in California is Prop 65,
http://ag.ca.gov/prop65/regs.php & http://www.oehha.ca.gov/prop65.html

Another lead labeling law is the Illinois Lead Poisoning Prevention Act that went into effect Jan 1, 2010.
http://www.leadsafeillinois.org/cmsfiles/benchbook-3-illinois-laws-with-summary.pdf

Both of these laws also use different testing methods to determine what the the lead levels is and have allowable lead limits that differ from the CPSIA & each other.
Currently unders these 2 laws you can legally refuse to ship items to customer's address in those 2 states if you are unable to come up with the proper lead testing certificates or warning labels that meet CA or IL standards. Of course if you reside or ship from either of those states you're still required to have on file all that information even if all of your sales are being shipped outside of the affested state. Additionally other states such as New York, Minnesota, and Massachusetts are all looking to enact similar laws to Prop 65 and the Illinois lead labeling laws.
-----------------------------------------

Sorry I didn't reply, had to sleep.

Thank You jewelrydesignsbyME ^_^

[Former_Member]

jewelry designs, thanks for posting the IL law link and the list of other states working on lead law. IMHO it's just a matter of time before lead in jewelry law is across the board...
bad news for those of us that thought we destash beads we've purchased over the years.. CA class 3 testing= *poof*

[Former_Member]

marking

[Former_Member]

I don't make things that are geared towards children. However, right now I'm doing a custom bridal order and the bride has now asked that I make jewelry for the flower girls who are 6 and 9 years of age. I have ordered "glass crystals" which aren't supposed to have any lead and are not, in the true sense of the word, crystals. Unfortunately there's just no way of knowing anything for sure anymore. I have not represented the jewelry to in any way be considered safe for children. I have, however, advised the bride that it is not ok for the children to put the jewelry in their mouths.

Does the CPSIA apply in this situation?

[Former_Member]

CreativelyJeweled,
If the jewelry is made expressly for or sized to better fit the children in the wedding party then the CPSIA does apply, if it is identical in size and form to the adults' pieces then it's considered a general use item since more adults are using nearly identical pieces. If made the same size as the other wedding attendant pieces it then becomes brides choice to give it to the flower girls. So if you change the piece to fit down to a child or in this case where the bride order the pieces directly for the children you will need CPSIA testing info either for all the components used or on the finished products, tracking labels, small parts testing or warnings, and if you or the bride live in IL or CA the those state's approved lead testing reports and warning labels would be needed as well (the state level lead warnings would apply to the whole order not just the flower girls' pieces).

For non-exempt components like glass, crystal, & jewelry wire, you need a testing report from a CPSIA pre-approved lab stating
* a detailed description of the supply or component
* name of the lab that did the testing & contact info at the lab for the person or team that preformed the testing
* dates the testing was done
* which of the 2 approved test methodologies were used to determine the levels for each sustance that needs reporting
After you gather all the needed info you need to self issue for each product or set of nearly identical looking products a GCC that follows the CPSIA guidelines and keep that GCC on file at your place of bussiness that ties the testing reports to the tracking label.

So if you and the customer agree that the law must be followed, but don't have the time to wait for testing to be done, a flower girls' jewelry could always be made out of materials that are tested prior to assembly or from 100% exempt components. Getting the testing information from most jewelry component suppliers in the right format is nearly impossible since most are taking the position that the supplies they sell are and never where intended to used by or on jewelry for children under 14 (which is the Eropean Unions age cut off for their children product laws). There are raw materials that are on the lead testing exempt list, for the CPSIA, that you can use instead of glass or crystals http://www.cpsc.gov/businfo/frnotices/fr09/leaddeterminationsfinalrule-draft.pdf . Keep in mind that the exempt materials are bridge to fine jewelry quality metals and stones so the flower girl's piece(s) could cost as much as the rest of the bridal jewelry order if the rest of the attendants pieces are of costume quality. Remember even using lead testing exempt materials you would still need the tracking label and the small parts (&/or state mandated) warning labels to be put on the packaging for the jewelry & tied to a self-issued GCC that you keep on file for the piece(s).

[CarolsJewelryOrchard]

Marking this thread as I make jewelry (only for those 14 years of age and older).
Thanks for the info!

[graycat26]

marking, thank you!

[Former_Member]

the amount of lead in the beads and stones isnt enough to do real damage, the company itself would have prob been closed if that was the case.

[Former_Member]

I guess I will have to put something in writing to the bride stating the jewelry for the flower girls aren't CPSIA compliant.

[Former_Member]

Or I guess I should actually say that the jewelry isn't being sold as CPSIA compliant because I just don't know.

[Former_Member]

marking

[Former_Member]

CreativelyJeweled,
Not such a good idea, a waiver or statement to the bride like that would mean that you where aware of the law and knowingly violated it. Basically the under the reporting system that is for the CPSIA, tip offs can from the general consumer public with the most basic of proofs that could put your business on hold for a federal investigation. So a disgruntal customer or a bitter competitor could choose to report you for something as simple as not having the tracking labels or stating the item is for children but compliancy is unknown to start a full investigation. Also the things that you say in any public forum, like this one, becomes a matter of public record.

For children's jewelry the CPSIA went in to full effect on March 23th 2009. Basically that means there is NO stay of testing for items the government or the general buying public feels is a piece of jewelry more appropriate for children under 13 than an adult. For children's jewelry at this time that means either follow the law as it's currently interpeted by the CPSC or do no sell your creations in a way that leads adults to believe a child would derive more use than an adult or by sizing the pieces that fit more children than adults.

BTW SweetPeonyBaby found a FAQ page for Prop 65 in CA that apparently states that bussinesses with under 10 employees are exempt from from that particular testing/labeling law
http://www.oehha.ca.gov/prop65/p65faq.html

[Former_Member]

You can now buy low lead crystals that meet the CPSIA requirements. http://www.threadart.com/shop/category.asp?catid=27

[saburkitty]

You can still buy leaded crystal, people just know the risk.
Btw, would this apply to vintage too?

[Former_Member]

Thank you for all of the information here. So informative!