Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA)

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Description

Service background

The CPSIA is a security improvement Act signed into law by President Bush on August 14, 2008. The law is the most stringent consumer protection legislation since the creation of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in 1972. In addition to stricter requirements for lead content in children’s products, the new law also makes new regulations on the content of harmful substances in toys and child care products, phthalates. In addition, the bill requires the creation of a public consumer product safety database.

On August 14, 2008, President Bush signed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA/HR4040) into law.

CPSIA affects all industries that manufacture, import, and distribute toys, clothing, and other children’s products and care products in the United States. All manufacturers should ensure that their products comply with all requirements, prohibitions, standards or regulations of the Act. In the phthalate content, DEHP, DBP and BBP have been permanently banned, except for DINP, DIDP and DNOP, which are temporarily banned until the CHAP study report is available to decide whether to lift the ban or list it as a permanent ban. It must be tested by a CPSC-approved testing agency, otherwise it will face heavy fines and lead to export disruption. The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) was passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Bush on August 14, 2008. CPSIA is designed to allow the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to better regulate and sell the safety of imported products in the U.S. CPSIA also contains regulations designed to make products safer for children under the age of 12, requiring manufacturers and importers of products to show that these products do not have harmful levels of lead and phthalates. Almost every product marketed in the United States for children under the age of 12 will affect CPSIA’s. This can include use and vintage products. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) will allow thrift stores that do not sell products that may contain high levels of lead and still maintain sales of those products are not per CPSIA law.

In March 2021, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) joined the US customs agency and became a participant in the US agency, the review was equal, and the new regulation: even if the imported goods were declared, if the CPSC did not release them, they could not be sold and could only be backlog in the warehouse.

 

CPSC Overview:

Step 1 Define

CPSC is an important Consumer rights protection agency in the United States, is the abbreviation of the Consumer Product Safety Committee, that is, the Consumer Product Safety Association. Its responsibility is to protect the interests of consumers. For those consumer goods that do not have standards, establish mandatory standards or bans. Perform inspections of potentially hazardous products.

 

2. Content

1) Establish uniform mandatory national standards throughout the United States.

2). Further regulation of toys containing lead.

3). Traceability label on toys.

4) Convert the voluntary ASTM F963 standard into a mandatory standard.

5) Mandatory third testing for certain children’s products controls 8 phthalates in toys.

 

3. Jurisdiction

The CPSC regulates more than 15,000 consumer products used in homes, sports and schools. However, products such as vehicles, tires, ships, weapons, alcohol, tobacco, food, drugs, cosmetics, pesticides and medical devices do not fall within its jurisdiction.

 

4. Implementation basis

The implementation of CPSC in the United States is based on CPSIA, which is a regulation and a standard for product quality. The CPSIA is a safety improvement Act signed into law by President Bush on August 14, 2008. The law is the most stringent consumer protection legislation since the creation of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in 1972.

 

The CPSIA Act expands the range of products that need to be tested and certified. Testing and certification are required for products subject to the standards, prohibitions, and implementing rules established by the CPSC under this Act.

 

The CPSIA regulations are divided into two parts, one of which deals with “children’s product safety” and the second part deals with “Consumer Product Safety Commission reform.”

 

CPSIA Overview:

Step 1 Define

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, known as CPSIA or H.R.4040.

 

2. Content

CPSIA is divided into two parts, the first part deals with “Children’s product safety”, the second part deals with “Consumer Product Safety Commission reform”, the first part of which covers the following chapters:

Article 101. Children’s products containing lead; Lead paint standards

Article 102. Mandatory third-party testing of certain children’s products

Article 103. Tracking labels for children’s products

Article 104. Standards and consumer registration of durable infant and toddler products

Section 105. Advertising labelling requirements for toys and games

Section 106. Mandatory toy safety standards

Section 107. Study of preventable deaths and injuries associated with consumer products in minority children

Section 108. The sale of products containing certain phthalates is prohibited

 

3. Basic overview

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act reduced the amount of lead allowed in children’s products. Section 101 sets new limits on the amount of lead in children’s products and the amount of lead in paints used in such products.

 

4. Limit regulation

Lead limit

The limits for lead in children’s products will be phased in over three years. Since February 10, 2009, products designed for children 12 years of age or younger must not contain more than 600 parts per million (PPM) of lead by volume. Since February 10, 2009, children’s products containing more than 600 parts per million (PPM) of lead by volume have been banned in the United States, and the sale of these products carries serious civil and criminal liability. This Regulation provides that paints, coatings or electroplating do not prevent children from being exposed to lead contained in products. One year after enactment of the law, or since August 14, 2009, products designed for children 12 years of age or younger may not contain more than 300 parts per million (PPM) of lead by volume. After three years, or as of 14 August 2011, this limit will be reduced to a volume concentration value of 100 parts per million (PPM) unless the Commission determines that the provision of this lower limit is not technically feasible.

Certain children’s products may be exempted or not subject to the new lead limits if their lead components are not accessible to users. The commission will produce guidance within a year on which components of the product are not accessible to users. The Committee will also assess whether certain electronic devices, including those containing batteries, must comply with lead limits.

In addition, after one year, or as of August 14, 2009, the Act requires that the lead content in paints and other topcoatings intended for consumer use be reduced from 600 parts per million to 90 parts per million by volume.

Effective Date: The limit on lead content not exceeding 600ppm(parts per million) volume concentration value takes effect within 180 days after enactment of the Act. Recommendations for the implementation of the new lead limit for products in stock after the entry into force of this regulation can be found on the Committee’s website. One year after enactment of the Act, the limit for lead is reduced to a volume concentration of 300 parts per million. One year after the act was enacted, the lead limit for paint was lowered to 90 parts per million (PPM) by volume.

Article 102. Compulsory third-party testing of certain children’s products

 

5. General certification

The new bill expands the range of products that must be tested and certified. Under the original law, consumer products that had to meet standards published by the Consumer Product Safety Commission under the authority of the Consumer Product Safety Act generally required certification. And products that are subject to similar rules, standards, injunctions, and regulations enforced by the Commission under the authority of other acts. This requirement that a product must be certified is sometimes referred to as a “supplier’s statement that the product is qualified.” Certification must be based on testing of the product or a “reasonable test program.” This new requirement for general certification is effective from November 12, 2008. These general self-certification of product conformity need not be based on third party test results.

 

6. Third party testing

The new law requires third-party testing of all consumer products intended for children 12 years old or younger. Every manufacturer (including importer) or private proprietary trademark owner of a children’s product must test the product by an accredited, independent testing laboratory and, based on the test results, issue a certificate that the product complies with all current CPSC requirements.

The CPSC is authorized to recognize laboratories that perform required tests on children’s products (” third-party conformity assessment bodies “) or to designate independent accreditation bodies to recognize testing laboratories, with the exception that the Commission itself must recognize laboratories controlled by the manufacturer of the product in question. To remain impartial, government laboratories must meet strict standards of independence. The CPSC must publish an up-to-date list of accredited laboratories on the CPSC Web site, and the CPSC has the authority to suspend or discontinue accreditation of a laboratory if appropriate.

Requirements for third-party testing and certification of children’s products are introduced progressively in an ongoing manner. The bill requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission to publish an accreditation system for laboratories testing different categories of children’s products. Once the Commission has published the laboratory accreditation requirements for a category of children’s products, every product belonging to that category of children’s products, if manufactured ninety days after the effective date of the regulation, must be tested and certified in accordance with the current requirements. The CPSC’s schedule for publishing laboratory accreditation requirements and certifications is set out below.

 

Approved procedures published by the CPSC are subject to third-party testing

Lead paint 22 September 2008 * 22 December 2008

Crib and pacifier October 2008 January 2009

Widget November 2008 February 2009

Metal jewelry December 2008 March 2009

Baby bounce bed, baby walker and stretcher bed March 2009 June 2009

Lead content 300ppm(parts per million) volume concentration value May 2009 August 2009

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Children’s Product Safety Rule June 2009 September 2009

 

7. Certificate

The required certificate, either a general certificate of conformity [1] or a certificate based on third-party testing for children’s products, must be in English and may be used in another language. The certificate must include the name of the product manufacturer or private proprietary trademark owner and the testing laboratory, the date and location of the product manufacture and testing.

Products that do not have the required certificates cannot be imported or wholesale into the U.S. market. Products or each batch of incoming products must have a certificate and be presented upon request by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and U.S. Customs. Failing to issue a certificate or issuing a false certificate may result in civil or criminal penalties for the manufacturer or private proprietary trademark owner.

 

* The procedure was published in the United States Federal Register on 22 September 2008. Federal Register, volume 73, episode 54, pages 564-566

Article 103. Tracking labels for children’s products

 

8. Other requirements

CPSIA has a number of other safety regulations affecting baby and toddler products. The bill states that “durable infant and toddler products,” such as cribs, strollers and stationary entertainers, can be used with a product registration card in the event of a recall. The CPSC’s requirements take a look at voluntary safety standards in these products and potentially make them stronger with federal regulations. CPSIA’s strong focus is on crib safety, not only illegally manufacturing or selling cribs that do not meet federal safety standards, but also illegally providing them for use, such as in hotels or day care.

The CPSIA also has some requirements on how manufacturers, distributors and retailers advertise products that may contain small parts that may pose a choking hazard. The law provides for a searchable online database of recalls, safety information and accident reports of product-caused injuries.

Section 103 (a) of the new Act requires manufacturers to carry a tracking label or other distinctive permanent identifying mark on consumer products intended for use by children 12 years of age or younger. The tracking mark must contain some basic information, including the origin of the product, the date the product was manufactured, and more details about the manufacturing process (such as batch or serial number). The scope of this clause is quite broad, covering all children’s products, including, but not limited to, such as clothing, shoes, and not just toys and other regulated products. Congress amended the requirements for tracking labels to use language that says “to the extent practicable,” acknowledging that requiring small toys and other small products that are not individually packaged at the time of manufacture and shipment to bear a distinct, permanent identifying mark is not necessarily feasible.

The CPSC is authorized to publish rules that explain in detail the requirements that should be printed on tracking labels. Moreover, the Commission could in the future require that more information printed on tracking labels for children’s products be extended to tracking labels for other consumer products.

Section 103 (c) of the new Act also deals with various types of declarations by manufacturers claiming compliance with mandatory or voluntary safety rules. As of October 12, 2008, no product packaging, advertising or labeling may contain a safety standard unless the product actually meets that standard.

Effective Date: The requirement for tracking standards came into effect one year after the Act’s implementation on August 14, 2009. The requirement regarding the prohibition of self-proclaimed declarations for advertising purposes came after the implementation of the Act

 

Service advantage

Timeliness: RTS has a set of independently developed LIMS system, which monitors and manages the entire test process, greatly improving work efficiency and shortening the inspection cycle entrusted by enterprises.

Convenient: RTS has a perfect order platform and free on-site pick-up service, and can provide one-to-one consultation and training and one-stop product compliance service chain for enterprises.

Price: RTS in the consulting stage can be based on the product information and material situation of the enterprise comprehensive evaluation, to provide the most appropriate and the most economical quotation scheme for the enterprise, greatly reducing the test cost.

Quality: As a national high-tech enterprise, RTS has dozens of patented inventions and supporting instruments and equipment and professionals to meet the needs of different customers and different products.