CPSIA Recap and Info

Posted by ambajam on March 3rd, 2009

There is a lot going on in the kids industry these days and I apologize for my tardiness in reporting back to you.  See below for a recap on CPSIA and the last couple of months.

The day after Christmas I received a call from my good friend Olivia of Baby Candy.  Olivia broke the news to me that all of us involved in the kids industry were going to be facing some major challenges due to the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). I had heard a bit about CPSIA in the fall (the act was signed into law by Bush in August) but, like many people, had understood the law to only be focused on children’s toys.  Instead, as I learned from Olivia, the law actually required lead and phthalate (chemicals often used to soften plastics) testing on ALL products geared towards kids 12 and under.  This came as a huge surprise, and along with that surprise, came much confusion and fear.  Even with the challenging economic times, I had been excited about kicking off 2009. After Olivia’s call, that excitement was tempered with the realization that my business, and those of many people I know, could be in jeopardy.  While confident that our products would check out, I cannot deny that I had many sleepless and fretful nights trying to figure out how to continue moving Ambajam forward while at the same time addressing the issues of CPSIA.

There is NO question that all of us involved in the kids industry want to make sure that our products are safe and compliant.  However, as currently written, the law places an incredible burden on businesses, particularly small businesses.  Currently, we are able to put in place our own “reasonable testing procedures” – we have done this by working with a licensed inspector who tested our products with a XRF gun….and we PASSED WITH FLYING COLORS!!  We also tested clear of any phthalates.  But once 3rd party testing is required the financial burden may become insurmountable and cause many businesses to go out of business.  Third party testing, as currently stipulated would require you to test a sample from each product from each production run.  So, when you do another run of the same product, using the same raw materials, a sample would still be required to be tested even if that exact same product had been compliant on a prior run.  Given her production cycle, quantity of products and components, Olivia estimates that 3rd party testing of her products would cost her upwards of ONE MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR! My estimation is that it would cost Ambajam in the hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, to prove, what we already know from our own testing, that our products are compliant.

This is undoubtedly a difficult time for our industry, but one of the amazing things to come out of this challenge has been the community we have built here in Colorado. Many seemingly competitive businesses have joined together under the banner of Congrats from Colorado to share information, costs, resources and support.  We have hosted forums (to discuss the law and its ramifications), lead testing “parties” (yes, we tried to make them fun!), press conferences and much more (see the photos below from some of our events).  Olivia has even started the CPSIA Cheerleader blog, the purpose of which is to encourage small business owners, share resources, and develop strategies to take advantage of a very tough situation.

There is so much to understand about the new law.  I am sure I cannot do it justice here so instead, I would like to share with you a number of sites and resources that will provide you with information about this law and its ramifications.  Please check it out – CPSIA affects everyone from the manufacturer to the retailer to the consumer.

CPSIA Cheerleader

The Smart Mama

Consumer Products Safety Commission

National Bankruptcy Day

Reform CPSIA

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