UKFT member Eurofins outlines CPSIA law for childrenswear in US

Enacted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in 2008, CPSIA provided the CPSC with significant new regulatory and enforcement tools to address the safety of products manufactured for children 12-years-old or younger, UKFT said in a press release.

A wide range of products intended for 12-year-old or younger is covered in CPSIA, including textiles/garments, childrenswear, footwear, home furnishing including bedding and soft goods, toys, school supplies and more.

The CPSIA generally requires that textiles, garments and footwear for children comply with all applicable standards and children’s product safety rules, including, among others, 16 CFR Part 1610, 16 CFR Part 1615/6 and 16 CFR Part 1307. They should also have a written children’s product certificate that certifies that the children’s product is compliant with all applicable children’s product safety rules, based upon the passing test results of third-party testing.

The CPSIA also requires that importers and domestic manufacturers of non-children’s products issue a General Certificate of Conformity (GCC). This applies to products subject to any consumer product safety rule, CPSC standard or regulation enforced by the Commission. A full list can be found here.

When importing childrenswear, it is important to prepare a CPSIA tracking label, detailing the name of the importer, where and when the item was produced and the product batch number. It is also expected to provide a label file, which contains information on the print position, dimension, colours and the print type.

Failure to comply with CPSIA requirements could lead to product recalls, civil and criminal penalties. The maximum civil penalty for each violation of the CPSIA is $100,000 and $15 million for a series of connected violations. Criminal penalties may include a maximum of five years in prison and forfeiture of assets.

As CPSC-accredited laboratories, the Eurofins Softlines & Leather network of labs can help buyers and suppliers of children products to the United States ensure CPSIA compliance, from textile and footwear testing, risk assessment, labelling review to fault analysis.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RR)